Question Period Note: Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits

Why extend Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits to 26 weeks instead of 50 weeks?

• EI sickness benefits are an important source of financial assistance for Canadians who leave work due to illness or injury. They complement other supports for longer-term illness and disability.
• In 2019-20, EI sickness benefits provided nearly 1.9 billion dollars in financial assistance to over 420,000 claimants. Of those, about 40% used the full 15 weeks of sickness benefits available.

• The Government recognizes that some workers require additional support to recover from illness or injury. That’s why we will be extending the EI sickness benefit to 26 weeks.
• This will provide additional weeks of financial assistance to workers with serious illnesses or injuries who require longer periods of treatment or recovery before being able to return to work.

The EI sickness benefit provides up to 15 weeks of income replacement for eligible claimants who are unable to work because of illness, injury or quarantine. In 2019-2020, it provided $1.9 billion in support to 421,000 claimants. The average duration of sickness benefits was 10 weeks, however 37.6% of claimants exhausted EI benefits before they were able to return to work.

Budget 2021 proposed an extension to EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks to be in place in summer 2022. The legislative amendments required to make this change received Royal Assent in June 2021 as part of Budget Implementation Act 1. The coming into force date is to be set via an Order-in-Council.

To qualify for EI special benefits, including sickness benefits, insured claimants normally require 600 insurable hours in the 52-week period preceding their claim. Once all 15 weeks have been used, claimants must work another 600 hours to qualify for more sickness benefits. 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.
Temporary measures were in place during the pandemic to facilitate access and make EI benefits (including EI sickness benefits) more generous. These included a minimum $500 weekly benefit rate and a one-time 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 were temporarily waived for EI sickness benefit claimants. These measures were in place for claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.

As announced in Budget 2021 and starting on September 26, 2021, the threshold to access EI benefits, including EI sickness benefits has been temporarily lowered to 420 hours (compared to 600 hours required to qualify under regular rules). This measure is in place for one year, or until September 24, 2022. Similarly, the minimum earnings required to qualify for the self-employed was lowered to $5,289 in net earnings in 2020 (compared to $7,555 under regular rules).

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

The EI program supports the delivery of sickness benefits through private sector employers through the Premium Reduction Program (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.

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. Further, 45% of claimants who used all 15 weeks of benefits never returned to work.

Public Environment

Health advocates, including the Canadian Cancer Society, note the need for a longer-duration sickness benefit in order to support longer recovery periods. Several Opposition parties included commitments in their 2021 electroal platforms to increase EI sickness benefits past 26 weeks, with the Bloc Québécois and NDP indicating they would provide 50 weeks of EI sickness benefits, and the Conservatives indicating they would provide 52 weeks.

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