Employment Insurance Act - Part I - Unemployment Benefits

Current Version of the Employment Insurance Act

PART I

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

Benefits payable to persons who qualify

7. (1) Unemployment benefits are payable as provided in this Part to an insured person who qualifies to receive them.

Qualification requirement

(2) An insured person, other than a new entrant or a re-entrant to the labour force, qualifies if the person

1. has had an interruption of earnings from employment; and
   
2. has had during their qualifying period at least the number of hours of insurable employment set out in the following table in relation to the regional rate of unemployment that applies to the person.

Qualification requirement for new entrants and re-entrants

(3) An insured person who is a new entrant or a re-entrant to the labour force qualifies if the person

1. has had an interruption of earnings from employment; and
2. has had 910 or more hours of insurable employment in their qualifying period.

New entrants and re-entrants

(4) An insured person is a new entrant or a re-entrant to the labour force if, in the last 52 weeks before their qualifying period, the person has had fewer than 490

1. hours of insurable employment;
   
2. hours for which benefits have been paid or were payable to the person, calculated on the basis of 35 hours for each week of benefits;
   
3. prescribed hours that relate to employment in the labour force; or
   
4. hours comprised of any combination of those hours.

Exception

(4.1) An insured person is not a new entrant or a re-entrant if the person has been paid one or more weeks of special benefits referred to in paragraph 12(3)(a) or (b) - or, as a self-employed person under Part VII.1, one or more weeks of benefits referred to in paragraph 152.14(1)(a) or (b) - in the period of 208 weeks preceding the period of 52 weeks before their qualifying period or in other circumstances, as prescribed by regulation, arising in that period of 208 weeks.

Computation of hours

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), an hour that is taken into account under any of paragraphs (4)(a), (b) or (c) may not be taken into account under the other.

Other benefit rights — Canada-U.S. agreement

(6) An insured person is not qualified to receive benefits if it is jointly determined that the insured person must first exhaust or end benefit rights under the laws of another jurisdiction, as provided by Article VI of the Agreement Between Canada and the United States Respecting Unemployment Insurance, signed on March 6 and 12, 1942.

1996, c. 23, s. 7; 1999, c. 31, s. 75(E); 2001, c. 5, s.4., 2009, c.33, s.3 

Increase in required hours

7.1 (1) The number of hours that an insured person, other than a new entrant or re-entrant to the labour force, requires under section 7 to qualify for benefits is increased to the number provided in the following table if the insured person accumulates one or more violations in the 260 weeks before making their initial claim for benefit.

New entrants and re-entrants to the labour force

(2) The number of hours that an insured person who is a new entrant or re-entrant to the labour force requires under section 7 to qualify for benefits is increased if, in the 260 weeks before making their initial claim for benefit, the person accumulates

1. a minor violation, in which case the number of required hours is increased to 1,138 hours;
   
2. a serious violation, in which case the number of required hours is increased to 1,365 hours; or
   
3. a very serious violation, in which case the number of required hours is increased to 1,400 hours.

Deemed Violation

(2.1) A violation accumulated by an individual under section 152.07 is deemed to be a violation accumulated by the individual under this section on the day on which the notice of violation was given to the individual.

Limitation

(3) A violation may not be taken into account under subsection (1) or (2) in more than two initial claims for benefits under this Act by an individual if the individual who accumulated the violation qualified for benefits in each of those two initial claims, taking into account subsection (1) or (2), subparagraph 152.07(1)(d)(ii) or regulations made under Part VIII, as the case may be.

Violations

(4) An insured person accumulates a violation if in any of the following circumstances the Commission issues a notice of violation to the person:

1. one or more penalties are imposed on the person under section 38, 39, 41.1 or 65.1, as a result of acts or omissions mentioned in section 38, 39 or 65.1;
   
2. the person is found guilty of one or more offences under section 135 or 136 as a result of acts or omissions mentioned in those sections; or
   
3. the person is found guilty of one or more offences under the Criminal Code as a result of acts or omissions relating to the application of this Act.

Classification of violations

(5) Except for violations for which a warning was imposed, each violation is classified as a minor, serious, very serious or subsequent violation as follows:

1. if the value of the violation is
   
   1. less than $1,000, it is a minor violation,
      
   2. $1,000 or more, but less than $5,000, it is a serious violation, or
      
   3. $5,000 or more, it is a very serious violation; and
      
2. if the notice of violation is issued within 260 weeks after the person accumulates another violation, it is a subsequent violation, even if the acts or omissions on which it is based occurred before the person accumulated the other violation.

Value of violations

(6) The value of a violation is the total of

1. The amount of the overpayment of benefits resulting from the acts or omissions on which the violation is based, and
   
2. if the claimant is disqualified or disentitled from receiving benefits, or the act or omission on which the violation is based relates to qualification requirements under section 7, the amount determined, subject to subsection (7), by multiplying the claimant's weekly rate of benefit by the average number of weeks of regular benefits, as determined under the regulations.

Maximum

(7) The maximum amount to be determined under paragraph (6)(b) is the amount of benefits that could have been paid to the claimant if the claimant had not been disentitled or disqualified or had met the qualification requirements under section 7.

2009, c. 33, s. 4 

Qualifying period

8. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (7), the qualifying period of an insured person is the shorter of

1. the 52-week period immediately before the beginning of a benefit period under subsection 10(1), and
2. the period that begins on the first day of an immediately preceding benefit period and ends with the end of the week before the beginning of a benefit period under subsection 10(1).

Extension of qualifying period

(2) A qualifying period mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is extended by the aggregate of any weeks during the qualifying period for which the person proves, in such manner as the Commission may direct, that throughout the week the person was not employed in insurable employment because the person was

1. incapable of work because of a prescribed illness, injury, quarantine or pregnancy;
   
2. confined in a jail, penitentiary or other similar institution;
   
3. receiving assistance under employment benefits; or
   
4. receiving payments under a provincial law on the basis of having ceased to work because continuing to work would have resulted in danger to the person, her unborn child or a child whom she was breast-feeding.

Extension resulting from severance payments

(3) A qualifying period mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is extended by the aggregate of any weeks during the qualifying period for which the person proves, in such manner as the Commission may direct, that

1. earnings paid because of the complete severance of their relationship with their former employer have been allocated to weeks in accordance with the regulations; and
   
2. the allocation has prevented them from establishing an interruption of earnings.

Further extension of qualifying period

(4) A qualifying period is further extended by the aggregate of any weeks during an extension for which the person proves, in such manner as the Commission may direct, that

1. in the case of an extension under subsection (2), the person was not employed in insurable employment because of a reason specified in that subsection; or
2. in the case of an extension under subsection (3), the person had earnings paid to them because of the complete severance of their relationship with their former employer.

Period not counted if benefits received

(5) For the purposes of subsections (2) to (4), a week during which the person was in receipt of benefits does not count.

Period not counted if insurable employment

(6) For the purposes of subsection (3) and paragraph (4)(b), a week during which the person was employed in insurable employment does not count.

Maximum extension of qualifying period

(7) No extension under any of subsections (2) to (4) may result in a qualifying period of more than 104 weeks.