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Thread: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Thanks for doing this!

    Our company is consider the Work Sharing Program.

    To what percentage does EI top up someone on the Work Share Program? Or is that another department that looks after that arrangement?

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Quote Originally Posted by sLeePickeR View Post
    Hey Rylant. You rock. Some background info. I'm self employed (sole proprietor making professional income). I haven't paid any EI premiums from previous tax returns so I don't quality for special benefits for self-employed people (i.e. sickness benefits). I'm currently in self isolation (working from home) and probably for a few more weeks. The company I work for has slashed hours for all consultants from 5 days a week to 2 days a week. From the third post above, it seems I may be eligible for the Emergency Care Benefit. I wanted to hear your thoughts and make sure I'm not missing on anything. Thanks in advance.
    Hey Bud. Ya that is right. Like I said, this is new legislation and a new benefit, so I don't know any more about it than most. I know that they are fleshing out the details and I will post them here as I see them. At work, I am getting daily updates on the benefit, but it is just the info that was posted in that previous post so far. Details will come in soon about the exact qualifying criteria and how to apply. I will let you know as I see it.

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Quote Originally Posted by PenguinHunter View Post
    Thanks for doing this!

    Our company is consider the Work Sharing Program.

    To what percentage does EI top up someone on the Work Share Program? Or is that another department that looks after that arrangement?
    Work sharing... it is fairly complicated. Essentially, it's a 3 party agreement involving employers, employees and Service Canada. It is used to avoid mass layoffs when there is a reduction in the normal level of business activity that is beyond the employer's control. I expect to see many more of these pop up than normal in the next little while. Employees on a work sharing agreement agree to a reduced schedule and share the available work over a specific period of time. The goal is to avoid layoffs and return the employees to a normal work schedule by the end of the agreement which is between 6 and 26 weeks, with a possibility of a 12 week extension.

    Both the employer and employee have to meet criteria to be eligible. Available work has to be shared between all employees. To be honest, the formulas they use to calculate your payments are quite complicated. Essentially, what it comes down to, is they calculate how many hours you would have worked in a normal week before the employer encountered a reduction in available hours. If your work schedule was not consistent, they would use an average. They then look at how many hours you are working in the reduced capacity, and then top you up to what you would normally have made before the reduction. For example, if you normally worked 36 hours per week before the reduction, and then after the reduction you worked 26 hours one week, EI would pay you the 10 hours difference. There are limits and maximums. If you work at another job part time while on work sharing with another employer, it complicates things.

    To be honest, the work sharing idea is great, but it is pretty clunky. People who are on a normal EI submit their reports when they are due, and they receive any payment that they are entitled to 2 - 3 business days later in their bank account by direct deposit. It's pretty consistent. In work sharing, the employee has to submit his reports. The employer also submits reports. Then an EI agent compares the two reports and pays out what is owed. The problem is, that often we are waiting for an employer to submit reports, or the employee to submit reports, and if the reports don't add up, an EI processing agent has to review it and call the employer or employee to figure out what is going on. This can delay payments quite a bit.

    I hope that this makes sense. Let me know if you have any other questions.

    Rylant

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    I might be in this situation at some point soon. The only part that confuses me is the report providing proof that I'm seeking other work. What if I'm not really looking for work since I'm heading back to my old job after society re-opens? Do I still have to send a resume around and provide records?


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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Thanks for doing this Rylant.

    Our company is in the essential manufacturing supply chain (pharma/gas/energy etc).
    We're a pretty small company and have 1 employee we would like to 'lay-off' for the foreseeable future - are we able to do that?
    Can he get EI if we are open? Can we re-hire him once everything goes back to normal?

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Quote Originally Posted by ericdaoust View Post
    I might be in this situation at some point soon. The only part that confuses me is the report providing proof that I'm seeking other work. What if I'm not really looking for work since I'm heading back to my old job after society re-opens? Do I still have to send a resume around and provide records?
    The availability criteria is one of the most important, and also one of the most misunderstood aspects of collecting Regular EI benefits. It has also undergone some changes since the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Previously, to collect Regular EI, you have to be available for and seeking full time employment. Period. This is widely misunderstood and it really becomes apparent in cases where somebody is laid off temporarily, but knows that they will be returning to that same job some time later. You see, EI will pay out people who are eligible, but the condition is that they have to be doing everything in their power to not need EI, which means looking for full time work. The purpose of EI is NOT to pay you while you wait on your couch for your job to start up again. This is quite common, for instance, in teachers who look to collect EI during the Christmas break, March break and Summer break. Some teachers understand the concept, but many do not. I can't tell you how many times I asked a teacher, while they were collecting EI during the Summer, "are you currently seeking full time employment?" A lot of times, they would dance around it even though it really is a "Yes" or "No" answer. I would get "Why would I be looking for work? I have a job..." Or "I am going back in September." If it became obvious that they were not looking for work or if they flat out refused to answer the question, I would put a stop-pay on the claim and ask that a Tier 3 agent review their availability.

    Prior to Covid-19, you don't have to prove your availability to work. However, EI does ask people at random (It's about 1 in 3 claims) to submit a detailed job search. Also, if we had reason to believe that you were not seeking full time employment like the teacher in the previous paragraph, they will ask for a detailed job search. An agent would review your job search, and if they were satisfied that you were seeking full time employment, your payments would continue. If they determine that you were not seeking full time employment to a satisfactory level, they would stop payment on your claim. They would advise you that in order to continue receiving payments, you have to start seeking full time employment. They would ask you to submit a job search say, in two weeks, and if that job search satisfied the criteria, you payments would continue. If they determined that you were not seeking full time employment to a satisfactory level, they may also ask you to pay back payments that you had already received being you were not meeting the criteria to collect Regular EI at the time. My advise to people on Regular EI prior to Covid-19 was ensure that you are seeking full time work, keep a detailed log of the places you have applied and the places you have interviewed, answer "yes" to the availability question, and if they ask you for a detailed job search, provide it to them then.

    Now, since the threat of Covid-19, the availability question has changed. The question is now "If if wasn't for the Covid-19 threat, would you be available for and seeking full time employment?" In your case, you could answer "yes". While Covid-19 has society in its grips, they aren't asking that you seek full-time employment. Once society returns back to normal, I expect the availability question to return to the way it was before.

    I hope that this helps.

    Rylant

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Quote Originally Posted by dooley89 View Post
    Thanks for doing this Rylant.

    Our company is in the essential manufacturing supply chain (pharma/gas/energy etc).
    We're a pretty small company and have 1 employee we would like to 'lay-off' for the foreseeable future - are we able to do that?
    Can he get EI if we are open? Can we re-hire him once everything goes back to normal?
    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

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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rylant View Post
    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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    Quote Originally Posted by Rylant View Post
    The availability criteria is one of the most important, and also one of the most misunderstood aspects of collecting Regular EI benefits. It has also undergone some changes since the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Previously, to collect Regular EI, you have to be available for and seeking full time employment. Period. This is widely misunderstood and it really becomes apparent in cases where somebody is laid off temporarily, but knows that they will be returning to that same job some time later. You see, EI will pay out people who are eligible, but the condition is that they have to be doing everything in their power to not need EI, which means looking for full time work. The purpose of EI is NOT to pay you while you wait on your couch for your job to start up again. This is quite common, for instance, in teachers who look to collect EI during the Christmas break, March break and Summer break. Some teachers understand the concept, but many do not. I can't tell you how many times I asked a teacher, while they were collecting EI during the Summer, "are you currently seeking full time employment?" A lot of times, they would dance around it even though it really is a "Yes" or "No" answer. I would get "Why would I be looking for work? I have a job..." Or "I am going back in September." If it became obvious that they were not looking for work or if they flat out refused to answer the question, I would put a stop-pay on the claim and ask that a Tier 3 agent review their availability.

    Prior to Covid-19, you don't have to prove your availability to work. However, EI does ask people at random (It's about 1 in 3 claims) to submit a detailed job search. Also, if we had reason to believe that you were not seeking full time employment like the teacher in the previous paragraph, they will ask for a detailed job search. An agent would review your job search, and if they were satisfied that you were seeking full time employment, your payments would continue. If they determine that you were not seeking full time employment to a satisfactory level, they would stop payment on your claim. They would advise you that in order to continue receiving payments, you have to start seeking full time employment. They would ask you to submit a job search say, in two weeks, and if that job search satisfied the criteria, you payments would continue. If they determined that you were not seeking full time employment to a satisfactory level, they may also ask you to pay back payments that you had already received being you were not meeting the criteria to collect Regular EI at the time. My advise to people on Regular EI prior to Covid-19 was ensure that you are seeking full time work, keep a detailed log of the places you have applied and the places you have interviewed, answer "yes" to the availability question, and if they ask you for a detailed job search, provide it to them then.

    Now, since the threat of Covid-19, the availability question has changed. The question is now "If if wasn't for the Covid-19 threat, would you be available for and seeking full time employment?" In your case, you could answer "yes". While Covid-19 has society in its grips, they aren't asking that you seek full-time employment. Once society returns back to normal, I expect the availability question to return to the way it was before.

    I hope that this helps.

    Rylant
    Thanks. I'm being laid off Friday so this info will come in handy!


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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Rylant

    Again, thank-you. I have submitted the application and now we wait...
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    Quote Originally Posted by GavinC View Post
    Awesome man, my gf and I are both self employed, she's a small business owner (closed her shop last week), and I'm a home-based freelancer (most of my projects have been cancelled). From what I understand applications for non-EI eligible people aren't kicking in until April, you have any insight there? Bit hard to track down info, looked through our cra online accounts, but doesn't seem to be any concrete information yet.
    The Emergency Care Benefit will be issued by the Canada Revenue Agency - NOT - Employment Insurance/Service Canada .. I'm pretty sure we will have hundreds apply to Service Canada in error & end up delaying their benefits by months in doing so.

    To implement a new benefit type/program in the eye of a storm is either heroic or stupid. Please spend the time researching to properly inform yourself before applying.
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    Default Re: Any Employment Insurance questions out there?

    Hey Rylant.


    I have a question. Sorry if this has been asked. My wife is dealing with some nonsense. She is currently 6+ months pregnant and her employer is making a lay-off in her department but using this as a way to get rid of her on a temporary manner instead of a real layoff which would give her a severance package.

    My question is, if she takes the layoff for essentially 2 months, will this impact her Mat leave that she has coming? Will it take two months of eligibility off of it? Or will this be separate. Any help would greatly be appreciated
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    Quote Originally Posted by LawMan View Post
    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*
    Great points, as always, Lawman!

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    Quote Originally Posted by lucafen4 View Post
    The Emergency Care Benefit will be issued by the Canada Revenue Agency - NOT - Employment Insurance/Service Canada .. I'm pretty sure we will have hundreds apply to Service Canada in error & end up delaying their benefits by months in doing so.

    To implement a new benefit type/program in the eye of a storm is either heroic or stupid. Please spend the time researching to properly inform yourself before applying.
    Yes, this is a good point as well. Thanks Lucafen4. While the CRA and EI are both factions of the Federal Government, we are definitely not the same thing. There can be some overlap with different types of benefits in that the CRA can conduct rulings that we need, and dependent on the outcome of those rulings, we may or may not pay out. For instance, the CRA determines eligibility for the Family Supplement, however EI pays it out. Right now, it looks as though the Emergency Care Benefit will be issued by the CRA as you have suggested.

    Rylant

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    Quote Originally Posted by golfguy1672 View Post
    Hey Rylant.


    I have a question. Sorry if this has been asked. My wife is dealing with some nonsense. She is currently 6+ months pregnant and her employer is making a lay-off in her department but using this as a way to get rid of her on a temporary manner instead of a real layoff which would give her a severance package.

    My question is, if she takes the layoff for essentially 2 months, will this impact her Mat leave that she has coming? Will it take two months of eligibility off of it? Or will this be separate. Any help would greatly be appreciated
    I can jump in. First there's no - yes/no answer in EI. It's this, that or if/when.. blah, blah, blah...

    The key with maternity/parental benefits is 600 hours. 600 hours is calculated based on her last 52 weeks (qualifying period). If she has 600 hours in the last calendar year. She's good. If she waits two months to apply - the benefit period will be established the Sunday prior to her application (IE apply March 25 - claim starts March 22 - always a Sunday).

    If she is within 12 weeks of her expected due date - she can apply for maternity benefits.
    If she is outside that 12 week window. She is better off waiting until closer to due date.
    Unless (there's always a but with EI) she cannot work due to medical reasons. Sickness could then be paid prior to the maternity benefit window.
    Sickness weeks get added onto the beginning of the claim - essentially creating an extension of the 52 week benefit period.
    **Regular benefits will start the clock on her benefit and the claim will end 52 weeks after the benefit period is established

    Benefit of waiting. on a normal maternity/parental claim. She's 6mths pregnant - due date I'll set as June 1st.
    If she applies now. She would be in her maternity window (count back from June 1 by weeks - it's less than 12.)
    Her claim will end 12 months from now (unless she requests the extended parental - reduce EI rate 33% vs 55% & 61 weeks parental + 15 weeks maternity vs. standard 35wks parental & 15 weeks maternity)
    This means her claim would end in March 2021 & child is 9mths old.

    If your wife delays closer to due date - as weeks tick by - hours will fall off the back end of the claim - 600 hours is the magic number.
    Apply now EI will capture hours from March 25 2020 to March 26 2019. If she applies June 1 (used for this example) EI will capture ours from June 1 2020 to June 2 2019.
    Hours will drop off from March to June 2019.
    Only benefit to waiting - if hours aren't a concern - the claim will end later. Finding childcare for a 9mth old is much harder than 13mths old. That's a personal consideration between you and your wife.

    All that said - applying for sickness first bridges the divide. Sickness gets added on to the beginning of the claim until due date or maternity requested. Maternity must begin the week child is born.
    That would also be where the BPC clock begins.

    Meaning May 31 2020 - May 28 2021 would be the benefit period - AND collect from now to May 31.
    Sickness is contingent on not being able to work due to medical reasons in this period.

    Writing this out on a calendar or creating a timeline of dates from the above info will make the muddy waters clear a bit.
    it's confusing at the best of times to explain. So many variables - different dates - benefit types .

    Hope this helps.
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