MAT1793-ABED_1: Employment Insurance (EI)

Constructing Knowledge

Employment Insurance (EI) is a federal program that insures Canadians against job loss. Much like CPP, the amount of EI you can collect depends on how much money you have contributed to EI through deductions off your paycheque. However, EI is different from CPP because the amount a person can collect also depends on other factors, such as how many weeks you have worked and the number of hours worked in the weeks leading up to the loss of the job.

Upon the loss of a job, if eligible, a person can apply for EI payments, and the federal government agency will provide income to the individual while he/she looks for new employment. EI payments are much lower than whatever income was being earned before the job loss.

The rate of deduction for EI is 1.88% of the gross annual income. For the purpose of this course, the maximum amount that any person will pay is $913.68/year.

Points to Ponder

People who are self employed often do not contibute to EI and are not eligible to collect EI benefits.

EI also pays for maternity/parental leave, compassionate care leave and will sometimes pay for retraining programs to help update individual's training. This educational assistance program is offered at the provincial level and is provided when an individual's current training is out of date and the person would have difficulties finding a job with their current skills.

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