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Awaiting EI Benefits
Policy
Two-Week EI Waiting Period: July 29, 2009
Assignment of EI Benefits: July 29, 2009
Persons with Disabilities: July 29, 2009
Spouse Awaiting EI: December 14, 2011
Eligibility: July 29, 2009
July 29, 2009Hardship assistance is provided on a temporary basis, for only one month at a time. If further hardship assistance is required, eligibility must be re-established each month.
Hardship assistance issued under Awaiting EI Benefits (Code C) is available to applicants for income assistance and their dependants where at least one adult in the family unit is an applicant for Employment Insurance (EI) provided by Service Canada. Dependent children awaiting EI do not affect the family unit’s eligibility for assistance.
Hardship Code C is not available to clients during the two-week waiting period when EI is not payable. [see Policy - Two-Week EI Waiting Period]
To qualify for hardship Code C, applicants must apply for EI benefits with Service Canada and sign an EI Assignment of Benefit (AOB) form (SD2528). [see Policy – Assignment of EI Benefits]
In cases where waiting for confirmation that EI benefits have been applied for would result in undue hardship, the Supervisor may approve assistance to meet the short-term need.
[For an overview of eligibility for hardship or the hierarchy of hardship codes, see Hardship - Eligibility for Hardship Assistance.]
Applicants may be eligible for hardship Code C until they receive or are found ineligible for EI benefits.
Once the hardship reason no longer exists, cases must be re-assessed to determine if the family unit meets the eligibility criteria for income assistance.
Two-Week EI Waiting Period: July 29, 2009
July 29, 2009Applicants must serve a two-week unpaid waiting period before EI benefits begin to be paid. The two-week EI waiting period begins on the date of EI application and lasts until the second Saturday following the EI application date. [For more information, see Procedures - Issuing Hardship Assistance.]
Hardship Code C is not payable during the two-week EI waiting period, but another hardship category - Awaiting Other Income (Code P) – may apply during this time. [see Related Topics - Awaiting Other Income - Code P]
Assignment of EI Benefits: July 29, 2009
July 29, 2009Applicants for income assistance must sign an EI Assignment of Benefit (AOB) form (SD2528) each time they receive hardship Code C.
By signing the EI AOB, applicants assign their EI benefits to the ministry authorizing Service Canada to reimburse the ministry directly through weekly deductions from their EI payments and eliminate dual payments.
The EI AOB determines:
- the period in which hardship assistance is recovered from EI benefits because the client received both – EI and hardship – for the same period of time (AOB period),
- the amount of hardship assistance issued weekly, and
- the minimum weekly living allowance (MWLA).
MWLA applies every week of the assignment period. This ensures that Service Canada deducts only the portion of clients’ EI weekly payments that exceeds the MWLA to reimburse the ministry for the hardship Code C issued to clients eligible for EI benefits.
Persons with Disabilities: July 29, 2009
July 29, 2009Applicants or recipients with the Persons with Disabilities designation, who are awaiting EI benefits, should be issued disability assistance rather than hardship Code C.
A manual EI Assignment of Benefit (AOB) form (SD2528) is to be completed until the recipient receives EI benefits or is found to be ineligible for EI. A repayment agreement is not to be taken for the two-week EI waiting period.
Recipients of disability assistance are responsible to declare EI payments received on a Monthly Report (SD0081).
Spouse Awaiting EI: December 14, 2011
December 14, 2011In cases where a client's spouse is awaiting EI benefits, an EI Assignment of Benefit (AOB) form (SD2528) must be signed by the spouse. If more than one family member is waiting for EI, the EI AOB form should only be completed by the applicant who is most likely to receive EI benefits.
In cases where the spouse is the EI applicant, benefits must always be issued via a supplier imprest cheque to the spouse so that the cheque will have the same name as the AOB. To avoid the additional steps associated with issuing a supplier cheque, the worker should set up the initial case with the EI applicant as the primary applicant, if possible.
