Employment Insurance

Changes to the Employment Insurance Act – Working While on Claim

The following information is provided as a summary of the changes to the Employment Insurance Act as the government has extended the employment insurance claimants’ ability to work while claiming sickness and maternity benefits.

Click here to download the ‘Working while on claim’ memo. (pdf)

The Reference Codes for EI Applications have been eliminated

 Effective the summer of 2018, Service Canada will no longer issue Reference codes for school-related EI applications

Once the Records of Employment (ROE) are uploaded to Service Canada based on the time lines, LTO teachers by July 6, 2018 and daily OTs by July 12, 2018, employees can file claims by visiting https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-apply-online.html

For information by telephone, call 1-800-206-7218 or visit the nearest Service Canada Centre in your area. Any questions regarding eligibility for EI benefits must be directed to Service Canada. 

Recent modernization and transformation of the EI application process and enhancements to their internal work tools have enabled them to provide the same quality of service to applicants without the use of a reference code. Processing delays attributed to lost or incorrect reference codes will no longer occur, thereby ensuring applicants receive more consistent services for all types of EI benefits.

Changes to Employment Insurance (E.I.)

Effective September 1, 2016, the Dufferin-Peel Board will report the daily number of hours of insurable employment as 8 hours, instead of 7 hours, for all occasional teachers. (Article 15.15 in our C.A.)

Summary of the Changes to the Employment Insurance Act: – The changes to the EI legislation that may impact on our members:

Eligibility Requirements:

Anyone applying to EI requires between 420 hours to 700 hours of insurable employment hours, depending on your region, before being eligible for EI regular benefits.

Reduction of the Waiting Period:

The waiting period has been reduced to one week.

Suitable Employment:

Generally, those claiming regular EI benefits are required to seek and accept all opportunities for suitable employment.  Suitable employment no longer requires claimants to move away from their communities or take lower paying jobs in order to maintain their eligibility.

For more information:  http://www.esdc.gc.ca/en/ei/changes_2016.page