Employment Insurance

The law may change at any time. The information below contains general information and is not a substitute for getting legal advice for your particular situation. For free legal advice, contact us at 613-632-1136 or 1-800-250-9220.

The Clinic offers free legal advice to the residents of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell concerning Employment Insurance denials.

Employment Insurance provides temporary financial assistance in the form of benefits for some workers. There are different types of benefits:

  • Regular benefits for people who are looking for work;
  • Re-employment benefits to help unemployed people return to work;
  • Sickness benefits for people who are off work because of illness or accident;
  • Compassionate care benefits or benefits for parents of critically ill children for people who must be off work to care for a gravely ill family member or close friend;
  • Maternity and parental benefits for people who are pregnant or have a new baby or adopted a child;
  • Fishing benefits for self-employed fishers.

Application

You can fill out an application online at www.servicecanada.ca or at a Service Canada Centre. To find the Service Canada Centre where you live, call 1-800-622-6232 or visit the website listed above. You can also ask Service Canada to mail you a paper application form if you need one.

Appealing a decision

Most decisions about your Employment Insurance claim can be appealed. The first step is to ask for a “reconsideration” of the decision.

To ask for a reconsideration, use the form called “Request for Reconsideration of an Employment Insurance decision”. You can get this form at our legal clinic, at Service Canada or online at www.servicecanada.ca (click on Employment Insurance Benefits, then on Employment Insurance Forms).  Contact us before sending your request for a reconsideration for free legal advice.

You must make sure Service Canada receives your Request for Reconsideration within 30 days of when you received the decision. If you miss this deadline, you can ask for an extension, but you must give a good reason why you were late.

If you do not agree with the reconsideration decision, you can appeal the decision to the Social Security Tribunal – General Division. You cannot appeal to the Social Security Tribunal unless you have gone through the reconsideration process first.

You can find the Notice of Appeal form and information about how to start an appeal on the Social Security Tribunal website. Click on Employment Insurance, then on General Division.  The appeal form is also available at our clinic.

You must make sure the Social Security Tribunal receives your Notice of Appeal no later than 30 days after you received the reconsideration decision.  Contact our legal clinic before sending in your Notice of Appeal for free legal advice.

Don’t hesitate to call us for free legal advice concerning your Employment Insurance denial.

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