Deadline: Sept 25 – End of Temporary EI Benefits

During the pandemic, the federal government put temporary changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program in place.  These special programs will end on September 25, 2022.  Employers will want to refresh their memories both on the pandemic response rules, and now, the return to normal for the purposes of informing management and/or payroll departments who may receive questions from departing employees: 

First the pandemic support rules:

• As of September 26, 2021, all eligible claimants could qualify for a benefit duration of a minimum of 14 weeks to a maximum of 45 weeks, depending on hours worked and unemployment rates in their region. There was minimum requirement of 420 hours of employment (10.5 weeks) to qualify. 
• New claims established as of this date were based on the actual regional unemployment rates produced by Statistics Canada.  This was a change from the minimum rate of 13.1% used the prior year (starting September 2020) as part of the Covid 19 response. 
• For claims established on or after November 21, 2021, the number of best weeks used in the calculation of the benefit ranged from 14 to 22, depending on the unemployment rate in the claimant’s economic region.

Rules in effect after September 26, 2022:

It is possible to receive EI for a minimum of 14 weeks up to a maximum of 45 weeks, depending on: 

• the unemployment rate in your region at the time of filing an EI claim and the lesser of the insurable hours  accumulated in the last 52 weeks or since the last EI claim made.
• The unemployment rate used varies:
  • In regions with the highest rates of unemployment, the best 14 weeks are used.  In regions with the lowest rates of unemployment, the best 22 weeks are used.  Otherwise, the number of weeks will be somewhere between 14 and 22, depending on the unemployment rate in those regions.

Basic Employment Insurance (EI) benefits are calculated at 55% of average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount. 

As of January 1, 2022, the maximum yearly insurable earnings amount is $60,300, which results in a maximum amount of $638 per week.

Family EI Supplement.  There is a supplement that will increase the EI benefit rate up to 80% of average insurable earnings when family income is below $25,922 and the family receives the Canada Child Benefit.  In this case, an EI family supplement may be received based on income and how many children the family has and their ages.  Only one spouse can receive the EI supplement if both are unemployed.  The supplement phases out as income rises.    

Other special EI Benefits.   EI is also available for a host of special situations including illness of the worker, maternity and paternity leaves, compassionate care, and critical illness of a family member, and self-employment.

Teachers also have special rules; specifically, that regular EI benefits cannot be paid during non-teaching periods, which include summer breaks, Christmas mid-winter or spring breaks. Note: A statutory holiday is not considered a non-teaching period unless it falls within a non-teaching period.  Regular EI can however also be claimed when a contract ends.

Teachers at universities, community colleges and other post-secondary schools fall under the rules for regular EI benefits, while substitute teachers are paid regular benefits during non-teaching periods such as breaks. 

There are actually three exceptions to the rules that restrict regular EI benefits for teachers; the two mentioned above (when a teaching contract has ended, or when the teacher works on a casual or substitute teacher basis) and the third: when the teacher also has hours worked in another occupation other than teaching. 

Bottom Line: EI Benefits are complicated, they have various tax implications and when in doubt, or frustrated by the amount of time it takes to sort it all out, a qualified tax or financial advisor can help. 

Evelyn Jacks is Founder and President of Knowledge Bureau, holds the RWM™, MFA ™, MFA-P™ and DFA-Tax Services Specialist designations and is the best-selling author of 55 books on tax filing, planning and family wealth management.  Follow her on twitter @evelynjacks. 

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