Self Employed Mat. Leave (EI)

[liquid1010]

I have looked this up on the CRA site, but I cannot seem to find a clear answer. My wife is currently self employed (40+ hrs a week), and does not currently contribute to EI.

If she were to go on Maternity Leave, I presume she would not be eligible for EI based on the fact that she has never paid in correct? However, anyone know how long she would need to pay in for in order to be eligible for benefits?

Thanks.

[sputnik]

You can't pay into EI when you are self employed.

If you could everyone who is self employed would just lay themselves off on a regular basis. You can't even pay into EI for immediate family members that work for you either.

[benyl]

She needs to pay EI before she gets pregnant. I think it is a year. When it was first introduced a couple of years ago, they waived it and you could claim right away.

You do have to continue to pay EI for the rest of your self employment career.

An example is here:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/s...rkers.shtml#q1

it isn't really worth it if you think you can work part time from home with the baby.