Sample file: Usinage Fictif inc.

The file we would prepare for a made-up shop hit by U.S. tariffs. Read the 30-second story first, then the parts of the file.

Fictitious business · no real information

SAMPLE · fictitious business · numbers made up for illustration

The story in 30 seconds

Usinage Fictif is a machine shop with 21 employees.

Because of U.S. tariffs, it lost 20% of its work.

Instead of laying off nearly 4 people, it moves its 18 production employees to a 4-day week. Employment Insurance pays them part of the wages they lose.

The day off, Friday, is used for training, 11 times in 26 weeks.

A grant can pay for this training, up to $18,000.

Two federal programs are involved. The first is officially called “Work-Sharing”: it pays part of the lost wages. The second, the Retraining Grant, pays for the training. Despite its name, nobody changes careers: your employees learn in your own plant.

What you get from us

entreprises.ca is a private service, not the government. We prepare the file with you; you submit it yourself to Service Canada. It has 6 parts.

REF. 01Eligibility sheetYou know right away whether you qualify for both programs.
REF. 02Hours calculation and employee listHow many hours you are losing, and who moves to 4 days. Service Canada asks for it.
REF. 03Recovery planHow you plan to get back to normal hours. It goes with the application.
REF. 04Training scheduleWhich Fridays your employees are trained, to meet the rule.
REF. 05Grant estimateThe most you can ask for.
REF. 06Deadline tableThe dates you must not miss. We write to you before each one.

REF. 01Eligibility sheet

What it is for: checking that the business qualifies, before filling in any form.

Usinage Fictif has been operating in Canada for 12 years. Its U.S. customers are ordering less because of tariffs. Each line gives its situation first, then what the rule requires. The “relaxed rules” are temporary measures for businesses hit by U.S. tariffs.

Operating for 12 years.You need at least 1 year (2 years without the relaxed rules for businesses hit by tariffs).
18 employees agree to reduce their hours.You need at least 2, eligible for Employment Insurance.
Work dropped by 20% (in hours).Under the relaxed rules, a drop of less than 10% is accepted. Otherwise, you need 10% over 6 months.
The drop comes from U.S. tariffs on exported parts.The cause must be beyond the employer's control.
18 of the 21 employees reduce their hours.This group is called the Work-Sharing unit (the term used on the official forms). Three people stay full time. The owner, who also handles sales. The 2 setters, who prepare and adjust the machines before production. The rule leaves out senior management, sales staff and anyone who owns more than 40% of the voting shares.
The training is about the trade: CNC machines, the new 5-axis centre, reading drawings, checking the first part of a run.It cannot be training the law already requires.

Order of applications: Work-Sharing first, then the training grant. You apply for the grant once the Work-Sharing agreement is in effect. The agreement is the contract signed with Service Canada. It sets the dates, the employees and the hours.

REF. 02Work-Sharing unit

What it is for: showing Service Canada how many hours the shop lost and who moves to 4 days.

Records to attach: orders and hours worked for the quarter, compared with last year.

Item	Value
Employees in the unit	18
Normal weekly hours, per employee	40 h
Normal weekly hours for the unit	720 h
Work hours lost per week	144 h
Reduction in hours	20%
New schedule per employee	32 h (4 days)

Everyone in the unit cuts their hours by the same percentage. They share the work that is left. The 144 lost hours are close to 4 full-time jobs.

Excerpt from Attachment A (form EMP5101)

Attachment A is the list of employees in the unit, attached to the application and signed by their representative. For each employee: name, occupation, hire date and normal hours. It contains no SIN: SINs go only in the enrolment sheet and the calculator, which the employer fills in directly.

Employee	Occupation	Normal hours	Reduced hours
Employee 01	CNC operator	40	32
Employee 02	CNC operator	40	32
…	…	…	…

we never see the SINs

REF. 03Recovery plan (excerpt)

What it is for: explaining how the business plans to get back to normal hours. It goes with the Work-Sharing application. It has nothing to do with bankruptcy: it is your plan to bring orders back.

Goal: return to normal hours and normal staffing by the end of the agreement.

Replace part of the U.S. orders with Canadian customers. Talks are under way with 6 large companies that have their parts made by suppliers (prime contractors).
Start using the 5-axis machining centre already installed, to offer more complex parts.
Train operators to set it up and edit programs. Train the whole team to read drawings and check the first part. All of this on non-working days (see the training program, in French).
Review hours every month. Move back toward normal hours as soon as orders return.

REF. 04Training schedule

What it is for: proving that training is offered often enough to qualify for the grant.

The rule: training must be offered to all employees in the unit for at least 40% of the weeks of the agreement. Here, the agreement lasts 26 weeks. So at least 11 weeks are needed (40% of 26 = 10.4, rounded up).

week with training (11)week without training (15)

Usinage Fictif offers training 11 weeks out of 26, or 42%. It takes place on Friday, the day not worked.

Classes end on April 16, 2027. The last hands-on assessments at the machine take place by May 7, 2027. Everything is done before the agreement ends on May 22, 2027. The official limit is Saturday, March 25, 2028.

REF. 05Grant estimate

What it is for: knowing the most you can ask for to pay for training.

Cap: up to $1,000 per participating employee, for training and administration costs.

18 × $1,000 = $18,000 maximum

The grant can also pay administration costs (schedules, attendance sheets, bookkeeping). They are limited to 15% of the training funding requested. This money pays back the time your company spends organizing the training; it is not a payment to entreprises.ca.
This is not a guaranteed amount. Service Canada decides.
Our fee for putting this file together ($750 for 18 employees) cannot be paid with the grant.

REF. 06Deadline table

What it is for: not missing any date. A late request can be refused.

Fictitious dates: the agreement lasts 26 weeks, from Sunday, November 22, 2026 to Saturday, May 22, 2027.

As soon as the agreement is in effectTraining grant application.Rule: applications accepted from October 16, 2026 to December 31, 2027, before 3 p.m. Eastern.
January 22, 2027Change request (form EMP5103), for example if the schedule must change on February 1, 2027.Rule: at least 10 days before the change.
April 16, 2027Classes end. Last assessments at the machine by May 7, 2027, before the agreement ends on May 22, 2027.Rule: training completed by March 25, 2028 at the latest.
April 24, 2027Extension request, if the agreement needs to last longer.Rule: at least 4 weeks before the agreement ends.
The same dayReply to Service Canada when it asks for information. We prepare the answer with you.Rule: 5 business days after the request.

we write to you before each date

Words used in the file

Work-Sharing: A federal program. Employees work fewer hours instead of being laid off. Employment Insurance pays them part of the lost wages.
Retraining Grant: A federal grant that pays for training employees on Work-Sharing.
Agreement: The Work-Sharing contract signed with Service Canada. It sets the dates, the employees and the hours.
Work-Sharing unit: The group of employees who reduce their hours. Here, 18 people.
Setter: The employee who prepares and adjusts the machines before production.
Recovery plan: The document that explains how the business plans to win back orders and return to normal hours. It is not a bankruptcy procedure.
Attachment A (EMP5101): The list of employees in the unit attached to the application: name, occupation, hire date, hours. No SIN.
SIN: Social Insurance Number. The employer enters it directly, in the enrolment sheet and the calculator; we never see it.

See this sample's training program (in French)

Take the test for your business

Sources: official canada.ca pages on Work-Sharing and the Retraining Grant (modified October 16, 2026). The official rules always take precedence over this sample.