Covid-19 : Adapting the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (Periods 11 to 20)

The deadline to claim the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy is the day following 180 days after the end of the claim period.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was put in place for eligible wages paid from March 15, 2020.  Initially, there were only three periods (March 15 to June 6, 2020). In its most recent budget submitted on April 19, the federal government has added periods 17 to 20 (until September 25, 2021).

Base Subsidy

Effective July 5, 2020, employers that have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis would be eligible for a base CEWS. The maximum amount of paid remuneration, on which the CEWS will be calculated, will always be $1,129 per week.

The rate of the base CEWS will vary depending on the level of revenue decline during each period, and its application will be extended to employers with a revenue decline of less than 30 per cent.

Timing

Period 11:
December 20, 2020 to January 16, 2021

Period 12:

January 17, 2021 to
 February 13, 2021

Period 13:

February 14, 2021 to
 March 13, 2021

Period 14:

March 14, 2021 to
 April 10, 2021

Period 15:

April 11, 2021 to
 May 8, 2021

Maximum weekly
benefit per employee*

Up to $733.85 

Up to $733.85

Up to $733.85

Up to $733.85

Up to $733.85

Revenue drop

 

 

 

 

 

50% and over

40%

40%

40%

40%

40%

0% to 49%

0.8 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0.8 × 20% revenue drop = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0.8 × 20% revenue drop = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0.8 × 20% revenue drop = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0.8 × 20% revenue drop = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0.8 × 20% revenue drop = 16% base CEWS rate)

 

Timing

Period 16:

May 9, 2021 to
 June 5, 2021

Period 17:
June 6, 2021 to
 July 3, 2021

Period 18:

July 4, 2021 to
 July 31, 2021

Period 19:

August 1, 2021 to
 August 28, 2021

Period 20:

August 29, 2021 to
 September 25, 2021

Maximum weekly
benefit per employee*

Up to $733.85

Up to $846.75

Up to $677.40

Up to $451.60

Up to $225.80

Revenue drop

 

 

 

 

 

50% and over

40%

40%

35%

25%

10%

0% to 49%

0.8 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0,8 × 20% revenue drop = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 × revenue drop 
(e.g., 0.8 × 30% revenue drop = 24% base CEWS rate)

0.875 × (revenue drop – 10%)
(e.g., 0.875 ×
(30% revenue drop -
10 %) = 17.5% base CEWS rate))

0.625 × (revenue drop – 10 %)
(e.g., 0.625 ×
(30% revenue drop -
10 %) = 12.5% base CEWS rate))

0.25 × revenue drop
(e.g., 0.25 × 30% revenue drop = 10% base CEWS rate)

The maximum weekly benefit per employee is equal to the maximum combined base subsidy and top-up wage subsidy for the qualifying period applied to the amount of eligible remuneration paid to the employee for the qualifying period, on remuneration of up to $1,129 per week.

Top-Up Subsidy for Employers Most Adversely Affected

An additional CEWS rate of up to 35% will be offered to employers who have been most affected by the pandemic. To be eligible for this additional subsidy, companies must have a revenue drop of more than 50%.

Top-Up CEWS Rates for Selected Levels of Average Revenue Drop

Reference
Periods

Periods 11 to 16

Period 17

Period 18

Period 19

Period 20

Revenue
Drop

 

 

 

 

 

70%
and over

25%

1.25 x (70% - 50%)

35%

1.75 x (70% - 50%)

25%

1.25 x (70% - 50%)

15 %

0.75 x (70% - 50%)

10 %

0.5 x (70% - 50%)

65%

18.75%

1.25 x (65% -50%)

26.25%

1.75 x (65% - 50%)

18.75%

1.25 x (65% - 50%)

11.25%

0.75 x (65% - 50%)

7.50%

0.50 x (65% - 50%)

60%

12.5%

1.25 x (60% - 50%)

17.5%

1.75 x (60% - 50%)

12.5%

1.25 x (60% - 50%)

7.5%

0.75 x (60% - 50%)

5.0%

0.50 x (60% - 50%)

55%

6.25%

1.25 x (55% - 50%)

8.75%

1.75 x (55% - 50%)

6.25 %

1.25 x (55% - 50%)

3.75%

0.75 x (55% - 50%)

2.25 %

0.50 x (55% - 50%)

50%

0.0%

1.25 x (50% - 50%)

0.0%

1.75 x (50% - 50%)

0.0%

1.25 x (50% - 50%)

0.0%

0.75 x (50% - 50%)

0.0%

0.50 x (50% - 50%)

Reference Periods for the Drop-in-Revenue Tests

For the purpose of the base CEWS, eligibility would generally be determined by the change in an eligible employer's monthly revenues, year-over-year, for the applicable calendar month. The directive allowing the employer to be automatically qualified, if the employer qualifies for the previous period, is still valid.

Employers must keep the elected approach applied to previous periods for Period 11 and subsequent periods.

 

Claim Period

General Approach

Alternative Approach

Period 11

December 20, 2020 to January 16, 2021

December 2020 over
December 2019 or November 2020 over November 2019

December 2020 or November 2020 over average of January and
February 2020

Period 12

January 17, 2021 to
February 13, 2021

January 2021 over
December 2019 or December 2020 over December 2019

January 2021 or December 2020
over average of January and
February 2020

Period 13

February 14, 2021 to
March 13, 2021

February 2021 over February 2020 or January 2021
over January 2020

February or January 2021
over average of January and February 2020

Period 14

March 14, 2021 to
April 10, 2021

March 2021 over
March 2019 or February 2021
over February 2020

March or February 2021
over average of January and February 2020

Period 15

April 11, 2021 to
May 8, 2021

April 2021 over
April 2019 or March 2021
over March 2019

April or March 2021
over average of January and February 2020

Period 16

May 9, 2021 to
June 5, 2021

May 2021 over
May 2019 or April 2021
over April 2019

May or April 2021
over average of January and
February 2020

Period 17

June 6, 2021 to
July 3, 2021

June 2021 over
June 2019 or May 2021
over May 2019

June or May 2021
over average of January and
February 2020

Period 18

July 4, 2021 to
July 31, 2021

July 2021 over
July 2019 or June 2021
over June 2019

July or June 2021
over average of January and
February 2020

Period 19

August 1, 2021 to
August 28, 2021

August 2021 over
August 2019 or July 2021
over July 2019

August or July 2021
over average of January and
February 2020

Period 20

August 29, 2021 to
September 25, 2021

September 2021 over
September 2019 or August 2021
over August 2019

September or August 2021
over average of January and
February 2020

Requirement to Repay Amounts Paid Under the CEWS

The 2021 budget proposes to require listed companies to reimburse the wage subsidy received for the periods beginning after June 5, 2021 (Period 17 and beyond) if the total remuneration for the specified executives is higher than that paid in 2019.

The specified executives of a publicly traded company will be its named executive officers whose compensation is required to be declared under Canadian securities law or under another jurisdiction. These members are typically made up of the chief executive officer, chief financial officer and three other top-paid executives.

The subsidy refund amount will be the lesser of the following two amounts:

  • The total amount of CEWS for Period 17 and beyond;
  • The amount of the total compensation of the specified executives for 2021 which exceeds that of 2019.

The obligation to reimburse will be applied at the group level and applicable to the CEWS received by each entity of the group.

For more information:

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) - Canada.ca

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