[Merged] Ask me anything about EI (Employment Insurance) Benefits!

[Dilton]

HOWEVER, since you only left your old job for only a week, you have to make an attempt to get your old job back. It is very important. It only applies to people who lost their new jobs soon after they quit their old jobs. Not making any attempt to go back to your old job will raise a question mark in our minds.

What if the new job is in a new city and I have already moved to the new city?

[bhrm]

Possibly.

And just to clarify about these "hub offices", Kitchener office is one of them and it is practically half empty. Walk in any Service Canada processing centres and there are more empty desks than you can imagine. This is why some units in Toronto are still working on school-related claims from July. It's ridiculous that they have returned to work for over a month and yet their EI claim from the summer has still not been processed.

All the decisions to downsize EI processing capacity are politically driven. Tony Clement just admitted that senior executives (those who earn over $100k or 150k) will receive performance bonus pending on how much spending they cut. The easiest way is to reduce the head-counts while sacrificing services provided by the government. But hey, all the money saved here will be used to build brand new prisons and put more people in jail. [/end rant]

high five!

I love the time when they created the Dire Needs unit....basically taking people away from the processing unit...short staffing that...and creating a new unit that's supposed to speed up claims caused by not having enough people in the main unit!

I figured that the government only cut the services that hand out money such as EI, CPP, OAS....and the services that collect the money are untouched like CRA, CIC, CBSA....

[alamshahid]

My wife is currently around 6 months pregnant; in her work place no woman has made it to mat leave. They've all been let go prior to their due date.

She's worried that her time is coming up soon as management has started to give hints that she should look for another job... we're concerned that with her being this far along in pregnancy that 1) it may cause undue stress on the baby; 2) who would want to hire a pregnant woman so close to delivery.

If she were let go; could she apply for sickness benefit; instead of regular EI? We have been talking to our family doctor about the stress work is placing.

My wife is due in February and if she lost her job what are her options...

Thanks.

[b166er1337]

My wife is currently around 6 months pregnant; in her work place no woman has made it to mat leave. They've all been let go prior to their due date.

She's worried that her time is coming up soon as management has started to give hints that she should look for another job... we're concerned that with her being this far along in pregnancy that 1) it may cause undue stress on the baby; 2) who would want to hire a pregnant woman so close to delivery.

If she were let go; could she apply for sickness benefit; instead of regular EI? We have been talking to our family doctor about the stress work is placing.

My wife is due in February and if she lost her job what are her options...

Thanks.

Definitely yes. Refer to EI Digest 12.2.2: http://goo.gl/4YEuu.

12.2.2 Sickness Benefits Within the Maternity Period

A woman who is pregnant may choose and be entitled to sickness benefits during the maternity period. Although pregnancy and childbirth are not considered to be illnesses, complications with respect to either may be. To receive sickness benefits the claimant must prove she is unable to work because of complications due to her pregnancy or childbirth or because of an unrelated illness and that except for her inability to work, she would be otherwise available.

You can then switch the claim to maternity benefits when it becomes payable (eight weeks before the week in which her confinement is expected).

Digest 12.2.1 says:

Under the EI program, each type of special benefits has an individual maximum number of weeks payable per benefit period Individual maximums are1: for maternity benefits 15 weeks; for parental benefits 35 weeks; for sickness benefits 15 weeks and for compassionate care benefits 6 weeks.

Special benefits may be paid in any combination during a benefit period provided the claimant proves entitlement for each type of benefit. The maximum number of weeks of benefits payable when regular and special benefits are combined is 50 weeks. The maximum special benefits payable in a benefit period when regular benefits were not paid are: 65 weeks when maternity, parental and illness benefits are combined.

Therefore, if your wife is let go due to no fault of her own (other than being pregnant ), and that she can provide medical proof of her incapacity to work due to pregnant-related complications, she can collect up to 65 weeks of EI benefits. If she start off with regular benefits, she can only collect up to 50 weeks (regular + maternity + parental combined).

[scuba2day]

I have been wondering about the rules with regard to taking time off while receiving benefits.
For example. Been working for several years and got layed off.
I would expect there would be 4 months of severance pay.

If one wanted to take time off, to travel for example, after applying for benefits and completing the reporting forms as not "ready, able and willing to work", I assume the benefits would start upon return and "ready, able and willing to work"? As I understand the rules: The benefits must be used within 52 weeks of the "start date" of your benefits. The number of weeks of benefits in the GTA is 40 I believe. So a 12 week vacation would still result in receiving the maximum number of benefit weeks. I am unclear how the severance pay factors into the claim. Also, I am not clear on how does one determine the start date? Would the 2 weeks waiting period delay the "start date"?

[b166er1337]

I have been wondering about the rules with regard to taking time off while receiving benefits.
For example. Been working for several years and got layed off.
I would expect there would be 4 months of severance pay.

You have a lot of excellent questions, let's go over your example, assuming you apply on time and the last day of work is Sep 30, 2011.

Your BPC (Benefit Period Commencement) will be the week of Oct 2, 2011. Your severance pay will be allocated until Jan 28, 2012. That means, no matter what you do during the allocation period, NO benefit will be paybale. As such, you don't have to file your claimant's reports (but do remember to reapply toward the end of the allocation). You do not have to prove your availability, therefore you can travel all you want. Your benefit period is accordingly extended for four months (in this particular case, the BP will be from week of Oct 2, 2011 to Jan 27, 2013).

Your benefits will be payable as of the week of Jan 29, 2012. The first two weeks are waiting period, you have the subsequent 50 weeks to collect your entitlement. I believe the current maximum entitlement in GTA is 44 weeks.

The benefit period can be extended up to 52 weeks. So for someone who lost their job while receiving 2 year worth of severance pay, they are out of luck as the allocation will run the entire benefit period. But hey, when you get such an awesome severance, you shouldn't complain.

[belcan15]

hey,

im sure many have gone thru this situation but wanted to reassure my self by asking again :-)

Ive been working with my company in kitchener for five years. Just got recently married. never lived together with my wife. Wife recently got a job in the federal government in ottawa. She tried to get a transfer to kitchener and applied for new jobs here, no luck.

We have decided I am going to voluntarily leave my current job ( in the private sector) and move to ottawa. my company donesnt have any branches on ottawa and obviously i cannot commute.

Reason for my leaving : Government career > Private sector Career

Can i apply for Ei and get benefits while i look for a new job there? Does this justify as Just cause ? this is the excerpt from the service canada website

'Individuals who are married or in a common-law relationship sometimes have to move when one of them is transferred or obtains employment in another place, requiring the other person to leave their job. In these cases, it must be determined whether the person had other reasonable alternatives, such as requesting a transfer or commuting between the new place of residence and the work site that might have made it possible for them to keep their job.'

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/e...0.shtml#a6_5_3

Any advice for me? :-)

[b166er1337]

Can i apply for Ei and get benefits while i look for a new job there? Does this justify as Just cause ? this is the excerpt from the service canada website

'Individuals who are married or in a common-law relationship sometimes have to move when one of them is transferred or obtains employment in another place, requiring the other person to leave their job. In these cases, it must be determined whether the person had other reasonable alternatives, such as requesting a transfer or commuting between the new place of residence and the work site that might have made it possible for them to keep their job.'

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/e...0.shtml#a6_5_3

Any advice for me? :-)

Yap, it's actually a level one decision. As long as you have exhausted all reasonable alternatives (requesting a transfer - not feasible; commuting - unlikely), your VL will be allowed. Congratulations on getting married.

[b166er1337]

Here is a news article for those who are interested:

NDP unveil 'shocking' stats that reveal EI service delays:
http://goo.gl/JQgEk

Internal call data documents suggest nearly one-quarter of calls for employment insurance were abandoned in September because callers couldn't reach an agent.

Meanwhile, in places such as Winnipeg and Vancouver, one in three calls were abandoned. Furthermore, in the last week of September, half of all Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security callers got a busy signal.

Of course, this level of service is unacceptable in the private sector, why is it acceptable to the Conservatives?

[clipz]

Hey OP, I had a seasonal job which just ended i only banked 600 hours am I still eligible?

[ClubberLang]

As a formal Service Canada Payment Service Officer and Benefits Officer of several years, I know pretty much about everything regarding Regular EI Benefits. Since there are numerous EI-related threads on RFD, I feel there should be a centralized thread to discuss all things EI related. Feel free to ask about Special Benefits as well; I will do my best to answer all questions.

Of course, questions about how to cheat the system will be ignored. Ask away.

Useful links for EI Benefits:
1) EI Digest: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/e...contents.shtml
2) Appeal decisions favorable to claimants: http://www.ae-ei.gc.ca/eng/board/fav...ions_toc.shtml
3) Jurisprudence Index: http://srv130.services.gc.ca/indexju.../eng/case.aspx

update 1: all the links and information provided can be found on Service Canada website and they are publicly accessible.

update 2: links updated

I am sure your intentions are well , but presenting yourself as an employee of the Comission and offering informal advice over the internet is a possible contravention of Values and Ethics Guidelines. Please think about it.

[theguyz]

Hey OP, I had a seasonal job which just ended i only banked 600 hours am I still eligible?

Its all dependant on your area's unemployment rate and if 1st time on ei..... 1st time you require 900 + hours....then the next is calculated by your area's unemployment rate, my area requires 560 hours.....


Mind you the less hours you have the less time you have towards entitlement but think minumum is 18 weeks???? The more hours = longer length to max.

[AngryAccountant]

Why someone would solicit advice on this topic from an anonymous poster on a message board is beyond me.

[b166er1337]

Why someone would solicit advice on this topic from an anonymous poster on a message board is beyond me.

Maybe because they couldn't get through the call centre to reach an agent?

[lithium_09]

I will be leaving my job to go back to school for a year after working full time for 4 years. Since I can't demonstrate that I'm able to work, I assume I can't receive EI benefits while in school. However, when I graduate, I may not have a job right away. Am I eligible for EI in the time period after I graduate but before I secure my new job?