Changes To The EI Benefit Could Make It ‘More Accessible & Simple For Canadians’
The 2021 federal budget has proposed several legislative changes to Employment Insurance (EI) in Canada that aim to make the support “more accessible and simple for Canadians.”
This includes continuing "uniform access to EI benefits across all regions, including through a 420-hour entrance requirement for regular and special benefits, with a 14 week minimum entitlement for regular benefits."
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The changes would also allow claimants to start receiving EI sooner by simplifying rules around severance and vacation pay, among other things.
Additionally, the budget proposes the extension of EI Sickness Benefits to “better support Canadians suffering from illness or injury.”
This would extend the sickness benefit from 15 to 26 weeks, providing approximately 169,000 Canadians every year with “additional time and flexibility to recover and return to work.”