Has anyone tried/gotten their EI benefits?

Comments

• justinbh2

  July 2009 edited July 2009

  There is a lot of pressure on EI right now due to the tightening economy and people losing there jobs. Processing times may longer than whats advertised. Generally it is taking about 6-8 weeks to process an application.
  
  My wife waited about 7 weeks for her maternity to kick in a few months ago.
  
  If your insurable hours meets or exceeds your regions minimum hours to collect EI then you should qualify, assuming you dont have any other type of income. You will need your record of employment and you will have to fill out the standard docs. While waiting for your application to be processed I believe you have to do weekly questionnaires that assess how your job hunt is going. Once accepted you will have to continue to fill out these questionnaires.
  
  I remember trying to get EI once and I was 30 hours short. Assuming you have the hours and the system still operates that way(it didnt change in the last 5 years) you should be fine.
  
  http://www100.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ae-ei/dem-app/english/home2.html
• vonnie

  July 2009 edited July 2009

  Thanks Justin.
  ETA: Hours for BC is 665.. I have almost double that lol.
  
  Is it true that I can only get it if I was fired or laid off?
• justinbh2

  July 2009 edited July 2009

  this should help:
  
  Can you get EI?
  You can get regular benefits if all the following things apply to you:
  
  
  You lost your job through no fault of your own, for example, you were laid off. If you quit or were fired, you may not be able to collect – it depends on why you quit or were fired. If you had a good reason to quit – for example, you were harassed – you may still be able to collect EI.
  
  You paid Employment Insurance premiums when you worked.
  
  You worked the required number of insurable hours. This number depends on where you live and the unemployment rate in your economic region when you apply. If you’re in the workforce for the first time, or re-entering the workforce after an absence of 2 or more years, you may need at least 910 hours of insurable work in the last 52 weeks. Service Canada can extend this 52-week qualifying period if you prove you were unable to work because you were:
  a. ill, injured, quarantined, or pregnant, or
  b. in jail or penitentiary, or
  c. attending a course that HRSDC sent you on.
  
  People who are not new to the workforce may need between 420 and 700 insurable hours of work in their qualifying period, depending on the unemployment rate in their region when they file their claim. Check the government websites (Service Canada and HRSDC) in this script for details because the number of hours varies, based on several things.
  
  You have been without work and pay for at least seven days in a row.
  
  You apply for EI – see the next section for how and when to apply.
  
  You are available for work but can’t find a job. If you refuse a suitable job offer while collecting EI, you could lose it.
  In maternity, parental, sickness, compassionate care, fishing, and farming cases, there are special rules. In these cases, phone Service Canada at 1.800.206.7218 or visit its website at www.servicecanada.gc.ca.
  
  http://www.cba.org/BC/public_media/employment/282.aspx