Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) program is Canada’s financial safety net for individuals who lose their employment.
One particular question about EI my law firm would often receive is when (what day) are EI payments made?
EI Payment Dates in 2024
First and foremost, there is no uniform EI payment date for everyone.
Your first payment should come about 28 days (give or take) after you are approved for EI so long as you have direct deposit set up and you have completed your first EI report on time.
If you haven’t set up direct deposit or completed your first EI report, your first payment will be delayed.
Thereafter, EI payments are made bi-weekly approximately a few weekdays after you complete your bi-weekly EI report. Hence, assuming you use direct deposit, for example, if you complete your EI report every other Friday, you could get paid your EI every other Tuesday. Likewise, for example, if you complete your EI report on Mondays, you could get paid your EI on Fridays.
In short, if you always do your EI reports on time and you have direct deposit setup, your EI payments will consistently come on the same day of the week, every other week.
When and How are EI Payments Received?
Like I said above, after you receive your first EI payment, the rest of your EI payments are typically every two weeks, so long as you have completed your bi-weekly EI report on time. If you do not have direct deposit, your payment will be delayed a few days or even a week.
It’s important to note that EI does not pay you in advance of EI reports. Therefore, submitting your EI report late will result in a delayed payment.
Also, I should stress here: Using snail mail instead of direct deposit will make your EI payment dates much less consistent.
Considerations Surrounding National Holidays
A federal holiday could, but does not always, delay your EI payment by a day due to your bank’s operating hours.
Summary: EI Payment Dates
In conclusion there is no one date on the calendar that EI payments are made like, for example, paychecks and OTB or CPP payments. The date you receive your EI payment every two weeks basically depends on the date you applied for EI. Still, you can expect to receive consistent EI payments every two weeks around the same days every month if you always complete your EI report on time and you have direct deposit set up.
Jeff is a lawyer in Toronto who works for a technology startup. Jeff is a frequent lecturer on employment law and is the author of an employment law textbook and various trade journal articles. Jeff is interested in Canadian business, technology and law, and this blog is his platform to share his views and tips in those areas.