EI (Employment Insurance) discussion thread

Hello, I was laid off and my last day of work was Nov 16. I received my last pay cheque for the week of Nov 16 on Nov 23. I filed for EI on Nov 16. I have already found a job and I will begin on Dec 3. Am I entitled to receive an EI cheque for the 2 week period of Nov 17 to Dec 2 that I am unemployed?

Thank you!

blittle18 wrote: ↑

Nov 26th, 2012 8:44 pm

I just took a new job and have relocated from one province to another. My wife works at walmart in the evening after I return from work so I can watch the children. See got a leave from walmart so she can watch our children and make arrangement for everyone to move up after the holidays. When she applied she was told that she didnt qualify because she is not available for work now. when she moves she will be able to transfer to the walmart in our new area, that is why she got the leave instead of quitting.

I don't understand why she would be told she does not qualify. I am hoping you can provide some insight.

Because she's not looking for full time work. She's busy taking care of the kids. She may have just cause for leaving her employment, but she needs to show she is ready, willing and capable to work full time

Quickfox74 wrote: ↑

Nov 26th, 2012 9:10 pm

Hello, I was laid off and my last day of work was Nov 16. I received my last pay cheque for the week of Nov 16 on Nov 23. I filed for EI on Nov 16. I have already found a job and I will begin on Dec 3. Am I entitled to receive an EI cheque for the 2 week period of Nov 17 to Dec 2 that I am unemployed?

Thank you!

No. You need to serve a 2 week waiting period before you start to receive money. Think of it like a deductible

clseea wrote: ↑

Nov 26th, 2012 9:41 pm

Because she's not looking for full time work. She's busy taking care of the kids. She may have just cause for leaving her employment, but she needs to show she is ready, willing and capable to work full time

Thank you for the response. Before she left work she used to work part time in the nights and she was able to make some arrangements to have someone watch our youngest who was not in school during the days, but walmart was not able to offer her any hours at that time. It was only at that point she took the leave.

Also, if she is turned down now, is she able to start getting it when she relocates and at what point would she be able to start getting it.

blittle18 wrote: ↑

Nov 27th, 2012 7:56 am

Thank you for the response. Before she left work she used to work part time in the nights and she was able to make some arrangements to have someone watch our youngest who was not in school during the days, but walmart was not able to offer her any hours at that time. It was only at that point she took the leave.

Also, if she is turned down now, is she able to start getting it when she relocates and at what point would she be able to start getting it.

Did she explain her situation in the initial EI application? Did she work only part time hours before taking the leave?

When she relocates, all she has to prove is that she has arranged childcare and that she is available for work.

This is a great thread. I'd like to get some opinions from experienced people on my situation as well.

My wife and I used to live in Ottawa. In early Feb, I got laid off due to restructuring of the company. Luckily, I got a job offer in March, but it's in Kitchener. After some thoughts we decided to relocate to Kitchener. My wife was a full-time daycare worker and she had to quit her job to relocate to Kitchener with me. Because of this she had applied for EI and it went smoothly.

Then my wife was looking for job in Kitchener and in around late April, she found a "casual" job. It's actually a placement position, which means that she would substitute any daycare workers when they were absent/on vacation. The supervisor told her that there was no work for her until maybe end of June, but wanted her to register anyways so that she can be available when needed. She was asked to attend an orientation and did some paperwork in April and May. It's nice that she actually got a couple hours of pay for these activities.

In early June, we found that my wife was pregnant (first time). We were worried that the daycare environment was not a good place for her to work in (she got cold/flu from kids relatively easily), so she told her supervisor that she will not continue to work in this placement position. It's some sort of quitting but I'm not sure if it was because she had not even started working. We thought maybe we could look for other kinds of job but did not want to stay in daycare within this period. Of course, it was much harder for other jobs as she had no experience. So she continued to receive EI.

Recently we got a letter from some investigation group for EI. They asked us why we didn't report when my wife quit the job, and if she quit because of pregnancy how would she be "willing and available" to work. We basically sent a letter back explaining what I had explained above. We have not got any ruling yet, but some questions came to mind:
- Does being pregnant stop my wife to receive EI? Does she need to report it to EI department?
- Regardless of being pregnant or not, does quitting a part-time job actually destroy the entitlement of further EI?
- In the case of my wife, will she likely be asked to repay all or part of the EI she has received so far? In what time frame will this be known (i.e. will there be a letter coming years later asking us to repay, even if we don't get anything in the near future)?
- Any chance my wife can apply/switch to for Maternity EI in this situation, assuming that her EI period has not ended yet?

Sorry for the long read and thanks for any help.

I am wondering,

I just got laid off and am thinking of starting a business instead. Can I receive EI benefits while taking some time to figure out my business?

Thanks alot.

ultra_man99 wrote: ↑

Nov 27th, 2012 4:35 pm

I am wondering,

I just got laid off and am thinking of starting a business instead. Can I receive EI benefits while taking some time to figure out my business?

Thanks alot.

No. You need to be looking for full time work

tiredboy wrote: ↑

Nov 27th, 2012 3:05 pm

...................
- Does being pregnant stop my wife to receive EI? Does she need to report it to EI department?
- Regardless of being pregnant or not, does quitting a part-time job actually destroy the entitlement of further EI?
- In the case of my wife, will she likely be asked to repay all or part of the EI she has received so far? In what time frame will this be known (i.e. will there be a letter coming years later asking us to repay, even if we don't get anything in the near future)?
- Any chance my wife can apply/switch to for Maternity EI in this situation, assuming that her EI period has not ended yet?

Sorry for the long read and thanks for any help.

1) Being pregnant doesn't prevent your wife from collecting EI. If she expects to collect regular benefits, she needs to be actively looking for full time employment. She doesn't need to report being pregnant, unless she plans on collecting maternity/parental benefits.
2) Quitting a part time job without just cause will prevent you from collecting benefits. In your wife's case, she may have just cause for quitting the job (due to health concerns), but she would have needed to exhaust all alternatives prior to quitting. This could include switching shifts, changing positions at the day care to avoid face to face contact with the kids etc etc (possibly not likely given the environment).
3) She shouldn't be asked to repay. She legitimately qualified for benefits initially. She may be asked to repay the portion she received after quitting (if anything), if it is ruled she quit without just cause. It can take awhile - this time of year probably at least a month
4) Depends how far along she is. You can switch to maternity benefits as early as 8 weeks prior to the due date. If she's feeling ill, she could collect sick benefits prior to maternity. Just get a doctor's note. Keep in mind that when you combine regular benefits with any other type, you can only collect a maximum of 50 weeks.

Hope that helps

b166er1337 wrote: ↑

Nov 27th, 2012 11:01 am

Did she explain her situation in the initial EI application? Did she work only part time hours before taking the leave?

When she relocates, all she has to prove is that she has arranged childcare and that she is available for work.

Yes she only worked about 20 hours/wk in the evenings, she was able to get a friend to watch the youngest during the day, but all the day shifts were taking and they could not fit her into the schedule. at that point she took the leave, we never expected the relocation to take so long, but the sale of our home fell through and it has delayed us buying in new location.

Hi everyone i have a question. I work at a small store owned by my uncle. I work for 5 months and then get laid off and draw. While im drawing i work about 10 hours a week. Under the new system will they make me look for a different job or make me get a second job because i only get 10 hours a week while drawing. How does that work. Is there a certain amount of hours u need per week for them to leave you alone?

Hi. I have a question about job search out of province. I am currently on a 1 year contract to fill in for a mat leave. It is ending this week, and i haven't had any luck finding jobs so far.

I will be applying for E.I next week. My question is, how long does it usually take to go through? I am planning to go to Alberta for job search in late Dec, would this affect my EI? should i stay until it's approved and would job searching in Alberta be an issue? thanks

Hi there,

I have few questions regarding EI. I got laid off yesterday after working full time for more than a year in a company and they said I have two weeks before my benefits is cut (I assume that is part of their 2 weeks notice?) , and I am 28 weeks pregnant.

1) According to the policy of my company, eligible employees could start their maternity leave up to 17 weeks prior to the expected date of delivery, and the company tops up EI up to 65% of their actual salary, so basically, I am eligible to go on maternity leave, but I had not given them the required 2-week written notice (because I wanted to start my leave few weeks later), now am I eligible for the top up if I give them my two-weeks notice today? I just saw on the government of Ontario website that I cannot be fired or let go if I am eligible for to take pregnancy or parental leave (http://www.worksmartontario.gov.on.ca/s ... D=1-5-3#H5), can I refer to that and ask them to top up my EI and start my maternity leave 2 weeks from now?

2) Assuming the answer to the above question is no, my next question is they offered me to give me 4 more weeks of my salary either in lump sum or in 2 installments, which one is better when I'm applying for EI?

blittle18 wrote: ↑

Nov 27th, 2012 6:42 pm

Yes she only worked about 20 hours/wk in the evenings, she was able to get a friend to watch the youngest during the day, but all the day shifts were taking and they could not fit her into the schedule. at that point she took the leave, we never expected the relocation to take so long, but the sale of our home fell through and it has delayed us buying in new location.

She can apply, and explain in details that Walmart no longer offered shifts suitable to her schedule. Be very specific that she established her claim on a part time basis, so she does not have to prove availability for full time work in the near future.

cbr600 wrote: ↑

Nov 29th, 2012 2:02 pm

Hi. I have a question about job search out of province. I am currently on a 1 year contract to fill in for a mat leave. It is ending this week, and i haven't had any luck finding jobs so far.

I will be applying for E.I next week. My question is, how long does it usually take to go through? I am planning to go to Alberta for job search in late Dec, would this affect my EI? should i stay until it's approved and would job searching in Alberta be an issue? thanks

Nope. The only issue you will have is your availability during your relocation process. Since you will be too busy moving to work full time during relocation, you will not be entitled to benefits during this time. However, if you only bring 2 suitcases and fly here, then there won't be an availability issue.