Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332)

PART IINational Employment Service

58 The national employment service maintained by the Commission under subsections 60(1) and (2) of the Act shall, for the purpose of facilitating the fullest possible integration into the Canadian work force of persons who need assistance in competing in the labour market, in cooperation with interested public authorities, employers, unions and organizations representing industries and industrial sectors,

• (a) collect and analyse the available information on the situation of the labour market, including information on labour market supply and demand, the economic and employment situations of individuals, families and communities, career and learning trends, and social and community conditions, and its probable evolution, both in Canada as a whole and in different industries, occupations and areas;

• (b) make that information available systematically and promptly to interested public authorities, the employers' and workers' organizations concerned and the general public;

• (c) help workers find suitable employment by

  • (i) making available to them information on employment opportunities locally, regionally and nationally, including information on specific job openings as well as general information on careers and occupations that are in demand in the labour market and the educational and skill requirements for those careers or occupations,

  • (ii) where appropriate, referring them to other sources of labour market information such as social service agencies and community employment services organizations,

  • (iii) obtaining from workers seeking employment such information as is necessary to effect proper referrals to employment opportunities within Canada and abroad,

  • (iv) in accordance with local community-based service and client targeting strategies, interviewing and counselling workers, when necessary, to assess their employment needs and assist them to develop action plans in order to address those needs, and

  • (v) providing them with information on the availability of special assistance where they are experiencing particular difficulty obtaining or keeping employment; and

• (d) help employers find suitable workers by

  • (i) obtaining from them information on job vacancies and such information as is necessary to effect proper referrals of workers to the employers,

  • (ii) advising them on various ways to meet their employment needs, and

  • (iii) making available to them information on workers searching for employment.

59 The national employment service shall be made available at no cost to all workers whether insured or not or whether they are claiming unemployment benefits or not, and to all employers, workers' organizations and interested public and private organizations providing employment assistance services to workers.

PART IIIReduction of Premium for Employers with Wage-Loss Plans

Interpretation

60 The definition in this section applies to this Part.

plan

plan means a wage-loss plan that covers insured persons employed by an employer, and includes a Weekly Indemnity Plan, a Special Weekly Indemnity Plan, a Cumulative Paid Sick Leave Plan and an Enhanced Cumulative Paid Sick Leave Plan referred to in sections 63, 64, 65 and 66, respectively. (régime)

Application

61 This Part applies where insured persons, who are employed by an employer and are covered by a plan that meets the requirements of section 63, 64, 65 or 66, benefit from a reduction of the employer's premium in an amount at least equal to five-twelfths of the reduction.

Reduction of Employer's Premium Rate

• 62 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an employer's premium rate fixed under section 68 of the Act shall be reduced, in respect of insured persons employed by that employer who are covered by a plan that meets the requirements of section 63, 64, 65 or 66 and is a qualifying plan pursuant to subsection 67(3), by the percentage by which

  • (a) the experience cost ratio calculated under subsection (3) in respect of each category of insured persons covered by such a plan

  is less than

  • (b) the first payer cost ratio calculated under subsection (4) for all insured persons.

• (2) An employer's premium rate fixed under section 68 of the Act shall not be reduced in respect of

  • (a) an insured person who is not covered under a plan;

  • (b) an insured person who is covered under a plan that does not meet the requirements of section 63, 64, 65 or 66; or

  • (c) an insured person whose eligibility to use days of paid sick leave is deferred under a plan that meets the requirements of section 65 or 66.

• (3) For the purpose of determining the experience cost ratio for a year, the Commission shall, in respect of each category of insured persons covered by plans that meet the requirements of section 63, 64, 65 or 66, divide

  • (a) the average cost of benefits paid under section 12 and paragraph 18(1)(b) of the Act to insured persons whose interruption of earnings was by reason of illness, injury or quarantine

  by

  • (b) the average amount of the yearly insurable earnings for the insured persons,

  with both averages being taken over the three years ending concurrently with the second year preceding the year for which the calculation is made.

• (4) For the purpose of determining the first payer cost ratio for a year, the Commission shall, in respect of all insured persons, divide

  • (a) the average cost of benefits that would have been paid under section 12 and paragraph 18(1)(b) of the Act to insured persons whose interruption of earnings was by reason of illness, injury or quarantine, as estimated by the Commission, if benefits payable under a group sickness or disability wage-loss indemnity plan or paid sick leave plan were disregarded for the purpose of determining benefits otherwise payable to persons under the Act,

  by

  • (b) the average of the yearly insurable earnings for the insured persons,

  with both averages being taken over the three years ending concurrently with the second year preceding the year for which the calculation is made.

Standards

63 A Weekly Indemnity Plan shall meet the following requirements:

• (a) an insured person who is employed by an employer and covered by the plan becomes eligible to claim benefits under the plan in respect of an illness or injury on or before the first day of the month following

  • (i) the last day of a period of not more than three months of continuous employment beginning on the day of commencement of the employment, or

  • (ii) if the plan is based on an hour-bank principle, the day on which the person has an accumulation of not more than 400 hours of active employment;

• (b) if an insured person is required to serve an elimination period during which no benefit is payable under the plan, that period does not exceed seven consecutive days beginning with the first day of the period of incapacity due to illness or injury;

• (c) benefits are paid in full under the plan regardless of

  • (i) the amount of the benefits that are payable to an insured person under the Act, and

  • (ii) the amount of the benefits, payable from any other source, that do not constitute earnings under section 35;

• (d) the benefits payable to an insured person under the plan are equivalent to an amount that is equal to or greater than 55% of the insured person's normal weekly insurable earnings;

• (e) subject to the elimination period referred to in paragraph (b), full benefits payable to an insured person under the plan are reinstated

  • (i) in the case of the recurrence of an illness or injury, after three months of active employment following their most recent absence due to that illness or injury or, where the plan is based on an hour-bank principle, after the accumulation of the first 400 hours of active employment by that person following their most recent absence due to that illness or injury, and

  • (ii) in the case of a new illness or injury, after one month of active employment following their most recent absence due to another illness or injury or, where the plan is based on an hour-bank principle, after the accumulation of the first 150 hours of active employment by that person following their most recent absence due to another illness or injury;

• (f) in any case not referred to in paragraph (e) and subject to the elimination period referred to in paragraph (b), benefits are payable under the plan in respect of an illness or injury until the earliest of

  • (i) the end of a period of at least 15 weeks during which the benefits are paid,

  • (ii) the end of the period of incapacity due to the illness or injury,

  • (iii) the date the insured person retires, and

  • (iv) the date of the insured person's separation from employment for any reason other than illness or injury, where notice of the separation was given before the onset of the illness or the occurrence of the injury; and

• (g) the only conditions precluding the payment of benefits under the plan to an insured person to whom they would be otherwise payable are conditions that preclude payment to an insured person

  • (i) who is not under the care of a licensed physician,

  • (ii) whose illness or injury is covered by federal or provincial laws respecting workers' compensation, the Canada Pension Plan or An Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, where amounts paid under those laws or Acts constitute earnings under section 35,

  • (iii) whose illness or injury is intentionally self-inflicted,

  • (iv) whose illness or injury results from service in the armed forces,

  • (v) whose illness or injury results from war or participation in a riot or in a disturbance of the public order,

  • (vi) who becomes ill or is injured during a leave of absence or a period of paid vacation,

  • (vii) who is in receipt of benefits under section 22, 23, 23.1, 23.2 or 23.3 of the Act,

  • (viii) whose illness or injury is sustained while committing a criminal offence,

  • (ix) who is engaged in employment for a wage or profit during any period for which the person claims benefits under the plan,

  • (x) who becomes ill or is injured after having lost employment by reason of a stoppage of work attributable to a labour dispute at the place where the person was employed, if the person's right to benefits under the plan is reinstated on their return to active employment,

  • (xi) who is an inmate of a prison or similar institution,

  • (xii) who is not entitled to benefits payable under the Act because the person is not in Canada,

  • (xiii) whose illness results from the use of drugs or alcohol and who is not receiving continuing treatment for the use of drugs or alcohol,

  • (xiv) whose illness or injury, resulting from a motor vehicle accident, is covered by a provincial plan described in paragraph 35(2)(d),

  • (xv) who is receiving a retirement pension from the employer,

  • (xvi) who is absent from work because of plastic surgery performed solely for cosmetic purposes, except where the need for surgery is attributable to an illness or injury, or

  • (xvii) who, in the case of a recurring disability, is receiving benefits under a group long-term disability plan that contains a reinstatement provision, where the reinstatement period under that plan does not exceed six months.

64 A Special Weekly Indemnity Plan shall meet the following requirements:

• (a) the plan must be provided or financed, in whole or in part, by an employer that is Her Majesty in right of a province, a provincial Crown corporation, a municipal authority or a public authority of a province or an institution primarily controlled, supported or financed by a province;

• (b) the plan must satisfy all the requirements of section 63, except the requirements of paragraphs 63(e) and (f);

• (c) subject to the elimination period referred to in paragraph 63(b), full benefits payable under the plan to an insured person are reinstated after one month of active employment following their most recent absence due to illness or injury; and

• (d) in any case not referred to in paragraph (c) and subject to the elimination period referred to in paragraph 63(b), benefits under the plan are payable with respect to the insured person's illness or injury until the earliest of

  • (i) the end of a period of at least 52 weeks during which the benefits are paid,

  • (ii) the end of the period of incapacity due to the illness or injury,

  • (iii) the date the insured person retires, and

  • (iv) the date of the insured person's separation from employment resulting from any reason other than illness or injury, where notice of the separation was given before the onset of the illness or the occurrence of the injury.

65 A Cumulative Paid Sick Leave Plan shall meet the following requirements:

• (a) the plan must satisfy all the requirements of section 63, except the requirements of paragraphs 63(e) and (f);

• (b) the plan must credit an insured person covered by the plan, after the completion of the period referred to in subparagraph 63(a)(i) or after the accumulation of the number of hours referred to in subparagraph 63(a)(ii), with one or more days of paid sick leave for each subsequent full month of active employment, of which at least one day per month is available only for the insured person’s illness or injury, while the insured person remains at home because of pregnancy or to care for a child or children referred to in subsection 23(1) of the Act or while the insured person is providing care or support to a family member referred to in subsection 23.1(2) of the Act, to a critically ill child or to a critically ill adult;

• (c) notwithstanding paragraph (b), the plan may

  • (i) allow the paid sick leave credit referred to in that paragraph to be prorated in relation to the total period of active employment in a month,

  • (ii) preclude the accumulation of paid sick leave for a month in which the insured person has not been actively employed for at least twice the number of hours in the insured person's normal work week, and

  • (iii) allow the insured person to use paid sick leave while remaining at home because of pregnancy or to care for a child or children referred to in subsection 23(1) of the Act or while providing care or support to a family member referred to in subsection 23.1(2) of the Act, to a critically ill child or to a critically ill adult.

• (d) where eligibility to use paid sick leave is deferred in the case of an insured person who is employed on a temporary basis or is serving a probationary period, it cannot be deferred for a period greater than 12 months beginning on the day the insured person commences employment or joins the plan;

• (e) the days of paid sick leave available only in respect of the insured person’s illness or injury, or while the insured person remains at home because of pregnancy or to care for a child or children referred to in subsection 23(1) of the Act or while the insured person is providing care or support to a family member referred to in subsection 23.1(2) of the Act, to a critically ill child or to a critically ill adult, that are not used for those purposes must be accumulated at the rate prescribed in paragraphs (b) and (c), and the maximum number of days of paid sick leave that may be so accumulated is not less than 75 working days; and

• (f) subject to the elimination period referred to in paragraph 63(b), benefits are payable under the plan with respect to the insured person's illness or injury until the earliest of

  • (i) the end of a period of at least 75 working days during which the benefits are paid,

  • (ii) the end of the period of incapacity due to the illness or injury,

  • (iii) the exhaustion of all accumulated paid sick leave,

  • (iv) the date the insured person retires, and

  • (v) the date of the insured person's separation from employment for any reason other than illness or injury, where notice of the separation was given before the onset of the illness or the occurrence of the injury.