Concern and questions regarding work experiences

[dvns]

Hi,
I'm an international student who graduated 2 years ago and plan to apply for Permanent Residency under Canadian Experience Class ( for graduates) early next year. According to the cic.gc.ca website, "As a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary educational institution, you must have one year of full-time (or equivalent) work experience in Canada after graduation. Your work experience must be gained within two years of applying."

I've been wondering for quite some time whether the work experiences have to be continuous or done in the same place. Ideally I would have worked full time in one place for a year just to be safe, but such is the nature of graphic design job, at least for me. I have worked in different studio as a graphic designer over the past 2 years, 5 months part time with company A, 8 months full time in company B, and recently has just been working full time for about 3 months ( ongoing) with the new company. During the time when I send my application, am I allowed to add all the hours from those different jobs to meet the requirement working time ( 1 year full time)?. Thank you in advance for answering my question, I really appreciate your help.


*another question came to mind after I wrote this, may as well ask the expert here . is a company required to supply a T4 slip for an employee who no longer work for them, shall the employee request so? I am planning to request the T4 slip from my previous employer ( working for 8 months full time and got laid off ). Thank you!

 

[jes_ON]

I've been wondering for quite some time whether the work experiences have to be continuous or done in the same place. Ideally I would have worked full time in one place for a year just to be safe, but such is the nature of graphic design job, at least for me. I have worked in different studio as a graphic designer over the past 2 years, 5 months part time with company A, 8 months full time in company B, and recently has just been working full time for about 3 months ( ongoing) with the new company. During the time when I send my application, am I allowed to add all the hours from those different jobs to meet the requirement working time ( 1 year full time)?. Thank you in advance for answering my question, I really appreciate your help.

Yes, you can add together the hours, as long as you have gotten 1950 hours within the past 2 years. Also - you would have had to have been an employee of those companies - independent contractors / self-employed doesn't count.

*another question came to mind after I wrote this, may as well ask the expert here . is a company required to supply a T4 slip for an employee who no longer work for them, shall the employee request so? I am planning to request the T4 slip from my previous employer ( working for 8 months full time and got laid off ). Thank you!

A T4 is a statement of earnings for tax purposes. Doesn't matter if you no longer work for the company, they have to issue it to everyone who worked for them for that tax year. But they come early in the new year, January/February, in time for tax season. I doubt you will be able to get one before then (you will get it in the mail, so if you have changed addresses, be sure to update your former employer).

If you want to apply before then, what you need is the Record of Employment. You can request it from your employer, but if they submitted it electronically to Service Canada, they don't have to give you a copy - you can get it online from Service Canada:
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/employers/roe_duplicate.shtml

 

[dvns]

Thank you so much jes, your explanation really shed some light to my confusion. I was about to ask you a question regarding independent contractor or self employed, you beat me to it. Thank you so much, I really appreciate your help.

 

[jes_ON]

You're welcome. Yeah, I know some graphic designers and they are all self-employed, that's why I mentioned it.