When are employees eligible for EI benefits due to COVID-19

When are employees eligible for EI benefits due to COVID-19

  1. If an employee is taking care of a family member who has tested positive for COVID-19 they can apply for Family Caregiver or Compassionate Care EI benefits with Service Canada. 
    1. Family caregiver benefits provide: 
      1. Up to 35 weeks for taking care of a critically ill or injured person under 18 
      2. Up to 15 weeks for a critically injured person 18 or over
    2. Compassionate care benefits provide:
      1. Up to 26 weeks for a person of any age who requires end-of-life care
  2. Employees directly affected by COVID-19 (sick or in quarantine), and requesting EI sickness benefits, can contact the Employment Insurance dedicated campaign line at 1-833-381-2725. The Commission will determine the EI benefit entitlement.
  3. If an employer chooses to close their business for COVID-19 safety reasons, this will be treated as a layoff. An ROE must be issued using Code “A” Shortage of Work – Layoff.
  4. In case of temporary layoff due to COVID-19, there is no requirement to pay notice payment. Each jurisdiction has legislation that limits the length of time a layoff can be in place before it is considered a permanent ending of employment by the employer. The labour and employment standards of most jurisdictions distinguish between layoff and termination of employment. For more information please refer to the CPA’s Payroll Best Practice Guidelines on Termination (member login required).

    • Related Articles

    • COVID-19 resources

      To ensure that you're able to access all of our documentation with what you need to know during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have catalogued the following links for your reference. COVID-19 What you need to do if you are eligible for the Temporary Wage ...

    • Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) rates

      We've compiled some key CPP and EI figures in the tables below as a helpful reference for when you're reviewing payroll deductions for your organization. Note that these figures are subject to change and that the most up-to-date numbers can be found ...

    • What is a Record of Employment (ROE)?

      What is a ROE? A Record of Employment (ROE) is a form that employers complete and file to Service Canada at the end of an employee's service. This is for the employee in the event that they stop working and experience an interruption in earnings. ...

    • Code to use on the ROE due to COVID-19

      Use the following reason codes in Block 16 when issuing an ROE due to COVID-19. When issuing an ROE, ensure you leave Block 18 (the comments section) blank. Any comments within this section will slow down the claim process and will remove the ROE ...

    • COVID-19 What you need to do if you are eligible for the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers

      The federal government has announced the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers to help Canadian businesses keep employees and to recall those who were laid off. The subsidy is equal to 10% of the remuneration you pay from March 18, 2020 to June 20, ...