Difference between revisions of "Benefit Period of Employment Insurance (8:V)"

If an application for EI benefits was not filed within the first four weeks after the week in which the claimant experienced their interruption of earnings inter, they can ask that the claim be antedated back to the first date when it could have been filed under s 10(4).  The claimant must establish that good cause existed for the delay in filing.  “Good cause” must be demonstrated for each day until the date of application was actually made.  If the claim is filed within the first four weeks, it is automatically antedated to the first date of eligibility.

:'''What is “Good Cause”?'''  Good cause has typically been interpreted narrowly. In one case, the applicant was in the hospital and the Commission denied his application for antedating on the grounds that his wife should have made the claim on his behalf.  Simple ignorance of the requirements of the EI Act has not been considered good cause either, though reasonable reliance on bad advice from the employer, union, a legal advisor or the Commission itself usually meets the requirements.

*b) Payments under a sickness or disability wage-loss indemnity plan;

Recent cases suggest that in certain circumstances some earnings may not delay the start of an EI claim. In ''Attorney General of Canada v Doreen Myers'', 2006 FCA 57, the court found that the claimant’s vacation pay did not delay the start of a claim because it was not a payment made by reason of a separation, thus allowing benefits to be received earlier, and possibly at a higher rate.  See also the case of ''Attorney General of Canada v Bielich'', 2005 FCA 363.  In this case the court allowed a $24,000 payment to be exempted from the claimant’s allocation of earnings because the purpose of the payment was to compensate the claimant for giving up his right to seek reinstatement, not to compensate for lost pay.

:'''NOTE:''' A retirement pension will not delay the start of a claim.  Retirement pensions are generally considered income and are deducted from EI benefits.  However, if the claimant accumulates all the hours needed to qualify for EI after the date their pension starts, then their pension money will not be deducted from their EI benefits (see EI Regulation, s 35(7)(e).

This waiting period also applies to pregnancy, parental, caregiver and sickness claims. For caregiver benefits, it can be deferred for the second family member if benefits are split, but the first person must serve it.  If a claimant works during the waiting period, 100 percent of his or her earnings will be deducted from the first three (and no more than three) weekly benefit cheques.

The benefit period for regular EI benefits is 52 weeks. However, this period can sometimes be extended to more than 52 weeks,  The criteria for this are set out in s 10(10) of the EI Act.  The benefit period can be extended when a claimant proves that for any week during that benefit period the claimant was not entitled to benefit by reason of:

The benefit period can be further extended under s  10(11) where a claimant can prove that for any week during the extension period, he or she was not entitled to benefit, again for any reason stated in s 10(10).  

1. no further benefits are payable to the claimant in his or her benefit period;  

NOTE: The way benefit rates are calculated under the ''EI Act'' can make the timing of the decision to end one claim and start a new one crucial.  Therefore, it may be better for a claimant to terminate an existing benefit period prior to its expiration and establish a new one, in order to use working periods during the benefit period that may improve his or her benefit rate or attachment.