Compassionate Care EI Benefits-A Reminder
By Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., Editor at HRinfodesk---Canadian Payroll and Employment Law,
Updated September 2006
EI BENEFITS
Entitlement
Compassionate care EI benefits may be paid up to a maximum of 6 weeks to a person who has to be absent from work to provide care or support to a gravely ill person (regardless of whether that person is a relative or a friend) with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.
The employee can share the 6 weeks compassionate care EI benefits with other eligible person, though individuals apply separately. The number of weeks that the employee will share with other members of their family or person should be decided and agreed between them at the time they apply for compassionate care benefits.
The basic benefit rate is 55% of the employee's average insured earnings, to a maximum of $413 per week. The employee's EI payment is a taxable income, provincial and federal taxes will be deducted.
Compassionate care benefits to care for or support a person who is gravely ill and at risk of dying within 26 weeks can be paid regardless of where that person lives. The employee must apply for benefits and submit the same information/documents as required for a person taking care of a gravely ill person residing in Canada.
When compassionate care benefits are combined with maternity, parental and sickness benefits, an employee can received up to a combined maximum of 71 weeks. Certains conditions apply. If the employee is in that situation and wants to know more, call our telephone information service at 1 800 206-7218 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and press "0" to speak to a representative. They can also write to the HRSDC or go in person to their Service Canada Centre.
On June 15, 2006, the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, has announced that regulatory changes take effect immediately and apply to all compassionate care benefit claims filed the week of 11 June 2006 or later. The Regulatory changes relax the rules regarding Compassionate Care Leave EI Benefits to allow anyone to qualify for benefits if they have been designated by a palliative care patient as a caregiver.
Definitions
- A caregiver can be the employee's:
- spouse, parent or child;
- brother or sister, including step-siblings;
- sibling of a spouse or common-law partner;
- grandparent and their spouse or common-law partner, or the grandparent of a spouse or common-law partner;
- grandchild and their spouse or common-law partner, or the grandchild of a spouse or common-law partner;
- spouse or common-law partner of a son or daughter, or of the son or daughter of a spouse or common-law partner;
- sibling's spouse or common-law partner;
- uncle or aunt and their spouse or common-law partner, or the uncle or aunt of a spouse or common-law partner;
- nephew or niece and their spouse or common-law partner, or the nephew or niece of a spouse or common-law partner;
- a current or former foster parent, child, ward, guardian or tutor, and their spouse or common-law partner;
- a person that is considered to be like a family member, such as a close friend or neighbour.
- Care or support to a family member or gravely ill person means:
- Providing psychological or emotional support, or
- Arranging for care by a third party, or
- Directly providing or participating in the care.
- A “Qualified medical practitioner” or “doctor” is considered: a person who is entitled to practice medicine under the laws of the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the care or treatment of a family member or a gravely ill person is provided.
Eligibility
To be eligible for compassionate care EI benefits, the employee must:
- Show that they have to be absent from work to provide care or support to a gravely ill family member or person with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.
- Provide a medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner as proof that the ill family member or person needs care or support and is at significant risk of death within 26 weeks. The medical practitioner must be the one treating the ailing family member or person.
- Show that their regular weekly earnings from work have decreased by more than 40%; and
- Show that they accumulated 600 insured hours in the last 52 weeks or since the start of their last claim. This period is called the qualifying period: the 52 week-period immediately before the start date of your claim, or the period since the start of a previous EI claim if that claim started during the 52 week-period.
Requirements
- The employee must provide information about the ill family member or person, such as first and family name, date of birth and residential address;
- The employee must provide a Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) medical certificate, called "Medical Certificate for Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits " (available for download and print in PDF) that must be completed and signed by a medical doctor or other medical practitioner authorized to treat the gravely ill family member or person. The form can also be accessed at Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) Employment Insurance (EI) Compassionate Care Benefits.
- The employee must have a Record of Employment (ROE) from their employer.
- The employee must serve a 2-week unpaid waiting period before their EI benefits is paid. Generally, this period is the first 2 weeks of their claim.
- The 26-week period starts:
- The week the doctor signs the medical certificate, or
- The week the doctor examines the gravely ill family member or person, or
- The week the family member or person became gravely ill, if the doctor can determine that date (i.e. the date of the test results)
- The benefits end when:
- 6 weeks compassionate care benefits have been paid, or
- the gravely ill family member or person dies or no longer requires care or support (benefits are paid to the end of the week), or
- the 26-week period has expired.
For more information, go to Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) Employment Insurance (EI) Compassionate Care Benefits.
UNPAID LEAVE
Entitlement for an unpaid leave of absence from work depends on the province of employment. As a result, most provinces and territories require employers to provide 8 weeks of unpaid compassionate leaves of absence to employees providing care and support to family members that are seriously ill and have a significant risk of death within 26 weeks, if the employee provides confirmation of such by a qualified medical practitioner; (comprised of the two-week EI waiting period plus six weeks of leave). As of June 2006, only Alberta does not offer unpaid compassionate leave.
Employees who request leave to care for an ailing family member in provinces that do not offer compassionate care leave in their employment standards legislation will not have job protection, meaning, employers will not be obliged to keep their jobs or reinstate them after their leave ends. However, employers in those provinces have the discretion to implement unpaid compassionate care leave with job protection in their workplace policies.
For specific provincial requirement, please check in the Library section of HRinfodesk under the proper jurisdiction, under the Benefits section.