Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332)

Regions

• 18 (1) The regions described in Schedule I are hereby established for the purposes of Parts I and VIII of the Act.

• (2) The Commission shall, at least once every five years after the coming into force of subsection (1), review the boundaries of the regions established by that subsection for the purpose of determining if it is appropriate to make changes to those boundaries.

Information Relating to Employment History

Record of Employment

• 19 (1) In subsections (2) to (4), "employer" includes a bankrupt employer or the trustee of a bankrupt employer.

• (2) Every employer shall complete a record of employment, on a form supplied by the Commission, in respect of a person employed by the employer in insurable employment who has an interruption of earnings.

• (3) Subject to subsection (4), copies of the record of employment completed in paper form in accordance with subsection (2) shall be distributed by the employer in the following manner:

  • (a) the employee's copy shall be delivered to the insured person not later than five days after the later of

    • (i) the first day of the interruption of earnings, and

    • (ii) the day on which the employer becomes aware of the interruption of earnings;

  • (b) the Commission's copy shall be sent to the Commission within the time limit set out in paragraph (a); and

  • (c) the employer's copy shall be kept and retained as a part of the employer's records and books of account in accordance with subsection 87(3) of the Act.

• (3.1) The record of employment completed in electronic form in accordance with subsection (2) shall be distributed by the employer in the following manner:

  • (a) it shall be sent to the Commission not later than the earlier of

    • (i) five days after the end of the pay period during which the first day of the employee’s interruption of earnings fell, and

    • (ii) if there are 13 or fewer pay periods per year under the employer’s pay cycle, 15 days after the first day of the interruption of earnings; and

  • (b) it shall be kept and retained as part of the employer’s records and books of account in accordance with subsection 87(3) of the Act.

• (4) Where, for reasons beyond the employer's control, an employer is unable to deliver the employee's copy of the completed record of employment to the insured person within the time limit set out in paragraph (3)(a), the employer shall

  • (a) where the employer knows the insured person's mailing address, mail the copy to that person; or

  • (b) where the insured person's mailing address is not known to the employer, retain the copy until whichever of the following first occurs,

    • (i) the copy is requested by the Commission,

    • (ii) the copy is requested by the person, or

    • (iii) 52 weeks have elapsed since the record of employment was completed.

• (5) Where an employer has failed to deliver a record of employment to an insured person or to the Commission or the employer is not available or is unable to provide information respecting the record of hours of insurable employment and the insurable earnings of that person because the employer's records are destroyed or lost, the person, on becoming a claimant, may provide, in respect of their hours of insurable employment and insurable earnings, a statement containing evidence of the hours and earnings.

• (6) Where a bankrupt employer or the trustee of a bankrupt employer has not provided a record of employment to an insured person or to the Commission, the Commission shall, in respect of that person, determine the number of hours of insurable employment and the amount of insurable earnings for benefit purposes on the basis of the payroll and personnel records of the bankrupt employer provided by the trustee.

Hours of Insurable Employment for Record of Employment

20 The number of hours of insurable employment reported in a record of employment with respect to an insured person shall be determined pursuant to Part I of the Act and any regulations made under that Part.

Insurable Earnings

21 The insurable earnings reported in a record of employment with respect to an insured person shall be determined pursuant to Parts III and IV of the Act and any regulations made under those Parts and allocated in accordance with section 23.

Allocation of Hours of Insurable Employment to the Qualifying Period

• 22 (1) Where a period of employment falls partially within a claimant's qualifying period, the Commission shall, unless the claimant or employer provides evidence of the number of hours actually worked within the qualifying period

  • (a) first allocate the total number of hours worked by the claimant proportionately over the whole period of employment if that period is 52 weeks or less, or over the period of employment covered by the record of employment if that period is more than 52 weeks, on the basis that the claimant worked the same number of hours on each of the seven days of each week; and

  • (b) then allocate the hours, that have been allocated under paragraph (a) to the portion of the period of employment that falls within the qualifying period, proportionately over the corresponding portion of the qualifying period.

• (2) Where the allocation referred to in subsection (1) results in a number of hours that contains a fraction of an hour, the fraction shall be counted as a whole hour.

Allocation of Insurable Earnings

• 23 (1) For the purposes of section 14 of the Act, insurable earnings shall be allocated in the following manner:

  • (a) remuneration, including statutory holiday pay, other than the remuneration referred to in paragraph (b), paid in respect of a pay period shall be allocated in the following manner:

    • (i) if the remuneration is paid in respect of work performed during the pay period, it shall be allocated to that pay period in proportion to the hours worked during each day of the period,

    • (ii) if the remuneration is paid in respect of a period of leave, it shall be allocated to that period at the rate at which the period was compensated,

    • (iii) if the remuneration is paid in respect of a period of leave in the form of a lump-sum payment calculated on a basis other than the length of the period of leave, it shall be allocated proportionately over the whole period;

  • (b) overtime pay, shift premiums, pay adjustments, retroactive pay increases, bonuses, gratuities, accumulated sick leave credits, incentive payments, cost of living allowances, separation payments, and wages in lieu of notice and vacation pay not paid in respect of a pay period shall be allocated proportionately over the pay period in which they are paid;

  • (c) any other remuneration not paid in respect of a pay period and not covered by paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be allocated proportionally over the pay period in which it is paid; and

  • (d) remuneration that remains unpaid for reasons described in subsection 2(2) of the Insurable Earnings and Collection of Premiums Regulations shall be allocated under paragraphs (a) to (c) in the same manner as if it had actually been paid in the normal course of business.

• (1.1) Where an insured person is on unpaid leave or has quit their employment or been terminated or laid off, the remuneration referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall be allocated proportionately over the last pay period for which regular salary, wages or commissions are paid.

• (2) Where an insured person is employed in insurable employment on the basis of a contract for a fixed term and their insurable earnings under the contract are not paid on a regular basis, the insurable earnings shall, regardless of the basis on which they are paid, be allocated proportionately over the term of the contract.

• (3) Where the remuneration of an insured person consists solely of commissions or of salary and irregularly paid commissions, the person's insurable earnings paid in the period of employment or in the last 52 weeks, whichever is shorter, shall be allocated proportionately over the shorter of the period of employment and the last 52 weeks, as applicable, excluding weeks for which the insured person is on unpaid leave of absence from employment for one of the reasons referred to in subsection 12(3) of the Act.

• (4) Where an insured person has insurable earnings to which none of subsections (1) to (3) apply, the insurable earnings paid in the period of employment or in the last 52 weeks, whichever is shorter, shall be allocated proportionately over the shorter of the period of employment and the last 52 weeks, as applicable.

• (5) Where the insurable earnings of an insured person for a pay period that is running at the time the insured person is laid off or separated from employment cannot be ascertained with accuracy, the employer may estimate the person's insurable earnings for that period.

24 If a period of employment for which insurable earnings have been reported on the record of employment falls partially within a week that is included in the claimant’s qualifying period, the Commission shall, unless presented by the claimant or the employer with evidence of the amount of insurable earnings actually earned in the week, allocate the amount of insurable earnings, not including any insurable earnings paid or payable by reason of lay-off or separation from employment, proportionately over that period of employment, on the basis that the claimant earned the same amount of insurable earnings for each of the seven days of each week.

24.1 For the purposes of paragraph 14(3)(b) of the Act, the insurable earnings paid or payable to the claimant, during the qualifying period, by reason of lay-off or separation from employment is the lesser of

• (a) the actual amount of those earnings, and

• (b) the amount calculated in accordance with the following formula:

  A x 0.18

  where

  A

  is the claimant’s insurable earnings during the calculation period — not including those referred to in paragraph (a) — paid or payable for the employment that gave rise to the earnings referred to in that paragraph.

24.2 [Repealed, SOR/2013-45, s. 3]

Exclusion of Certain Insurable Earnings in the Calculation of the Rate of Weekly Benefits of a Self-employed Person

24.3 For the purposes of paragraph 152.16(1)(b) of the Act, the following insurable earnings are not taken into account in the calculation of the rate of weekly benefits of a self-employed person:

• (a) insurable earnings from any employment that they lost because of their misconduct or that they voluntarily left without just cause within the meaning of paragraphs 29(b.1) and (c) of the Act; and

• (b) insurable earnings in the qualifying period earned before the beginning of a prior benefit period established under Part I of the Act or regulations made under Part VIII of the Act for the self-employed person as an insured person.

Week of Benefits

• 25 (1) For the purpose of section 145 of the Act, a claimant is considered to have been paid a week of benefits when the total of the percentages of benefits paid for one or more weeks of unemployment equals 100.

• (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the percentage of benefits paid for a week shall be obtained by dividing the amount of the benefits paid to the claimant for that week by the rate of weekly benefits applicable to that week.

Election to Receive Benefits Payable Under Part I or VII.1 of the Act

25.1 The election referred to in subsection 152.09(1) of the Act shall be made to the Commission in writing.

Claim for Benefits

• 26 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a claim for benefits for a week of unemployment in a benefit period shall be made by a claimant within three weeks after the week for which benefits are claimed.

• (2) Where a claimant has not made a claim for benefits for four or more consecutive weeks, the first claim for benefits after that period for a week of unemployment shall be made within one week after the week for which benefits are claimed.

• 26.1 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

  condition of entitlement to benefits

  condition of entitlement to benefits means any requirement, circumstance or condition referred to in subsection 49(1) of the Act. (condition d'admissibilité au bénéfice des prestations)

  period of eligibility

  period of eligibility means

  • (a) in respect of the benefits referred to in subparagraph (2)(c)(i), one of the following periods, to which is added the waiting period referred to in section 13 of the Act if that period has not already been served:

    • (i) the period referred to in subsection 22(2) of the Act and any extension of that period,

    • (ii) the period referred to in subsection 23(2) of the Act,

    • (iii) the period referred to in subsection 23.1(4) of the Act,

    • (iv) the period referred to in subsection 23.2(3) of the Act,

    • (v) the period referred to in subsection 23.3(3) of the Act;

  • (b) in respect of the benefits referred to in subparagraph (2)(c)(ii), the period during which the claimant attends a course or program, referred to in paragraph 25(1)(a) of the Act, that is an apprenticeship course or an apprenticeship program; and

  • (c) in respect of the benefits referred to in subparagraph (2)(c)(iii), the period during which the claimant is employed in work-sharing employment referred to in section 24 of the Act. (période d’admissibilité)

• (2) Notwithstanding section 26, a claimant is not required to make periodic claims for benefits in accordance with that section where

  • (a) the claimant makes an initial claim for benefits or a claim in respect of which subsection 26(2) applies;

  • (b) the claimant's period of eligibility ends after June 26, 1999;

  • (c) the claimant makes a claim for benefits in respect of every week of unemployment in the claimant's period of eligibility

    • (i) for a reason set out in paragraph 12(3)(a), (b), (d), (e) or (f) of the Act,

    • (ii) under section 25 of the Act, to attend an apprenticeship course or an apprenticeship program, or

    • (iii) under section 24 of the Act, to receive work-sharing benefits, and

  • (d) the claimant completes a form, provided by the Commission, stating that

    • (i) to the best of the claimant’s knowledge at the time of completing the form, there are no conditions of entitlement to benefits that will not be met for each week in the period of eligibility, except in respect of earnings that may be deducted under section 19, 22, 23, 23.1, 23.2 or 23.3 of the Act during that period,

    • (ii) the claimant will notify the Commission as soon as possible if the claimant ceases to meet a condition of entitlement to benefits at any time during the period of eligibility and failure to meet that condition has the effect of reducing or eliminating any benefits for any week in the period of eligibility, or if the claimant has earnings referred to in subparagraph (i) in respect of that period, and

    • (iii) the claimant will notify the Commission at the end of the period of eligibility whether or not they have met the conditions of entitlement to benefits for each week in the period of eligibility and whether or not they have declared all earnings that could be deducted under section 19, 22, 23, 23.1, 23.2 or 23.3 of the Act during that period.

• (3) If the Commission becomes aware that the claimant does not meet a condition of entitlement to benefits during the claimant's period of eligibility, this section shall cease to apply in respect of the claimant's claim for benefits as of the date on which the Commission becomes aware of the claimant's failure to meet the condition.

Persons with Mental Disabilities, Incapacitated Persons and Deceased Persons

• 27 (1) If an initial claim for benefits or a claim for benefits for a week of unemployment is made to the Commission on behalf of a person with mental disabilities or an incapacitated person, the Commission shall authorize payment of the benefits to any person acting on behalf of the person if the person on whose behalf the claim is made meets the requirements of Part I, VII.1 or VIII of the Act.

• (2) If an initial claim for benefits or a claim for benefits for a week of unemployment is made to the Commission by the legal representative of a deceased person, the Commission shall authorize payment of the benefits to the legal representative if the deceased person, at the time of death, met the requirements of Part I, VII.1 or VIII of the Act.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), "legal representative" means the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased person.

• (4) Notwithstanding subsection (2), any person entitled to succeed to the property of a deceased person may make a claim for benefits, in accordance with subsections (5) and (6), which benefits are payable to the person where the total value of the estate of the deceased person is not sufficient to warrant obtaining

  • (a) in the case of an intestate succession, letters of administration; or

  • (b) in the case of a testate succession, probate of the will of the deceased person.

• (5) The claim for benefits referred to in subsection (4) shall be made on a form supplied by the Commission and shall include

  • (a) a statutory declaration, signed by the applicant, stating that the applicant is a person entitled to succeed to the property of the deceased person; and

  • (b) an undertaking signed by the applicant to repay to the Receiver General any moneys paid in error to the applicant.

• (6) When making a claim for benefits referred to in subsection (4), the applicant shall also submit

  • (a) a copy of the will of the deceased person, if one exists; and

  • (b) a release of all claims in respect of the amount payable, signed by all persons other than the applicant, if any, who are entitled to succeed to the property of the deceased person.