Federal Government Expands WorkShare Eligibility Criteria

In anticipation of lay-offs triggered by the Trump Tariffs, the federal government has taken steps to dramatically expand the availability of its existing WorkShare program. Under WorkShare, participating employers can, with employee consent, reduce working hours and arrange for employees to receive EI benefits for the hours missed.  Those benefits do not reduce employee’s regular entitlements if ultimately they are laid off.

On March 7, 2025, the federal government announced the following key changes to be in effect through March 6, 2026:

• Employers can apply for WorkShare benefits to continue for up to 76 weeks or approximately 18 months, more than double the previous maximum of 38 weeks;
• All types of employers, including non-profits and charities, will be eligible to apply as long as they can show that they are suffering a decline in business or revenue attributable to actual or threatened US tariffs. The employer only has to show it is taking steps to preserve the business and jobs rather than a goal of resuming regular levels of employment;
• Employers now only need to have been in business for one year prior to applying for WorkShare rather than two;
• Employers can reapply for a continued WorkShare programme following expiry of an initial one without undergoing a “cooling off period” when participation is not permitted;
• Previously excluded seasonal employers and seasonal or cyclical employees can now participate;
• Reductions in hours for affected employees can now exceed the normal 60%;
• All types of employees, including those key to recovery such as sales and executives, are now eligible to participate.

Employers faced with reduced needs for workers should consider participating in WorkShare in order to preserve skilled employees without triggering termination costs. But they still require each affected employee agreement to participate. Not all employees may agree to these reduced hours, particularly those earning high wages where the gap between regular pay and EI benefits is larger.

For more details see: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/work-sharing.html#h2.1

If you want more information on this topic, you can contact us at:

Geoffrey Howard:       ghoward@howardlaw.ca

604 424-9686

Sebastian Chern:         schern@howardlaw.ca

604 424-9688