Missing Record of Employment: Apply for EI and Check Your ROE

Apply for EI before chasing the paperwork

It is easy to assume you must have the ROE in hand before you can apply. Service Canada’s regular-EI instructions say the opposite: submit the application right away and send required documents afterward. Applying more than four weeks after your last day of work may cost benefits. The application asks about your employment in the last 52 weeks or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter.

Applying does not mean your claim will be approved. Service Canada still needs the ROEs and other facts to decide eligibility and the amount payable. The point of applying early is to avoid creating a separate delay while you wait for an employer document.

Before starting, gather the names, addresses and employment dates for the jobs you held during the period Service Canada asks about. You can complete the application using the details you know, then follow its instructions for outstanding documents. If you are unsure how to describe a separation from work, give your own accurate account rather than waiting for an ROE code.

Find the ROE in My Service Canada Account

1. Go to the official My Service Canada Account page and sign in.
2. Select Records of Employment.
3. Check whether the ROE for the employer and period you expect is there.
4. Keep track of which employers’ ROEs are still missing, especially if you held more than one job.

For a regular EI claim, Service Canada says it needs ROEs for jobs held in the past year or since the beginning of your last claim. A single visible ROE is not proof that all required records have arrived.

Electronic versus paper ROEs

If your employer submits an ROE electronically, it goes straight to Service Canada. You can view it in MSCA; you do not need to send a second copy. If your employer gives you a paper ROE, Service Canada needs the original from you. Follow the submission instructions given during the application or by Service Canada.

This distinction matters when you ask your employer for an update. “It was filed electronically” means you should check MSCA. “Here is your paper ROE” means you still have a document to submit. Do not post or email the ROE to Canadian Money Help.

When should the employer issue it?

Service Canada’s after-you-apply pageemployer ROE guide

If you have requested the ROE and it has not been issued within the applicable timeframe, Service Canada says to contact it. Use the EI contact link on the official after-you-apply page.

A polite written request to payroll or your former employer can make the follow-up easier. Ask whether the ROE is electronic or paper and when it was or will be issued. Save the reply for your records. The employer, not the worker, issues the ROE.

What to tell Service Canada

Explain that you have applied or are applying for EI, identify the employer and work period, and say whether the employer told you the ROE would be electronic or paper. Ask what Service Canada needs from you while the ROE is outstanding. Keep your own notes of when you asked the employer and when you contacted Service Canada.

Do not guess at missing employment details. If the ROE eventually appears but contains incorrect information, tell Service Canada what looks wrong and ask how the employer should correct it. Service Canada and the employer, not this website, control the record.

Keep up with the rest of your claim

While waiting, check your MSCA claim status and messages, supply documents Service Canada requests, and submit the EI reports required for your claim. Service Canada’s after-you-apply page says reports are normally submitted every two weeks. A missing ROE and a missed report are separate problems; solving one does not remove the other.

If you start working while on EI, the site’s working-while-on-EI guide

Example: employer says “we sent it”

Suppose you apply for EI and your former employer says its payroll provider sent the ROE electronically. Sign in to MSCA and check Records of Employment for that employer. If it is not there, ask the employer to confirm when it was transmitted. If it is still missing after the applicable issuance period, contact Service Canada and explain the steps already taken. This is a practical checking sequence, not a prediction that the claim will be approved or paid by a particular date.

Rules and process basis

Service Canada’s EI apply and after-you-apply pages govern the application timing, MSCA ROE check and follow-up route. Its ROE guidance distinguishes electronic and paper records and issuance deadlines. Service Canada makes the individual claim decision.