Three Weeks Before EI Exemption For Self-Employed Expires

There is a little over three more weeks to take advantage of an exemption to the newly introduced Special Employment Insurance (EI) Benefits programs for self-employed people in Canada.

The programme offers certain types of EI benefits – maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care – to self employed people.

It does not include payments that regular employees receive when they are laid off, and that could be one of its weaknesses. To be fair, though, self-employed lack the employer-contribute component of premiums.

The new rule came into effect on Jan 31, 2010, and is part of a government program to extend certain EI benefits to the self employed through the Fairness for the Self‑Employed Act.

One has to wait a minimum of 12 months after starting to pay premiums to be able to receive benefits, but if those joining the programme before April 1, 2010, can receive benefits as early as January 2011.

Anyone who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident and is self-employed can join this ‘voluntary’ programme.

Those who are self employed while working part-time can also join the programme.

Formally, to join the programme a self-employed person enters into a contract with the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

And this can be done online from home or through a Service Canada kiosk.

Some critical information on the new EI Special Benefits for the Self Employed programme:

The Premiums

Calculated at the rate of $1.73/100.00 of earnings, up to a maximum earning of $43,200.00 for 2010. It would mean the maximum amount one could pay as premium per year would be $ 747.36. Because of its own, separate benefits programmes, those in Quebec will pay only $1.36/100.00

This programme does not apply to hairdressers, taxi drivers, and drivers of other passenger-carrying vehicles who are not employees per-se but whose employment is insurable under the EI Regulations.

The Benefits

Maternity: available to birth mothers, and covers a period of up to 15 weeks surrounding a child’s birth.

Parental: available to biological and adoptive parents, and can be taken by either parent or shared between them up to a period of 35 weeks.

Sickness: available if the insured person is unable to work because of illness, injury or even quarantine, up to a maximum of 15 weeks.

Compassionate Care: paid if the insured person has to take off from work to care for a family member who is gravely ill with a ‘significant risk of death’, for a maximum of six weeks.

Termination:

One can terminate the programme within sixty days of signing up, or if no benefits had been received. If benefits had been received, then payment into the system is mandatory during the person’s self-employment career.

More information can be obtained here.