Question Period Note: Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits

Budget 2021 proposes to extend EI Sickness Benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks

• EI sickness benefits are an important support for Canadians who leave work due to illness, injury or quarantine. They complement other supports available to workers for longer-term illness and disability.

• In 2018-19, EI sickness benefits provided 1.8 billion dollars in support to 421,000 claimants. On average, workers used approximately 10 weeks of EI sickness benefits. However, 34% of workers used the full 15 weeks of sickness benefits available.

• That’s why Budget 2021 announced an investment of $3.0 billion over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $967 million per year ongoing, to extend the maximum duration of EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks.

• Budget 2021 also proposes corresponding changes to leave provisions in the Canada Labour Code and proposes consultations regarding potential improvements to the EI Premium Reduction Program.

• This extension will provide additional weeks of support to workers with serious illnesses or injuries who require longer periods of treatment or recovery before being able to return to work.

Sickness Benefit

Budget 2021 proposes funding of $3.0 billion over five years, starting in 2021-22 and $966.9 million per year to enhance sickness benefits from 15 to 26 week. This extension, which would take effect in summer 2022, would provide approximately 169,000 Canadians every year with additional time and flexibility to recover and return to work.

In addition to the amendments in the Employment Insurance Act, Budget 2021 also proposes to make corresponding changes to the Canada Labour Code to ensure that workers in federally regulated industries have the job protection they need while receiving EI sickness benefits.

The government also intends to launch consultations with employers, labour organizations and private insurers regarding improvements that may be required to the EI Premium Reduction Program (PRP).

To qualify for EI special benefits, including sickness benefits, insured claimants require 600 insurable hours in the 52-week period preceding their claim. Self-employed individuals are required to opt in at least one full year prior to claiming EI special benefits and must have earned a minimum amount in self-employment earnings during the previous taxation year. For claims in 2021, self-employed claimants must have earned at least $7,555 in 2020.

The maximum weekly EI benefit rate is $595 per week in 2021.

Temporary measures have been introduced in response to COVID-19 to facilitate access and make EI benefits (including EI sickness benefits) more generous. These include a minimum $500 weekly benefit rate and an hours credit resulting in a lowered threshold of 120 hours to access EI sickness benefits. In addition, the waiting period and the requirement to submit a medical certificate have been temporarily waived for EI sickness benefit claimants. These measures are in place for claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021. Finally, the income threshold for self-employed workers to access EI special benefits has been lowered from $7,555 to $5,000 for claims starting between January 3, 2021 and Sept 25, 2021.

The EI program supports the delivery of sickness benefits through private sector employers through the PRP. The PRP offers participating employers a premium rate reduction when offering their employees short-term disability plans that meet or exceed EI requirements when the health plan is the first payer. As EI becomes the “second payer,” the plans reduce the use of EI sickness benefits and the program savings are returned through a premium reduction to employers and employees, an estimated $1.055 billion in 2021.

Results from the Evaluation of EI Sickness Benefits

Results from the Evaluation of EI Sickness Benefits released in 2020 indicate that claimants are less likely to return to work after 26 weeks of leave. 45% of claimants who used all 15 weeks of benefits never returned to work.

Public Environment

Health advocates, including the Canadian Cancer Society and the MS Society of Canada, note the need for a longer duration sickness benefit in order to support longer recovery periods. A Bloc Québecois Private Member’s Bill C-265 introduced on February 4, 2021 proposes an extension of the EI sickness benefits from 15 to 50 week. Similar Private Member’s Bills have been introduced in the past by the NDP.

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