What is Employment Insurance?
Employment Insurance (“EI”) provides regular benefits to individuals who lose their jobs through no fault of their own and are available for, and able to, work but cannot find a job. In order to be eligible to receive EI benefits, an individual will need to demonstrate that they:
- Were employed in insurable employment;
- Lost their job through no fault of their own;
- Have been without work and pay for at least 7 consecutive days in the last 52 weeks;
- Have worked for the required number of insurable hours in the last 52 weeks;
- Are ready, willing and capable of working each day; and
- Are actively looking for work.
An individual must be able to prove that the aforementioned eligibility criteria apply to them on a biweekly basis. This is done by way of filling out the required reports on the Government of Canada website or via telephone.
Are You Eligible to Collect EI if You Quit?
A number of situations exist in which an individual may not be eligible to collect EI benefits. One such example includes an employee who resigns from their job. In this situation, eligibility for EI will depend on the specific circumstances of the employee’s employment and whether or not the employee had “just cause” to resign.
To understand if you have just cause to resign, you should ensure to book a consultation with one of our experienced lawyers today!
Voluntarily Leaving
“Voluntarily leaving” one’s employment is the same thing as quitting. It means the employee, not the employer, took the initiative and steps to end the employment. If an employee leaves their employment voluntarily without taking every reasonable alternative available to them to avoid unemployment, then they will have been deemed to have resigned without just cause and will not be eligible to collect EI benefits.
However, voluntarily leaving one’s employment will only affect their regular EI benefits. Employees that voluntarily leave their positions will still retain access to other benefits such as maternity and parental leave, sickness, compassionate care, and critically ill child benefits – if they meet the required eligibility criteria.
Just Cause
In order to qualify for EI benefits after voluntarily leaving one’s employment, the employee must show that they had just cause to quit. Demonstrating just cause goes far beyond simply showing that the employee was unhappy with their job. It means being able to demonstrate that quitting was the only reasonable alternative, considering the circumstances, and that the employee took all the necessary steps to avoid being unemployed.
Before deciding to voluntarily leave one’s employment, an employee should do everything they can to resolve the problem that led to them wanting to quit in the first place. Even if an employee believes they have good reason to quit, they may not be justified in doing so if they have not taken all reasonable measures and alternatives. A non-exhaustive list of reasonable measures and alternatives includes:
- Discussing the problem with the employer and requesting adjustments;
- Using recourses available under the employment contract;
- Consulting the Human Resources department;
- Exploring alternative work schedules or reporting structures;
- Exploring a work-from-home option; or
- Asking for a leave of absence until the employee/employer can find an adequate solution.
Circumstances Where Quitting is Justified
If, considering all the circumstances, quitting one’s job is the only reasonable alternative, then the employee will be deemed justified for voluntarily leaving their job. This means that the employee will have resigned for just cause and therefore, will be eligible to receive EI benefits once their employment has ended. If any of the circumstances listed below exist within the employment relationship, it will be determined that the employee had just cause for quitting their job:
- Harassment (sexual or otherwise);
- Needing to move with a spouse or dependent child to another place of residence;
- Discrimination;
- Working conditions that endanger the employee’s health or safety;
- Having to provide care for a child or another member of the employee’s immediate family;
- The employee has reasonable assurance of another job in the immediate future;
- There are major changes in the terms and conditions of the employee’s job affecting wages or salary (if this is the case, check out our blog post regarding constructive dismissals);
- The employee is required to work excessive overtime, or the employer is refusing to pay for overtime work;
- There are major changes in the employee’s work duties (again, you may want to check out our blog post regarding constructive dismissals to see if it applies to your situation);
- The employee has difficult relations with a supervisor, for which they are not primarily responsible;
- The employer is doing things which break the law; and
- The employee is under pressure from their employer or fellow workers to quit their job.
It is important to keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive and there may be other reasons for quitting which could be considered just cause.
No “Just Cause” for Resigning? No EI.
If an employee quits their job without relying on just cause, i.e. a legitimate reason as outlined above, the employee will not be eligible to receive any EI benefits. This means that an employee will only be able to collect EI benefits if they have just cause for leaving.
Employee’s Responsibility
When an employee takes the initiative to voluntarily quit their job, it is the employee’s responsibility to provide information and explanations as to what happened, the approach they took and the reasonable alternatives they have considered before finally deciding to voluntarily quit their job.
Therefore, if you are considering quitting, you should consider all reasonable alternatives and keep a detailed record of all measures you have taken to avoid quitting in order to maintain eligibility for EI benefits.
Prior to handing in your resignation, you should get in touch with one of our experienced lawyers today to ensure that your situation will qualify as just cause. You can also learn more about Employment Insurance upon the termination of your employment here.
Conclusion
If an employee voluntarily leaves their job, they will not be entitled to collect EI benefits unless they had just cause to quit. To show just cause requires demonstrating all the steps taken to find an alternative to quitting or unemployment. Merely being unhappy at your job is not just cause for quitting. If you want to receive EI benefits after quitting your job it is important to establish that quitting was the only reasonable decision that could have been made given the situation.
