Employment Insurance (EI)
Most employees qualify for government employment insurance (“EI”) that will pay them a salary while they are not working for some reason, including:
- regular benefits for people whose employment was terminated without cause;
- sickness benefits for people who are unable to work due to illness or injury;
- maternity and parental benefits for pregnant women, individuals who have recently had a baby and individuals who have adopted a baby;
- compassionate care benefits for people who have to leave work to care for a gravely ill family member.
Sometimes, however, individuals can be denied government employment insurance benefits. For example, you are only entitled to EI regular benefits if you:
- were employed;
- lost your job through no fault of your own;
- have worked for the required number of hours since your last EI claim;
- are ready, willing and capable of working every weak day; and
- are actively looking for work.
You may not be entitled for benefits:
- if you voluntarily left your job without just cause (unless you were constructively dismissed);
- if you were dismissed for just cause (this is usually easy to disprove unless it was very serious misconduct);
- if you are unemployed because you on strike.
If Service Canada denies EI benefits, or does something such as ordering that EI benefits received are to be repaid, or sends a warning letter, or imposes a penalty of any kind, you should contact an employment lawyer who specializes in EI disputes. They will handle the appeal for you, at a marginal cost, as these kind of disputes are not complicated and proceed to a hearing very quickly.
If you would like to learn more, please contact us.