Difference between revisions of "Qualifying for Employment Insurance (8:III)"

{{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= August 15, 2022}}

Generally, if the employer has deducted EI premiums, then the employment is insurable. However, it is the nature of the employment, and not the premiums paid, that is determinative.

a) whether employment is insurable;

c) the amount of any insurable earnings;

d) how many hours an insured person has had insurable employment;

e) whether a premium is payable;

f) the amount of a premium payable;

g) who is the employer of an insured person;

h) whether employers are associated employers; or

i) what amount shall be refunded under s 96(4) - (10);

Appeals of decisions by the CRA are made first to the Minister of National Revenue (within 90 days of being informed of the decision), and then to the Tax Court of Canada (EI Act, s 103). Tax Court decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal under s 27 of the ''Federal Court Act'', RSC 1985, c. F-7.

a) the 52 weeks immediately before the benefit period commences under s 10(1);

a) illness, injury, quarantine, or pregnancy;

b) confinement in a jail, penitentiary or other similar institution and was not found guilty of the offence for which the person was being held or any other offence arising out of the same transaction;

c) receiving assistance under employment benefits; or

d) the claimant has left the job due to hazardous work or working conditions.  This covers situations where the claimant has ceased to work because to continue would have entailed danger to the worker, the worker’s unborn child, or a child whom the worker is breast-feeding.

'''NOTE:''' The extension under (d) is limited to situations where a worker would receive payments under provincial law.  Many provinces, including BC, do not yet provide for such payments. Consequently, BC workers cannot use (d) as a ground to extend the qualifying period.  

'''NOTE:''' The same insurable hours can never be used for two separate claims.

=== 1. Types of Claimants ===

=== 3. Hours Required ===

Until September 24, 2022, a claimant needs 420 hours of insurable employment during the qualifying period to qualify for EI benefits. After September 24, 2022, a claimant will need between 420 hours and 720 hours during the qualifying period depending on the regional unemployment rate.

'''NOTE:''' The number of hours that an insured person needs under s 7 to qualify for  benefits is increased to the number shown under s 7.1(1) if one or more violations has occurred in the 260 week period prior to the initial claim (see [[Keeping Out of Trouble on Employment Insurance (8:IX) | Section IX: Keeping Out of Trouble]]).

== D. Interruption of Earnings ==

A substantial reduction in the hours of work (for example, from full time to one day a week or less) does '''not''' meet the definition of interruption of earnings for regular benefits. Consequently, a worker whose hours are drastically reduced cannot establish a claim unless they have a full week of unemployment. The only exception is for special benefits. However, if there is an interruption of earnings from one of two part-time jobs with the same employer, then the claimant could qualify.  

“Week of unemployment” is defined in s 11(1) of the ''EI Act'': “A week of unemployment for a claimant is a week in which the claimant does not work a full working week”. However, the following subsections of s 11 describe situations which do not amount to an interruption of earnings as defined in s 14.

However, if the ROE is completed in electronic form, it must be sent to the Commission no later than 5 days after the end of the pay period in which the first day of the interruption of earnings fell. The rules for this are set out in s 19(3.1) of the ''EI Regulations''. If there are 13 or fewer pay periods in a year, then the ROE must be sent to the Commission no later than 15 days after the first day of the interruption of earnings.  An employer who completes a ROE in electronic form is not required to send a copy to the employee.  

The ROE contains information important to the EI claim. It sets out the first and last dates of work, the total hours worked and the total  earnings, which are used to determine the amount of benefits payable and it also sets out the reason for separation. If it says that the claimant quit or was fired, the Commission must investigate the reasons. Depending on the conclusions of the Commission, the claimant may be disqualified from all regular benefits (see [[Quantifying Employment Insurance Benefits (8:VI)#C. Effect of Earnings | Section VI.C: Effect of Earnings]]).

If the claimant disagrees with statements in the ROE, they can ask the employer to correct them. The claimant should also bring the errors to the Commission's attention at the time of application.

'''NOTE:''' Applications may be filed online through the ESDC web site. Applicants filing online must still submit their ROE(s) by mail or in person. If the claimant’s ROE has a “W” or “S” serial number, their employer has provided ROE electronically to the local office and the claimant is not required to submit the paper copy. Claimants may review and edit their claim information online by using the “MyEI Information on-line” service provided by Service Canada.  

For general information about filing an application and about the EI system visit:

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-apply-online.html.