Shorter Employment Insurance waiting period coming into effect
Many Canadians will have a much-needed holiday gift coming their way on behalf of the government. Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, the Employment Insurance (EI) waiting period will be shortened from two weeks to one week.
The way things are currently structured, Canadians can only receive the income benefits of EI after a two-week buffer period. For many employees who are laid off and depend on that steady income, any time where they are earning nothing can be devastating. Or if another factor has forced them to step away from a job, government support can make all the difference.
"By shortening the waiting period, we are taking a concrete step to ease financial pressures for claimants who have lost their jobs or who leave work for health reasons or family pressures," said Canada's Minister of Children, Families and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos.
While the waiting period is going down, this does not affect the maximum number of weeks of benefits a claimant can receive. There is also no difference in the timelines by which people process claims and receive their first payments.
This change was one of several regarding the EI program that were announced earlier in 2016. The costs of funding such changes will total more than a billion dollars. Some of the other changes included a deduction of the number of hours worked before one can qualify for EI (going from 910 to 420-700), an extension of the "working while on claim" pilot project, and an expansion of the work-sharing arrangements program where workers who face potential layoffs can split a smaller-than-normal amount of hours with a fellow employee whilst also claiming some benefits.