Social Insurance Number

Under the Employment Insurance Act, every person working in Canada is required to have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) and as an employer, you must ask to see the SIN card of all new employees when they are hired.

• You must also ensure that the employee is setup in payroll with the same name and SIN as they appear on the card.
• If you are unable to obtain the SIN of an employee, you need to be able to show that you made a reasonable effort to obtain it.
• If an employee does not have a SIN card, you must refer them to a Service Canada Centre within 3 days.

If you do not make a reasonable effort to obtain a SIN, you may be subject to a penalty of $100 for each failure. Employees also have an obligation to provide you their SIN. If an employee does not do this, the employee may be subject to a penalty of $100 for each failure.