Questions about EI

[Hero_X]

Hey everyone

My work place has slowed down a lot and i may have to take some time off. The thing is, I don't have much vacation days. So my options are either

A) Take some time off unpaid

B) Get laid off

I'm thinking of just going unpaid for a bit.. but my question is, how will this affect my EI?

How long can we go unpaid for? OR does going unpaid for even a little bit fuck up EI eligibility?

Please share your thoughts, thanks!

[MrSector9]

depedning on what you make the only way taking unpaid time off will affect you is when they figure the amount of "benefits" you recieve based on your last 52 (i think) weeks of employment, the basically use that amount and then you get 55%(i think) of your gross up to what people call "top stamp" ($524 per week)

I think they do take out the highest and lowest paid weeks though when they figure out your average.

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#calculate

Does not affect your eligiblity at all, with the exception of mentioned above and your waiting period before you can claim for EI benefits.

[dandia89]

Do you know what type of severance you can get if you take option B? that'll be important to know for EI.

[Hero_X]

I will get 6 weeks severance.

Mrsector9,

I didn't quite understand what you meant, that they take the highest and the lowest...

Lets say I make 70$k/yr and I've been working for 3 years. So they would select the last 52 weeks that I worked, and if there is any unpaid time (or weeks with lower pay) they still will select those weeks as well. Correct?

That means my total gross earnings, to which they would apply the 55% would be lower... in the end resulting in lower benefits. Is this correct?

:nut: Hope I'm on the right track..

[killramos]

Here is another question. If you take the unpaid time off will they guarantee you a job later?

Severance is more of a permanent thing.

If you are talking about a month or 2 of unpaid time off it might be worth while to take the severance and get another job?

For tax reasons it would also help if you can extend the time until you are EI eligible until the end of the year and only collect EI benefits next year.

[Kloubek]

I think you're right Hero_X. They would basically take your average weekly wage over the last year - including both low and high times.

If one was making 70k a year and took a few weeks off, I imagine it would make virtually zero difference to benefits, since they still have made enough to reach the maximum $524 in benefits.

...of course, I could be wrong....

[mazdavirgin]

Originally posted by killramos
Here is another question. If you take the unpaid time off will they guarantee you a job later?

The answer is no... Coworker of mine took a month off of unpaid leave. Got laid off during his unpaid leave via a phone call. Legally there is no requirement for them to retain you or pay you once you come back. They just have to follow labor laws and package you out.

[sabad66]

They use your best weeks within the last 52 weeks. This can be anywhere from 14 to 22 weeks depending on unemployment rates in the province.

From the site:
We will calculate the amount of your weekly benefits based on your total earnings before deductions during the “best weeks” in your qualifying period. (This includes tips and commissions.) Your qualifying period is the 52-week period prior to the start date of your EI claim. Your best weeks are the weeks that you earned the most money. In regions of Canada with the highest rates of unemployment, we will calculate using the best 14 weeks; in regions of Canada with the lowest rates of unemployment, we will use the best 22 weeks. In other regions, the number of weeks used to calculate benefits will be somewhere between 14 and 22, depending on the unemployment rate in those regions.


So to me that means that as long as you have 22 "full" weeks within the last year taking some unpaid time off won't affect your benefits.

[Kobe]

Originally posted by Hero_X
Hey everyone

My work place has slowed down a lot and i may have to take some time off. The thing is, I don't have much vacation days. So my options are either

A) Take some time off unpaid

B) Get laid off

I'm thinking of just going unpaid for a bit.. but my question is, how will this affect my EI?

How long can we go unpaid for? OR does going unpaid for even a little bit fuck up EI eligibility?

Please share your thoughts, thanks!

God second EI thread I'm replying in :rofl:

Anyways when you go on EI you will NOT get paid for the first two weeks of Unemployment this is something you should put into the equation, so I'm assuming if u take 2 weeks off Non-paid than get laid off you will not be getting money for a month. (The date ur laid off)

If you know you are going to be getting laid off when you return just go on EI now IMO..

Website says you need 665 hours in the last 52 weeks to get EI now, it used to be 910hrs 1st time than 700 second time..

The more hours you have the longer you will get EI for..

Regarding getting paid when your filling it out I think you could choose hourly/yearly they do the math after but hitting the cap was pretty easy usually since it's around $1,800/month now (it used to be like 1,500/month)