Difference between revisions of "Employment Insurance Benefit Entitlement (8:VII)"

* refuses a suitable employment offer;

* refuses to apply for suitable employment when aware that a position is vacant or is becoming vacant;

A claimant can be disqualified from receiving benefits for up to 6 weeks  

* neglected to avail himself or herself of an opportunity for suitable employment;

* failed to attend an interview recommended by the Commission; or

* under s 27(1.1), has failed to attend a course of instruction or training referred to by the Commission.

A disqualification under section 30(1) of the EI Act is suspended for any week the claimant qualifies for special benefits.  In other words, the claimant will disqualified from receiving regular benefits if they leave their employment without just cause or lose their job due to their own misconduct, but the disqualification will not prevent the claimant from collecting special benefits to which they are entitled.  

=== 1. Just Cause for Voluntarily Leaving Employment ===

The Decisions of the Umpires and the SST provide examples of what is and is not considered voluntary.  Once the facts have been established to show voluntary leaving, the onus then shifts to the claimant to show that he or she had just cause.  When the evidence of the employee and the employer contradict one another, and the evidence is evenly balanced, s 49(2) of the EI Act provides that the claimant shall receive the benefit of the doubt.

==== a) Statute & Case Law ====

There are thousands of decisions by the Umpires, SST and Federal Court of Appeal addressing “just cause” issues that may help determine whether just cause existed.  CUB 21681 (23 Sept. 1992) confirms that just cause may result from all of the circumstances together, although no single factor would be sufficient: “When the statute says ‘having regard to all the circumstances’, it imposes a consideration of the totality of the evidence.”  Thus, if the claimant’s reason for leaving is not one of the enumerated factors under s 29 but the claimant feels that they had no reasonable alternative to quitting or that they were fired without committing intentional misconduct, a case could still be made that the totality of the claimant’s circumstances gives rise to just cause.

==== b) Importance of Evidence ====

The onus of establishing a misconduct allegation rests on the party alleging it.  The Commission or employer must prove positively the existence of misconduct and must prove the misconduct caused the loss of employment.  Again, refer to the Umpire decisions for examples of what constitutes misconduct justifying lawful dismissal.

==== b) Dishonesty ====