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 depends of 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.

It's important to apply as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. If you wait more than three weeks, you may lose credit for some of your hours, which can result in reduced benefits or even a rejected claim.

Benefits will usually be 55% of your average earnings during the last 6 months of your qualifying period, to a maximum of $468 per week. The maximum amount increases slightly each year. If you have children and very low family income, you may qualify to receive 80% of your average earnings.

Once a claim has been established, you will have to serve a 2 week "waiting period" during which no benefits are payable. After that, you can receive benefits for each week during which you are eligible, until you have received the maximum for that type of benefit, or until your benefit period ends - which is usually 52 weeks after it began. You can receive from 14 to 45 weeks of regular benefits, depending on the number of hours you have worked and your regional rate of unemployment. You can receive up to 15 weeks of sickness benefits, 15 weeks of pregnancy benefits, 35 weeks of parental benefits, and/or 6 weeks of compassionate care benefits.

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 an independent Board of Referees. The Referees can usually overturn EI's decision if they believe that it was wrong. They cannot change the law, however. For example, if you have worked 690 hours in a region where 700 hours are required, they cannot decide to allow your claim anyway. If the Referees decide against you, their decision can be appealed to an Umpire within 60 days of the Board's decision.

Some decisions cannot be appealed to the Referees, 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. Choosing the right type of appeal can be tricky. In the example above, the Referees couldn't allow your claim because you worked 10 fewer hours than the Act requires, but the CRA 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 right type of appeal to file, seek legal advice.

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.

First steps

1. File a written notice of appeal to the Board of Referees. You can do this by letter, or you can use an optional form: see [1] for more information.
2. Complete and submit the form, preferably with a copy of the decision you are appealing.

What happens next

Service Canada will send you Appeal Docket containing relevant documents and a Notice of Hearing. Often the hearing date will be just a week or two from when you receive the docket. If you need more time to prepare or to seek legal advice, you can ask for an adjournment. Do this immediately. If you simply don't show up for the hearing, the Referees will usually dismiss the appeal in your absence.

You may bring a lawyer or advocate to your Board of Referees Hearing. You will have an opportunity to present your case, and the Board may ask you questions. In some cases, your employer may attend the hearing and give evidence. Hearings are quite informal, and the referees are mainly interested in hearing your version of the facts, and why you feel that EI's decision was unfair. See the link above for helpful information on how to prepare for your hearing.

The Commission will send you the Referees' written decision a few days after the hearing. If you don’t agree with the decision, you can appeal it to the Umpire within 60 days. Umpires are usually Federal Court judges, and their powers are more limited than the Referees. You should receive an information sheet with the Referees' decision explaining how to appeal it to the Umpire. You can also find a great deal of useful information on the website at [2].

Where to get help

See the Resource Guide in Part 2 for a list of helpful resources. Your best bets are:

• Service Canada, Employment Insurance:

  EI Home Page [3]
  Special Page for EI Appellants [4]  
  A collection of Umpires' and Court decisions favouring claimants: 
       [5]  

• PovNet.
• Access Pro Bono, Lawyer Referral Service, Salvation Army Pro Bono Lawyer Consultation Program, Private Bar Lawyers.
• Law Students' Legal Advice Program (Chapter 8, "Employment Insurance").
• Community Legal Assistance Society.

  Mouvement Action-Chômage de Montréal's excellent Practical Guide to the EI Act (in English)
       [6]

Before meeting with a lawyer or advocate, complete the form Preparing for Your Interview in Part 3 of this guide. Make sure you bring copies of all documents relating to your case.

(1) In law, a court proceeding; a lawsuit; an action; a cause of action; a claim. (2) A historic decision of the court; case law. See "action," "case law, " "court proceeding," and "precedent."

In family law, the natural or adoptive father or mother of a child; may also include stepparents, depending on the circumstances and the applicable legislation; may include the donors of eggs or sperm and surrogate mothers, depending on the circumstances and the terms of any assisted reproduction agreement. See "adoptive parent," "assisted reproduction," "natural parent" and "stepparent."

(1) The assertion of a legal right to an order or to a thing; (2) the remedy or relief sought by a party to a court proceeding.

In law, (2) a lawsuit, an action, or a cause of action, or (2) the wrongful act of another which gives rise to a claim for relief. See "action" and "cause of action."

An application to a higher court for a review of the correctness of a decision of a lower court. A decision of a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia can be appealed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. A decision of a judge of the Supreme Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. See "appellant" and "respondent."

In law, (1) a judge's conclusions after hearing argument and considering the evidence presented at a trial or an application, (2) a judgment, or (3) the judge's reasons. A judge's written or oral decision will include the judge's conclusions about the relief or remedies claimed as well as their findings of fact and conclusions of law. A written decision is called the judge’s "reasons for judgment." See "common law," "conclusions of law" and "findings of fact."

A legal document required by the Supreme Court Family Rules that fixes the date for the hearing of a Petition. See "hearing" and "Petition."

In law, any proceeding before a judicial official to determine questions of law and questions of fact, including the hearing of an application and the hearing of a trial. See "decision."

The suspension of a hearing or trial, usually when the hearing or trial cannot proceed on the date scheduled or because it cannot complete within the time scheduled, normally until a specific date. See "sine die."

In law, a judge’s decision (1) not to grant a claim or (2) to reject a court proceeding with or without trial. An application that is dismissed has been rejected by the judge. See "application."

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

(1) A lawyer or a person other than a lawyer who helps clients with legal issues, or (2) to argue a position on behalf of someone.

Facts, or proof tending to support the existence of facts, presented to a judge at a hearing or trial. Evidence can be given through the oral testimony of witnesses, in writing as business records and other documents, or in the form of physical objects. Evidence must be admissible according to the rules of court and the rules of evidence. See "circumstantial evidence," "hearsay" and "testimony."