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Labour & Employment Law Blog

Employment Insurance EI and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit CERB

Employment Insurance EI and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit CERB

With the COVID-19 and Coronavirus developments we have been getting a lot of telephone calls regarding a person’s eligibility for CERB or EI. Below is a brief outline setting out the eligibility requirements.

When it comes to CERB and EI, you should be aware of the following:

  • The CERB program will provide you $500 per week up to 16 weeks.
  • As a worker, to be eligible you have to be residing in Canada and be at least 15 years of age.
  • You have stopped working due to “reasons related” to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) or you are, otherwise, eligible to receive EI / employment insurance or regular sickness benefits. You may also be eligible if you have exhausted your regular employment insurance benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020.
  • In 2019, whether you were employed and / or self-employed, your income should have been at least $5,000 or in the 12 months prior to the date of the application and you did not resign your employment voluntarily.
  • When you are submitting your first claim, you cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and / or self employment income for 14 or more consecutive days in the four-week benefit period of your claim.
  • In subsequent claims for CERB, you cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and / or self-employment income for the entire four-week benefit period of your claim.

The government advises that when submitting a claim for CERB you must do so either through the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada, not both.

The above article is for general information purposes only, does not constitute legal advice or create a solicitor-client relationship. Because each case is unique and factually driven, if you have concerns with regard to the foregoing issues, please make an appointment with one of our lawyers or a qualified legal practitioner elsewhere. We represent clients in the Greater Toronto Area including Toronto, North York, Markham, Vaughan, Thornhill, Newmarket, Aurora, Brampton, Mississauga, Barrie, Ajax, Whitby, Pickering and Oshawa.