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Applying for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
Do you have a question about the EI program? The frequently asked questions might help!
Who can apply for EI benefits?
What you should know if you work for a relative
Maybe your old EI claim just needs to be reactivated
How, where and when to apply
What information/documents are needed to apply?
Receiving social assistance while waiting for your EI benefits
Who can take care of an EI claim on your behalf?
EI benefits on behalf of a deceased person
A 2-week waiting period to serve
In order to receive your EI payment...
You wish to obtain information about your EI Insurance claim
Your Access code
Work Sharing
Your rights and responsibilities
Our responsibilities to you...
Who can apply for EI benefits?
You can apply for EI benefits if you have paid into the EI account and you are unemployed.
- You can receive regular benefits if you lost your job through no fault of your own, for example, due to shortage of work, seasonal or mass lay-offs. To find out about the requirements for regular benefits...You can also receive maternity, parental and/or sickness benefits if pregnant, caring for a newborn or adopted child or sick. To find out about the requirements for maternity, parental and sickness benefits... You can receive fishing benefits if you are a person engaged in fishing.To find out about the requirements for fishing benefits...
- You can receive compassionate care benefits if you have to be away from work temporarily to provide care or support to a family member who is gravely ill with a significant risk of death. To find out about the requirements for compassionate care benefits...
What you should know if you work for a relative
Even if your employer is related to you, you may still qualify for EI coverage. To know more...
Maybe your old EI claim just needs to be reactivated
If you started a new EI claim within the last 52 weeks and there are still weeks payable on that claim, we will automatically reactivate (renew) your existing claim.
Do not start the application if you prefer to start a new claim. Instead, please contact us by calling 1 800 206-7218. Your decision to start a new claim is final and cannot be reversed.
It is important to consider:
- If your claim is reactivated and you work after the start of that claim, you may be able to establish a new claim when your existing claim runs out.
- In order to establish a new claim you must have enough insurable hours and meet the qualifying conditions for a new claim.
- If a new claim is established instead of reactivating your existing claim, the remaining weeks payable on the existing claim will be lost.
- Additionally, a two-week unpaid waiting period must be served on a new claim before you are entitled to receive payment.
How, where and when to apply
To find out if you can receive EI benefits, you must submit an application for EI online or in person at your Service Canada Centre, even if you received or will receive money when you become unemployed.
If you are applying for any type of benefits, other than maternity or parental, be sure to apply as soon as you stop working even if you don’t have your Records of Employment. Delaying in filing your claim for benefits beyond 4 weeks after your last day of work may cause loss of benefits.
If you are applying for compassionate care or sickness benefits, you should apply as soon as you stop working.
If you are applying for maternity or parental benefits, please refer to the section titled “Maternity or Parental Benefits: How, Where and When to Apply”.
What information/documents are needed to apply?
- your Social Insurance Number (SIN). If your SIN begins with a 9, you need to supply proof of your immigration status and work permit.
- your mother’s maiden name;
- your mailing and residential addresses, including the postal codes;
- your complete bank information, as shown on your cheque or bank statement, or a voided personalized blank cheque from your current account. This will ensure that your payment of benefits will be made directly to your bank account with Direct deposit;
- the names, addresses, dates of employment, and reason for separation for all your employers for the last 52 weeks;
- your detailed version of facts if you quit or were dismissed from any job in the last 52 weeks;
- the dates (Sunday to Saturday) of any weeks in the last 52 weeks when you did not work or receive any earnings, and the reason(s) why; and
- the dates (Sunday to Saturday) for weeks of employment in the last 52 weeks, as well as salary before deductions, if one of the following situations applies to you:
- you had weeks where your earnings before deductions were less than $225 but more than $0 per week; or
- you reside in one of the economic regions designated under the Best 14 Weeks pilot project and you are not applying for fishing benefits.
You may also have to provide the following details if you are reactivating an existing claim:
- the salary amount before deductions you received for the last week you worked (from Sunday to your last day of work), including tips and commissions; and
- any other amounts you received or will receive (for example, vacation pay, severance pay, pension payments, pay in lieu of notice, and other money).
You may also need to gather the following related information, depending on your situation:
- If you are applying for parental benefits, you will be asked to provide the SIN of the other parent.
- If you are applying for sickness benefits, you will be required to obtain a medical certificate.
- If you are applying for compassionate care benefits, you will need to provide a medical certificate and information about the gravely ill family member, such as first and last name, date of birth, and residential address.
Records of Employment (ROEs)
The ROE is the form that your employer must complete when you stop working and experience an interruption of earnings. Your employer must issue it even if you do not intend to claim EI benefits. On your ROE, you will find information about your employment history.
Missing ROEs can delay the processing of your claim.
- If your employer issues ROEs in paper format, you must request copies of all ROEs issued to you during the last 52 weeks and provide them to Service Canada as soon as possible after you submit your EI application. You must either mail us your paper ROEs or drop them off in person at a Service Canada Centre.
- If your employer submits ROEs electronically to Service Canada, you do not need to request copies of your ROEs from your employer, and you do not have to provide copies to Service Canada.
If you are having difficulty obtaining your ROE(s) from your employer(s), we can help. Go to your Service Canada Centre or contact us at 1 800 206-7218. One of our agents will advise you how the ROE can be obtained or what is needed to calculate your claim.
Note
Before applying for EI benefits, you should confirm with your employer whether or not your ROE will be issued electronically to Service Canada.
Receiving social assistance while waiting for your EI benefits
If you receive financial assistance or advances from a Social Services, you may have to reimburse that money out of your EI benefits. To know more...
Who can take care of an EI claim on your behalf?
If you are unable to manage your own affairs due to health problems, a person other than an Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) employee may be appointed to act on your behalf. In that case, the form Appointment of Representative must be completed and returned with your EI application.
If you are eligible for EI, HRSDC will authorize the payment of benefits to the representative acting on your behalf.
EI benefits on behalf of a deceased person
When a person dies, benefits payable to that person up to and including the day of the death may be paid to the legal representative, or to a person authorized by the Act to inherit property of the deceased person. To know more...
A 2-week waiting period to serve
You must serve a 2-week unpaid waiting period before your EI benefits begin to be paid. Generally, this period is the first 2 weeks of your claim. This is like a deductible for any kind of insurance. On the other hand, if you reopen a claim for benefits in which you have already served a 2-week waiting period, you do not serve another 2-week waiting period.
Earnings, for example,vacation pay, severance pay, made or allocated during the 2-week waiting period will be deducted in the first 3 weeks for which benefit is otherwise payable following the waiting period. See examples...
In order to receive your EI payments...
Shortly after applying for EI, you will receive a Benefit statement in the mail indicating your Access code and the date your first report is due. Keep in mind that this does not mean that a decision has been made yet on your claim.
Along with your Benefit statement you will also receive instructions on how to complete your report with our Internet reporting service or our Telephone reporting service. If you cannot complete your reports by Internet or by telephone, you will need to complete and mail them to us. To find out how to complete your report by mail, just follow these step-by-step instructions. If you have provided all the required information and if you can be paid EI benefits, your payment will be issued usually within 28 days from the date of filing your claim. If you cannot be paid, we will notify you of the decision made on your claim.
You wish to get information about your EI insurance claim
If you have a current or previous claim for EI benefits, you can with our Internet service My Service Canada Account:
- View and update your personal information including your mailing address, telephone number and banking information for direct deposit.
- View your current EI claim information.
- View payment information on your current claim including deduction details.
- View your previous claims for EI benefits.
- View Records of Employment submitted electronically to Service Canada by your employers.
Please note, if your bank account information changes or if you move, it is important that you let us know as soon as possible. You can update your mailing address, telephone number and direct deposit information by using My Service Canada Account.
You can also obtain information about your EI claim by calling our telephone information service 1 800 206-7218 and choosing Option 1.
Your Access Code
Your Access code is the 4 digit number printed in the shaded area of your Benefit Statement. Your Access code is your electronic signature and is needed, along with your SIN, when you make telephone enquiries about your claim and when you file your reports using the Internet reporting service or the Telephone reporting service.
The Access code identifies you and ensures that your privacy is protected. Don't let others have it because they could get information or take action on your claim without you knowing it. You would be held responsible for this. Keep your Access code in a safe place and for extra security keep it stored separately from your SIN.
If you have been issued a temporary Access Code, you will need to change it to a new confidential Access Code. You may also choose to change your existing Access Code for security reasons. To do this, call our telephone information service at 1 800 206-7218, choose Option 1 and follow the instructions for changing your Access Code.
If you lose your Access code, call our telephone information service at 1 800 206-7218 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and press "0" to speak to a representative. You can also go to your Service Canada Centre. In both cases, questions will be asked to verify your identity and a new Access code number will be reissued.
Work Sharing
Did you know that work sharing assists employers and employees facing lay-offs due to a decline in production? With the work sharing agreement, available work is redistributed through a voluntary reduction in hours worked by all employees within one or more work units. This enables the employer to retain a full work force on a reduced work week, rather than laying off part of his or her work force. Employees are able to remain on the job and maintain skills and working habits and avoid uncertainties and hardship associated with total unemployment. To find out about the EI Work Sharing program...
