Easier Access to Employment Insurance Benefits

Summary#

This is Interim Order No. 8 Amending the Employment Insurance Act (Facilitated Access to Benefits). It temporarily changes how some Employment Insurance (EI) rules work to make it easier for people to get EI during the COVID‑19 period. Key effects include extra hours counted toward eligibility, a waived waiting period for a short time, a minimum weekly earnings amount of $727, and a minimum regional unemployment rate of 13.1% for certain claims.

What it does#

• Temporarily increases the hours counted toward an EI claim if the claim is made on or after September 27, 2020:
  • +480 hours for claims for certain special benefits.
  • +300 hours for other EI regular claims.
• Extends the qualifying period by 28 weeks for claimants who previously received the Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit or the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), when the new claim is on or after September 27, 2020.
• Waives the EI waiting period for claims with benefit periods that begin on or before October 25, 2020 (so some people start receiving payments sooner).
• Sets a minimum weekly insurable earnings amount of $727 for all claimants whose benefit period begins on or after September 27, 2020. This also applies to self-employed people and fishers in their EI calculations.
• Establishes a minimum regional unemployment rate of 13.1% to be used for certain benefit calculations for weeks that fall in early September 2020 through September 11, 2021.
• Prevents some types of pay or employer payments from being treated as earnings that would reduce EI benefits in certain cases (including limiting deductions in the first week when the waiting period is waived).
• Narrows how older employment separations are used to deny or reduce benefits by looking back only to employment within about 12 weeks before the relevant reference week or within the benefit period.
• Sets temporary expiry or repeal timing; different parts come into force on August 30, 2020, September 6, 2020, and September 27, 2020 and most measures stop applying on or before September 25, 2021 (or earlier if repealed).

Who's affected#

• People applying for EI on or after September 27, 2020 — especially those who received CERB or the EI Emergency Response Benefit earlier.
• Workers trying to qualify for EI but short of required hours (they may now qualify with fewer hours because of the one‑time credits).
• Self-employed people and fishers who apply for EI after September 27, 2020 (they get the $727 minimum).
• Claimants in EI regions whose unemployment rate would otherwise be below 13.1% (the rule raises the rate used in calculations to 13.1% for certain claim weeks).
• Employers and payroll/reporting staff, because some payments they make might no longer reduce a claimant’s EI in certain situations.

If it’s unclear whether a specific clause affects you (for example precise dates or which payments are excluded), the order’s legal text contains the detailed conditions.

Why it matters#

• It makes it easier for some people to qualify for EI after the first wave of COVID‑19 by crediting extra insurable hours and extending qualifying periods for past CERB/EI‑ERB recipients.
• Waiving the waiting period for a short time means eligible people can start receiving money sooner.
• The $727 weekly minimum and the 13.1% unemployment floor can increase benefit amounts for some claimants or change how many weeks/hours they need to qualify.
• The measures are temporary and tied to specific dates. People planning an EI claim should check the exact timing to know which rules apply to them.