I've Been Turned Down for Employment Insurance Benefits

If you are unemployed, and have worked the required number of hours during the "qualifying period" before losing your job, you may be entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.

The number of hours required to be entitled to EI benefits depends on the type of benefits you are seeking, your employment history, and the unemployment rate in the region where you live. Regular benefits require 420 to 700 hours of work, unless you are a new entrant or re-entrant to the labour force, in which case you will need 910 hours. EI also pays special benefits for workers who are unemployed due to sickness, pregnancy, being a new parent, or providing compassionate care for a gravely ill or dying person. To receive special benefits, you will need 600 hours of work.

Whatever the number of hours required, they must have been worked in your qualifying period, which is usually the year before you apply. Sometimes the period can be longer or shorter than a year, however.

If you have quit your job without just cause or were fired for misconduct, you will usually be disqualified from receiving any regular benefits. If you are not available for work (which includes actively looking for a job), you can be disentitled until you become available. And if you make false statements to EI, you can be required to repay any benefits you shouldn't have received, and you may also have to pay EI a penalty for having acted dishonestly.

All such decisions are appealable. If EI has turned down your claim, or disqualified, disentitled or penalized you, you can appeal within 30 days of receiving the decision to the General Division of the Social Security Tribunal (SST). The Tribunal can usually overturn EI's decision if they believe that it was wrong. They cannot change the law, however.

Some decisions cannot be appealed to the Social Security Tribunal, such as decisions about how many hours you worked, or whether your job was insured under the EI system. Such "insurability" questions must be appealed within 90 days to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), with a further appeal to the Minister of National Revenue and the Tax Court.

If you feel that EI has treated you unfairly, the best advice is simple: APPEAL! It's free, and it's the only chance you have to receive the benefits you feel you deserve.

Choosing the right type of appeal can be tricky. For example, if you have worked 690 hours in a region where 700 hours are required, the Social Security Tribunal couldn't allow your claim because you worked 10 fewer hours than the Act requires. The Social Security Tribunal cannot change the law. But the Canada Revenue Agency could decide that you should have received credit for 10 more hours of overtime than the employer acknowledged. In that case you would qualify. If in doubt about the right type of appeal to file, seek legal advice.

First steps

1. Complete a written Notice of Appeal to the Social Security Tribunal General Division, or write the SST a letter of appeal. If you write a letter of appeal, be sure that you include all the information that is required on the form.
2. Submit the appeal form or letter to the SST by mail or fax within 30 days after receiving EI's decision. It is best to attach a copy of the decision you are appealing.

What happens next

After your appeal has been filed, the Social Security Tribunal will send you a copy of your EI file, which contains all the information EI used to make its decisions on your application. A Social Security Tribunal member will review EI’s file as well as your appeal form or letter and any other information you have provided. The Tribunal member will decide if your appeal should proceed or should be dismissed. If it is dismissed, the Tribunal member will send you the decision in writing.

Should your appeal go forward, the Tribunal member will determine if a decision will be made on the record or if a hearing will take place. A decision on the record means the Tribunal member will decide based on the documents and submissions that were filed. If a hearing will take place, the Tribunal will call or write to you to schedule the hearing. You can present your own case or you can arrange for someone such as a lawyer or an advocate or a friend to help you.

Following the hearing, the Social Security Tribunal member will issue a decision and send you a copy.

If you disagree with the decision made by the General Division, you can appeal to the second level of appeal at the Social Security Tribunal, the Appeal Division. You will need permission to appeal (leave to appeal) to this second level, unless you are appealing the General Division’s decision to summarily dismiss your appeal, in which case permission is not required. Your appeal must be filed within 30 days of receiving the General Division’s decision.

Where to get help

See the Resource List in this Guide for a list of helpful resources. Your best bets are:

• Service Canada, and particularly their resources on Employment Insurance: the EI Homepage, a section for Employment Insurance Appellants, and a collection of Umpires' and court decisions favouring EI claimants.
• PovNet.
• Access Pro Bono, Lawyer Referral Service, and private bar lawyers.
• Community Legal Assistance Society.
• The Law Students' Legal Advice Program Manual chapter on "Employment Insurance".
• Le Mouvement Action-Chômage de Montréal's "Unemployment Insurance Benefits Practical Guide & Tips".

Before meeting with a lawyer or advocate, complete the form Preparing for Your Interview included in this Guide. Make sure you bring copies of all documents relating to your case.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Jim Sayre, February 2013.

Legal Help for British Columbians © Cliff Thorstenson and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

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