Difference between revisions of "Types of Employment Insurance Benefits (8:IV)"

== J. Employment (Training) Benefits ==

The EI budget includes discretionary funding for retraining. Eligibility for these benefits is determined by the criteria in s. 58 of the ''EI Regulations'', and includes anyone whose benefit period ended within the last 60 months (see s. 76.11 of the ''EI Regulations'').

To reduce the dependency on unemployment benefits, the ''EI Act'' establishes employment benefits and support measures to help individuals obtain or keep employment. This includes benefits to encourage employers to hire them, encourage them to accept employment by offering incentives such as temporary earnings supplements, help them start businesses or become self-employed, provide them with employment opportunities through which they can gain work experience to improve their long-term employment prospects, and to help them obtain skills for employment (''EI Act'', s. 59).

Once a claimant is referred to a course or program of instruction, they are deemed to be unemployed, capable of and available for work for the duration of their participation in the course or program of instruction (''EI Act'', s. 25). This is an exception to the general rule set out in the sections dealing with capability, availability, and the state of being unemployed.