Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?
Originally Posted by
Rylant
Yes. If you don't have work for the employee, you absolutely can lay them off. Another misunderstood aspect of EI, is that a lay off means that the employee will never return to the company, which is not necessarily true. In many cases, the employer WILL have work for the employee in the future, just not now, so they issue a temporary lay off. Once the workload returns, the employee can begin to work again for the employer.
I would recommend that if you need to lay this employee off, ensure that you submit an ROE to us electronically if you can (Some employers don't have the set up to send electronically), and ensure that the Reason for Separation is "A - Shortage of Work". This will ensure that a Reason for Separation review will not need to be done as "A - Shortage of Work" is non-contentious. If you cannot submit the ROE to us Electronically, ensure that you get a paper copy to the employee as soon as possible and advise them to submit it to us. Also, you could advise the employee to submit an application for Regular EI benefits online as early as their last day of work (You can't apply before your last day).
Hope this helps.
Rylant
Good points. I'll add a couple things regarding lay-offs.
First, to be clear, legally speaking a "lay-off" is as Rylant describes; a temporary status wherein the employee is not working and not paid bu the employer hopes to recall the employee to work shortly. The cause of a lay-off is usually lack of business for the company and the hope is that in a short period of time the employee will be recalled and return to work. Many people use the term "lay-off" when they are permanently terminated without cause because it sounds nicer but "lay-off" and "termination without cause" are legally speaking very distinct.
If you are going to issue a temporary lay-off notice to an employee make sure you check the requirements in your provincial Employment Standards Code. As an example, in Alberta a lay-off notice must:
1. Be in writing;
2. state the lay-off is temporary;
3. state the date the lay-off starts;
4. include a copy of sections 63-64 of the Employment Standards Code.
Further, the lay-off cannot last longer than 60 days total within a 120 day period. If an employee is not recalled within 60 days then the employee is deemed terminated under the Code and is entitled to termination pay.
*The above is merely general legal information and not legal advice*
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