Section 4 - Protecting Worker's Rights

Lesson 18 - Financial Help for Worker's in Need

What happens to workers who are injured on the job so badly that they can no longer work?

What about those simply forced to take time off work until they recover from their injuries? Is there any money available to help them out?

Are they entitled to financial help even if their injuries were due to their own carelessness? If so, who decides on what help the injured workers will receive-and how much they will get?

What help is there for employees who lose their jobs?

At one time these people-and their families-would have been entirely on their own; after all, they had contracted with an employer to work, and if they could no longer do the job, or if they were laid off, the contract was over.

Today, fortunately, things are different, and in this lesson you will get an introduction to some of the help that now exists for workers in need.

Employment Insurance

Unemployment. It is a word we hear every day, it seems. Economists are always watching the employment figures in an attempt to judge how well the economy is performing.

On a personal level, short of a serious illness, an accident, or the death of a loved one, few things in life are as devastating as the loss of a job.

Fortunately, laws and programs exist to help people who suddenly find themselves unemployed.

Unemployed Canadian workers have been collecting government payments since 1942 from employment insurance, often called simply EI. Basically, the system works like this: workers and their employers both make monthly contributions into an employment-insurance fund; then, if the workers get laid off after having worked a minimum length of time, they can collect money from this fund as they search for another job.

Employment insurance: a system whereby working people make regular financial contributions to create a pool of money from which contributors can withdraw if they lose their jobs.

To figure out how much you can claim in EI benefits, the government takes your average earnings in the 26 weeks just prior to your job loss and a mathematic calculation is then done. Then you will start receiving regular cheques, but this is not meant to support you in a life of idleness or laziness. If you have lost your job, the government expects you to be actively looking for another and to take a reasonable job offer when it comes along. They will monitor you closely; and if they find out you're not really trying to go back to work, your benefits will likely be cut off.

If you lose your job, you should apply for employment insurance payments right away. There is a a two-week waiting period for which no benefits are paid, and then it will likely be another few weeks before cheques begin to arrive.

Workers' Compensation

What happens if you are injured on the job and as a result cannot work? In Alberta, the Workers' Compensation Act , a provincial statute, provides for a program known as workers' compensation, administered by the Worker's Compensation Board, that gives financial support for employees who find themselves in this position.

Every province in Canada provides compensation for injured workers, and the rules vary from province to province.

Workers' Compensation:  a system whereby benefits are paid to workers injured on the job or suffering health problems related to the workplace.

Most Alberta employees are covered by the Workers' Compensation program. If one of these employees is hurt on the job, that employee can collect from a fund until he or she can return to work. The fund is paid for completely by employers.

The amount of compensation you get depends on how badly you are hurt. If you are totally disabled, you can get 90 percent of your usual earnings. If you can still do some work, the Workers' Compensation Board will determine how much you will receive.

If you are killed in an accident on the job and you have a spouse who's financially dependent on you, your spouse will get what you would have received if you had been totally disabled.

As with EI, you must report an injury on the job immediately.

Test Yourself:

1. Mrs. NG was killed when the scaffolding she was working on collapsed. At the time of her death, her net earnings were $800 a week. Her husband had lost his job several months earlier. Would Mr. NG be entitled to workers' compensation benefits? If so, how much would he likely get?

2. Maurice was seriously injured while driving from his office to a meeting where he was to present his company's new line of products. He can no longer work. Can he make a claim for workers' compensation? Explain your answer.

View the Suggested Answers here for Questions 1 and 2

1 . Yes, Mr. Ng would likely be entitled to workers' compensation benefits since, at the time of his wife's death on the job, he was financially dependent on her. He should receive the amount Mrs. Ng would have been awarded if she'd lived but been totally disabled 90 percent of your earnings, or $720 a week. Note, however, that Mr. Ng would not receive this money for life; he would be expected to return to work as soon as possible.

2. Yes, Maurice can make a claim since his injuries occurred while he was on the job. The fact that he was not actually at the office does not matter, since the injury happened in the course of his duties.