CEC – Full-time permanent position but part-time hours during GRTW: How should I count the hours?

[little girl]

Hi everyone,

I’m applying under the Canadian Experience Class and I have a question about how to calculate my Canadian work experience.

I have a full-time permanent position with my employer. However, I was placed on a Graduated Return to Work (GRTW) plan for approximately 2-3 months. During this period, I was working reduced/part-time hours according to the GRTW plan.

My question is:

Should I claim this period as full-time work experience because I continued to hold a full-time position/line, or should I calculate it as part-time work experience based on the actual hours I worked during GRTW?

For example, if I normally work 37.5 hours/week but during GRTW I worked approximately 15–20 hours/week, should I count only the actual hours worked during those weeks toward the 1,560-hour CEC requirement?

My immigration lawyer advised me to treat the GRTW period as part-time work experience, even though my underlying position was full-time.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with a similar GRTW situation, especially if you have experience with CEC applications or IRCC.

Thank you

 

[Naturgrl]

You only count the hours worked.

 

[little girl]

Yes, I’m only counting the hours I actually worked. I’m just not sure whether I need to enter them as separate work experience entries in my EE profile. I remained in the same full-time line with the same employer; I simply worked fewer hours during the GRTW period. So I’m wondering whether I should list it as a separate part-time period, or keep it under the same full-time employment since my position and employer didn’t change.

 

[sarzamineno]

Your lawyer’s approach is consistent with IRCC’s published CEC rules.

For the Canadian Experience Class, IRCC counts actual qualifying hours worked, not simply the fact that your underlying position is classified as full-time. The requirement is at least 1 year / 1,560 hours of eligible Canadian work experience, with full-time defined as up to 30 hours per week. Part-time work can also count, but it has to be converted based on the actual hours worked.

So if, during your Graduated Return to Work period, you were actually working around 15–20 hours per week, the safer interpretation is to count those weeks using the actual hours worked rather than claiming them as 37.5-hour full-time weeks.

IRCC also says that hours above 30 per week do not give you extra credit toward the minimum requirement, and part-time work can be accumulated until you reach the required total.

So in practical terms:
normal weeks: count up to 30 hours/week
GRTW weeks: count the actual 15–20 hours/week you worked

I’d also make sure your employer letter or supporting documents accurately reflect the reduced-hours GRTW period, so the work-history calculation matches the evidence submitted.