Self Employment Program Through Ei

• Self Employment Program Through Either
• Self Employment Program Through Ei Benefit
• Self Employment Program Through Ei Account

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission handles this program, and you can apply through your My Service Canada Account. To sign up, open your account and select 'Employment Insurance for the Self Employed' on the home page. Then, follow the prompts to create your account. Calculating EI Premiums. The online Self-Employment Training Program at Microbusiness offers: Individuals in the greater Edmonton Region and northern Alberta an opportunity to take online classroom training through Zoom technology/internet based training.

Employment Insurance special benefits for self-employed people

Under the Employment Insurance Act, self-employed Canadians and permanent residents—those who work for themselves—are able to apply for EI special benefits if they are registered for access to the EI program.

This booklet outlines what EI special benefits are available, who can register for them, how they are calculated, and how long they can be paid.

EI special benefits are part of the EI program, which is administered by the Government of Canada.

What are EI special benefits

There are six types of EI special benefits:

• Maternity benefits are for mothers who give birth. These benefits cover the period surrounding the child's birth (up to 15 weeks).
• Parental benefits are for any parent (mother or father) to care for their newborn or newly adopted child or children. The benefits are available to biological, adoptive, or legally recognized parents. There are two options available for receiving parental benefits: standard or extended.
  • Standard parental benefits can be paid for a maximum of 35 weeks and must be claimed within a 52 week period (12 months) after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption. Standard parental benefits are paid at a weekly benefit rate of 55% of the claimant's earnings from self-employment, up to a maximum amount.
  • Extended parental benefits can be paid for a maximum of 61 weeks and must be claimed within a 78-week period (18 months) after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption. Extended parental benefits are paid at a weekly benefit rate of 33% of the claimant's earnings from self-employment, up to a maximum amount.
  • Either parent can receive parental benefits, or they can share the benefits between them. If both parents share the benefits, they must receive them under the same option.
• Sickness benefits are for people who cannot work due to injury, illness, or the need to be isolated in quarantine because they may be carrying a disease (up to 15 weeks).
• Compassionate care benefits are for people who must be away from work temporarily to provide care or support to a family member who is seriously ill with a significant risk of death (up to 26 weeks). The 26 weeks of benefits can be shared between different family members who applied and are eligible to receive them.
• Family caregiver benefits for children are for family members who must be away from work to care for or support a critically ill or injured child. Family members can receive benefits or they can share benefits between them (up to 35 weeks).
• Family caregiver benefits for adults are for family members who must be away from work to care for or support a critically ill or injured adult. Family members can receive benefits or they can share benefits between them (up to 15 weeks).

Note

If you are a self-employed resident of Quebec, you are already covered for maternity, paternity, and parental benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). If you choose to register for access to the EI program, you may be eligible for EI sickness, compassionate care and family caregiver benefits only.

Who can register

You can register if you operate your own business, or if you work for a corporation but cannot access EI benefits because you control more than 40% of the corporation's voting shares. You must also be either a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.

However, some individuals who work independently and are not hired as employees cannot register for these EI special benefits for self-employed people because they are already eligible to receive benefits through the regular EI program. These individuals include:

• barbers, hairdressers, taxi drivers, and drivers of other passenger vehicles who are not hired as employees but whose employment is insurable under the EI Regulations, and
• fishers who are included as insured persons under the EI Fishing Regulations

Once I register, how long do I have to wait before I can apply for EI special benefits

You have to wait 12 months from the date of your confirmed registration before applying for EI special benefits. For example, if you entered into an agreement on November 12, 2020, you will be able to apply for EI special benefits as early as November 12, 2021.

What are the conditions I have to meet to qualify for EI special benefits

You must meet the following conditions to qualify for EI special benefits:

• your registration for access to the EI Program must still be valid (that is, not terminated), and
• you must have reduced the amount of time devoted to your business by more than 40% because of:
• the birth of a child
• the need to care for your newborn or newly adopted child or children
• illness, injury, or quarantine
• the need to provide care or support to a gravely ill family member, or
• the need to provide care or support to your critically ill or injured family member
• you must have earned a minimum specified amount of net self-employed earnings during the calendar year before the year you submit an EI claim. Thus for claims filed in 2021, the minimum amount of 2020 net income is $7,555

Will I have to provide any evidence to validate my claim

Yes. If you are applying for sickness benefits, you have to provide a medical certificate as proof that you are ill, injured, or in quarantine. If you are applying for compassionate care benefits, you have to provide medical proof showing that a seriously ill family member needs your care or support. If you are applying for family caregiver benefits, you have to provide a medical certificate completed by a medical doctor or nurse practitioner stating that your care or support is required by your critically ill or injured family member as well as an authorization to release medical information.

If you are applying for maternity or parental benefits, you have to provide the expected date of birth of the child and the actual birth date once it has occurred, or the official placement date in the case of adoption.

Parental benefits - options

You will also be required to elect under which option you wish to claim parental benefits: standard or extended. If you are sharing the parental benefits with the other parent, you will be required to choose the same parental benefit option. The option chosen by the first claimant who completes the EI application will be considered as the option chosen by the second claimant. The choice is final once parental benefits have been paid on a claim. This means that you cannot change between standard and extended once parental benefits have been paid.

How much money will I receive

If you are eligible for maternity, standard parental, sickness, compassionate care or family caregiver benefits you can expect to receive 55% of your earnings from self-employment up to a maximum amount. For extended parental benefits you can expect to receive 33% of your earnings from self-employment, up to a maximum amount.

In 2021, you can receive up to $595 per week for maternity, standard parental, sickness, compassionate care or family caregiver benefits, based on the maximum insurable earnings of $56,300 for that year. For extended parental benefits you can receive up to $357 per week. (The amount of $357 can be increased if you are eligible to receive the Family Supplement).

The amount of your benefits may decrease if you continue to work or if your business generates earnings while you are collecting EI special benefits.

Working while receiving benefits

If you work while receiving special benefits for the self-employed and have served your waiting period, you will be able to keep 50 cents of your EI benefits for every dollar you earn, up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings used to calculate your EI benefit amount. This 90% amount is called the earnings threshold. If you earn any money above this threshold, we will deduct it dollar for dollar from your benefits.

For more information, visit the Working While on Claim page.

How much money will I pay

As with any insurance program, you will need to pay premiums. In 2021, for every $100 you earn, you will need to contribute $1.58 in EI premiums up to a defined maximum—the same amount that employees pay. This means the most you will pay in EI premiums for 2021 is $889.54.

Since Quebec has its own parental insurance program that offers maternity, paternity, and parental benefits, the Government of Canada has adjusted the premiums accordingly for that province. In 2021, self-employed people in Quebec who register for the EI program will pay $1.18 for every $100 of earnings, up to a total of $664.34 for the year.

EI premiums are calculated based on your income tax return. For example, if you sign up for the program in 2021, your premiums will be based on your 2020 tax return.

What if I am both self-employed and an employee

The choice is yours: you can choose to apply for EI special benefits either as a self-employed person or as an employee.

If you choose to apply as a self-employed person, we will take into account your earnings from both self-employment and employment as an employee when we calculate your weekly benefit amount, as long as your earnings from both sources are eligible. A Record of Employment will be required from your employer to show details of your earnings from that employment.

If you choose to apply as an employee, we will use only the earnings from your employment as an employee (including fishing earnings) to calculate your weekly benefit amount. We will not use any of your self-employment earnings. A Record of Employment will be required from your employer to show details of your earnings from that employment.

Self Employment Program Through Either

How do I register

If you choose to register, you must do the following:

• Visit the Service Canada page and sign up for My Service Canada Account. This service is accessible online from home, at any Service Canada Centre using one of the many Internet kiosks available, or at a public Internet access site in your community, such as a public library. After you register, we will mail you a personal access code within 10 days.

Once you have your personal access code, use it to log back into My Service Canada Account and register for EI special benefits for self-employed people.

• If you have already signed up for My Service Canada Account, simply log in and register for EI special benefits for self-employed people.

What if I change my mind about taking part in this EI program

By taking part in this EI program, you are registering with the Canada Employment Insurance Commission and agreeing to pay premiums on your self-employed income. If you change your mind, you have 60 days to cancel your registration. If you choose to cancel your registration within those first 60 days, you will not have to pay any premiums.

After the 60-day period, you can terminate your registration at any time—as long as you have never claimed any benefits. This termination will be effective at the end of the calendar year, so you will have to pay EI premiums for the entire calendar year.

Once you have claimed EI benefits, your participation in the program lasts indefinitely. You will have to pay premiums for the entire duration of your self-employed career, regardless of any change in the nature of your self-employment.

When can I receive benefits

Once you register, you must wait 12 months to make a claim for EI special benefits. For example, if you registered on June 12, 2021, you could apply for EI special benefits on June 12, 2022.

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Did you know that the Employment Insurance (EI) program may allow you to take training while receiving benefits? If you have lost your job and want to return to school or upgrade your skills to help you find a new job, there are options available:

You may also be eligible for financial assistance through Canada Student Loans and Grants. Visit the Skills Boost page to find out more about supports for adult learners.

Additional information:

Taking training on your own while on EI

As a general rule, to be entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits or fishing benefits, you must show that you are unemployed, able and willing to work and actively looking for suitable employment.

If you decide on your own to take training, you must declare your training and prove that you are still able and willing to work and are continuing to look for a job to continue receiving EI benefits.

You must be ready to make arrangements to work if you receive a job offer, and to adjust or cancel your training plans if necessary.

Taking training while on EI with permission from your province/territory or an Indigenous organization

Do you want to take full-time training? You may be able to do this and continue receiving EI benefits. You will need to get permission from your provincial or territorial government. If you are Indigenous, you also have the option of getting permission from an Indigenous organization that provides employment programs in your province or territory.

Note: Provinces, territories and Indigenous organizations have the discretion to offer additional support and employment counselling to claimants as well.

To find information about other employment programs in your province or territory:

Taking training while on EI with permission from Service Canada

Have you lost your job after several years in the workforce? If so, starting on August 5, 2018, Service Canada may permit you to continue receiving EI benefits while attending a full-time program of your choice provided by an approved educational institution. You must pay for the training yourself.

As of August 5, if Service Canada approves your request, you will not have to be available for work or look for work while at school. You may also be eligible for student financial assistance.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must meet all of the following criteria:

Self Employment Program Through Ei Benefit

• You must be receiving or be eligible to receive EI regular benefits or fishing benefits.
• You must be a long-tenured worker. A long-tenured worker is someone who has:
• received fewer than 36 weeks of EI regular and/or fishing benefits in the last five years; and
• paid at least 30% of the maximum EI annual premium in 7 of the last 10 years.

To find out if you are considered a long-tenured worker, first apply for Employment Insurance benefits. Ra3 download game full. Then call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218.

• You must choose a program offered by an approved educational institution located in Canada. The institution must be on one of these lists: Designated Educational Institutions or Certified Educational Institutions.
• You must be considered a full-time student. Each educational institution decides what is considered a full-time program at their institution.

Requesting permission to take full-time training

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can request permission from Service Canada to take full-time training when you apply for benefits.

• call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218; or
• visit a Service Canada Centre.

If you are already receiving benefits:

• you can complete the Training Course Information form in your My Service Canada Account

You should request permission before the course or training program start date so you can continue to receive EI benefits.

Service Canada will contact you by phone and by mail to let you know that your request for training has been approved.

As of August 5, 2018, if you are notified that your request has been approved, you will no longer have to be available for or looking for work during training.

Before August 5, 2018
If you are a long-tenured worker who has been disentitled from EI benefits because you are already taking full-time training and are not available for work, you can make a request to Service Canada for permission to attend the training so your benefits can resume (if you have weeks of benefits left) on August 5, 2018.

Additional information:

Starting a course before making a request

If you start attending training before asking for permission, you must still be available and actively looking for work to be entitled to EI benefits. If you weren't available and looking for work in the weeks before you requested permission, you won't receive benefits for those weeks.

Duration of benefits

You may continue to receive benefits after the training is completed if you have not used all the weeks of benefits that you are entitled to. You will need to be available and actively looking for work to remain eligible once the training is completed.

If the training is longer than the number of weeks of EI benefits that you are entitled to receive, you will not receive additional weeks of benefits to cover the entire length of the training.

If you withdraw or are expelled from training

If you received permission to take training and then with good cause you quit or stop attending, you will continue to receive EI benefits. However, you will need to be available and actively looking for work to remain eligible.

If you received permission to take training but quit or stop attending without good cause, or you are expelled from the training, you may no longer be eligible to receive EI benefits.

Declaring your participation in a course or a training program

You must declare that you are taking training when you apply for EI benefits, via your profile on your My Service Canada Account (MSCA), directly with an agent on the phone or in person, or when you complete your EI reports online or by phone. It's a good idea to create a MSCA as soon as you receive your EI access code by mail.

If you are taking training on your own or getting permission from Service Canada to take full-time training, you must complete the Training Course Information questionnaire and submit it using MSCA. If you are unable to use MSCA you can also complete the Training Course Information questionnaire and mail or deliver it to your local Service Canada Centre.

An agent will review your training information to ensure that you do not receive benefits to which you are not entitled. If you are requesting permission to take full-time training, Service Canada will contact you by phone and by mail to let you know whether your request to take training has been approved.

Training supports

Self Employment Program Through Ei Account

The Government of Canada provides a wide variety of training supports to individuals who need help to overcome obstacles in the job market.