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Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs General Information Session

for Stakeholders

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Economic Action Plan 2012

Helping EI claimants return to work more quickly

• Economic Action Plan 2012 is helping unemployed workers find work by supporting their job search efforts and helping them return to work quickly

• EI provides temporary financial assistance while EI claimants are actively looking for and prepared to accept work that is suitable to their skills, qualifications and experience

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Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs (CCAJ)

To support economic growth and meet the challenges associated with both an aging population and growing international competition for skilled workers, the Government of Canada is taking action to connect unemployed workers with available jobs by:

1. Improving labour market information, including new enhanced Job Alerts

2. Clarifying claimants’ obligations by defining reasonable job search and suitable employment*

3. Helping to ensure unemployed Canadians are considered before temporary foreign workers are hired to fill job vacancies

4. Working with provinces and territories to make skills training and job search supports available to EI claimants earlier in their claim

* New definitions apply to individuals receiving EI regular and fishing benefits and not to those receiving special benefits (sickness, compassionate, maternity and parental) 3

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1. Improving Labour Market Information

Prior to January 6, 2013, EI claimants who chose to sign-up for Job Alerts only received up to 3 advertisements every 2 weeks

Enhanced Job Alerts system

•Claimants who register for Job Alerts as of January 6, 2013 will receive up to two emails per day on available job listings. They may choose to receive job listings for a variety of jobs and regions•Job listings received through Job Alerts are based on claimants’ skills and where they live, drawing from a broad range of sources, including Job Bank and in the future private-sector job boards •Job Alerts also provide easier access and more information about employment (e.g. expected pay, future prospects) in current and related occupations•Job Alerts is one of the convenient ways to get job postings to look for work•Registering is easy through the Working in Canada website www.workingincanada.gc.ca

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2.1 EI Claimant Responsibilities – Reasonable Job Search

• EI regular claimants – including fishers – have always had the responsibility of conducting job search activities and keeping a record of all their job search efforts

• Service Canada will assess their efforts objectively based on the following criteria:1. Job search activities

• For example: Preparing a resume, searching, applying, interviews, job fairs, networking, other efforts

2. Intensity of job search• Claimants are required to undertake job search activities on an ongoing basis

3. Type of work being sought • Varies according to previous use of EI and length of time on claim• Jobs that claimants are qualified to perform or can become qualified for with on-the-job

training

4. Evidence of job search efforts• Writing down job search details on a Job Search form or on another piece of paper

• Claimants may be asked to provide information on their job search efforts

Availability of employment opportunities where claimants live and commuting time will be taken into account when assessing job search efforts 5

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2.2 EI Claimant Responsibilities – Suitable Employment• Claimants have a responsibility to accept any offer of suitable employment

• Six criteria are used to assess what constitutes suitable employment, four of which do not vary according to previous use of EI and time spent on claim:

1. Claimant’s personal circumstances • Consideration will be given to claimants’ personal circumstances (e.g., health

conditions, family situations)

2. Working conditions• Position offered is not vacant due to a strike, lockout or other labour dispute

3. Commuting time• Workplace is within one hour commute – could be higher taking into account

previous commuting history and community’s average commuting time

• Hours of work• All available hours of work (number of hours per day and hours outside of the usual

work schedule) are deemed suitable

• What specific type of work, and at what pay is suitable will depend on a claimant’s premium contributions and claim history

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2.2 EI Claimant Responsibilities – Suitable Employment

Claimants are categorized according to previous EI premium contributions and claim history:

Long-tenured Workers

Economic Action Plan’s definition: Paid at least 30% of the annual maximum EI premiums for at least 7 out of the last 10 years; and over the last 5 years received 35 or fewer weeks of EI regular/fishing benefits

3 or more regular/fishing claims and more than 60 weeks of regular/fishing benefits in past 5 years

Includes all claimants not captured by the definitions for frequent and long-tenured workers

Occasional ClaimantsFrequent Claimants

Claimants can visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca/EIchanges or call Toll-Free:1-800-206-7218 to obtain information about their personal situation

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2.2 EI Claimant Responsibilities – Suitable Employment

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EI claim duration, including waiting period (weeks)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 +

Work that claimants are required to seek and accept

FrequentSimilar occupation, 80% of previous earnings

Any work the claimant is qualified to perform (with on-the-job training, if required), 70% of previous earnings

Same occupation, 90% of previous earningsSimilar occ., 80% of prev. earnings

Same occupation, 90% of previous earnings Similar occupation, 80% of previous earnings

Long-tenuredworkers

OccasionalAny work, 70% of prev. earnings

* Earnings cannot be lower than the minimum wage effective in the province or territory where employment is being sought

Claimants will always be better off accepting suitable employment than being on EI

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What do these changes mean for claimants and employers?

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Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

If EI claimants live in a community where there are no jobs, are they required to look for work and if so, what do they need to do?

• Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs is about ensuring EI claimants look for work and for the Government of Canada to support them in their job seeking efforts

• People who receive EI regular and fishing benefits have always had a responsibility to conduct a reasonable job search and accept any offer of suitable employment

• In order to continue to receive benefits, claimants must be looking for work - they cannot simply state that there are no jobs in their area, without trying to find work

• Minimum job search requirements would include: talking with former colleagues, friends, and resource centre employees about potential opportunities; looking for potential job opportunities in the newspaper and/or online; and applying for any suitable employment opportunities, should there be any

• The requirement of what is reasonable will take into account the local job market: for example the amount of time needed to sift through potential jobs in an area with a handful of jobs will take much less time than in a city with hundreds of potential jobs

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• Claimants are not required to move in order to continue to collect EI regular or fishing benefits

• Generally, claimants are not required to pursue employment opportunities where the commuting time exceeds one hour each way

• Claimants are expected to accept jobs that exceed one hour commuting time only if they previously commuted more than an hour or live in a community where the commuting time is often more than one hour (e.g. Greater Toronto Area)

Are EI claimants expected to commute longer than an hour or move to find a job?

Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

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• Claimants have always been required to seek and accept all suitable work while in receipt of EI benefits

• In fact, claimants have always been required to expand the scope of their job search (type of work and wage) with time spent on claim – this is common sense, claimants need to adjust their expectations if they cannot find work

• The updated Regulations clarifies when claimants should expand their work and ensure that they are no worse off than being on EI

• EI is not expected to have an impact on wages. Employers set wages based on numerous factors, including skills, knowledge, experience, provincial/federal labour laws, and collective agreements. The fact that a prospective employee is on EI should not influence wages

• CCAJ is about helping Canadian return to work more quickly. When working, Canadians have more money to take care of their families and to spend in their communities, which in turn helps drive up wages.

Why are claimants required to seek and accept lower paying jobs?

Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

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Are EI claimants required to accept a job that leaves them worse off than collecting EI benefits?

• No. Regular and fishing claimants are not expected to accept employment that results in being worse off than collecting EI benefits

• An employment opportunity is not suitable if the wage, taking into account direct costs such as childcare and transportation, would result in the claimant being worse off than while on EI. For example:

A potential job offers a weekly salary of $500 The claimant would incur weekly direct costs (childcare and transportation) of $175 The claimant’s weekly EI benefits are $350 As the net wage of $325 (500 – 175) is less than their EI benefits, the job would not be

deemed suitable

• The “no worse off” financial aspect is a specific provision within the new EI Regulations and ensures that only job opportunities that result in a claimant being better off financially are considered suitable

• Each case is assessed on its own merits and common-sense will prevail in assessing which job opportunities are suitable

Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

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If a person quits a job to return to their normal seasonal work, will those hours count towards their next EI claim?

• Generally, if an individual leaves one job for a higher paying job, their quit can be considered as having just cause for the purposes of EI

• Each situation is assessed on a case-by-case basis and common sense will prevail in assessing these situations. Numerous factors are taken into account when determining if a quit has just cause, including the assurance of another job, the length of the delay before starting the new job, expected duration of the employment, rate of pay, type of work, hours of work at the new job, as well as any other factors that may have contributed to quitting

• If just cause is proven, all hours of insurable employment are used to assess eligibility for EI benefits – this can increase EI entitlement in terms maximum duration and/or weekly benefit rate

• If just cause is not proven, claimants must accumulate sufficient insurable hours to establish an EI claim in the job they had since they quit they previous job

• Quitting a job to return to seasonal work will not impact an individual’s ability to access EI benefits – so long as they are able to accumulate sufficient insurable hours from their seasonal work

Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

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What happens if EI claimants do not follow the rules?

• Not searching for or refusing any suitable employment may result in benefits being stopped

• All claims are assessed on an individual basis, in a reasonable way that takes into account the claimant’s work history, willingness to accept employment and efforts made to find work given the availability of local jobs

• If benefits are stopped, claimants who subsequently comply with the rules (e.g. start looking for work) can have their benefits restarted

Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

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Are union hiring hall agreements still in place? If not why?

• Union hiring halls remain a part of a reasonable job search effort

• Under the new Regulations, EI regular and fishing claimants are able to restrict their job search efforts to membership in a union hiring hall only for those weeks where they are required to seek suitable employment opportunities within their “same occupation”. For example:

• Long-tenured workers may restrict their job search efforts to membership in a union hiring hall for the first 18 weeks of their claim

• Occasional claimants may restrict their job search efforts to membership in a union hiring hall for the first six weeks of their claim

• Existing hiring hall agreements will no longer be effective as the new Regulations supersede them

• As the period of time spent on an EI claim increases, EI claimants are required to broaden the scope of their search to increase their opportunities to obtain suitable employment, including looking for both union and non-union suitable jobs

• EI claimants are never required to accept a job with unsafe working conditions or a position that has become vacant due directly to a strike, lockout or other labour dispute. In addition, claimants are not expected to take employment where the employer requires them to give up or take new union membership

Implications for EI claimants who receive regular or fishing benefits

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Implications for Employers

• EI claimants are encouraged to contact prospective employers in a manner that can directly assist them in improving their chances of obtaining suitable employment (e.g. letting employers know they are available and submitting their resumes)

• It is still the employers’ decision to determine which candidates they wish to interview and hire

• Employers are under no obligation to provide claimants or Service Canada employees with documentation or other information for the purposes of confirming a claimant’s job search efforts

• EI claimants should not be charged a fee for a letter from an employer confirming their job search efforts, which they do not need

• While claimants are receiving EI regular or fishing benefits it is important that they document their job search efforts. For example, claimants are encouraged to keep copies of job applications they have submitted

Do EI claimants have to contact employers even if they are not currently offering positions?

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How are employers supposed to maintain their workforce if employees are forced to take other jobs during the off-season?

• The CCAJ initiative is designed to support and encourage people to look for work, whether they are experiencing a permanent or temporary layoff

• The combination of the enhanced Job Alerts system with clarified responsibilities for EI claimants will mean employers will have more workers to support them

• Employers should advise Service Canada if claimants are refusing suitable employment

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Implications for Employers

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What should employers do if EI claimants refuse job offers?

• Employers should advise Service Canada if claimants are refusing suitable employment

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Implications for Employers

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Are employers being forced to hire EI claimants instead of temporary foreign workers?

•No. Employers retain the right to hire the best candidates to meet their needs

•However, employers seeking to hire a temporary foreign worker have always been required to demonstrate that they are unable to find qualified Canadians to fill job vacancies

•Employers will continue to be expected to consider available Canadians first; including EI regular and fishing claimants. The new Job Alerts system will help employers find workers by ensuring that unemployed workers are aware of job opportunities

•Where there is a legitimate need, employers will continue to have access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

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Implications for Employers

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Contact Us

For more information on Connecting Canadians With Available Job please visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca and/or www.workingincanada.gc.ca websites to find more information about this initiative

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Other EI changes

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Working While on Claim (WWC) Pilot Project

• Helps EI claimants stay connected with labour market by encouraging them to accept work and earn additional income while receiving EI

• Since August 5, 2012, EI claimants can keep 50% of their EI benefits for every dollar earned while on claim, up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings used to calculate the EI benefit amount. Earnings beyond this threshold are deducted dollar for dollar

• Some claimants cannot find work beyond one day per week. To help them, the Government announced an amendment to the current WWC pilot project

• Since January 6, 2013, EI recipients who were in receipt of regular, parental or compassionate care benefits and had earnings between August 7, 2011 and August 4, 2012, and were eligible to benefit from the WWC pilot project provisions, are allowed to revert to rules that existed under the previous WWC pilot project

• Under the previous rules, claimants could earn $75 or 40% of their weekly benefits without seeing their EI reduced. Any earnings above that threshold reduced their benefits dollar for dollar

• To revert to the old rules, since January 6th claimants can contact Service Canada

Annex A

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Annex B

Variable Best Weeks• Effective April 7, 2013, EI benefits will be calculated using the highest weeks of

earnings over the last year. The number of weeks used will range from 14 to 22, depending on the unemployment rate in the particular EI region. For example:

• In regions of high unemployment (more than 13%), the benefit rate would be based on the best 14 weeks of earnings over the past 52 weeks

• In regions with the lowest unemployment (less than 6%), the benefit rate would be based on the best 22 weeks of the past 52 weeks

• This permanent national approach will make EI more responsive to changes in local economic conditions and ensure that those living in similar labour market conditions receive similar benefits

• The current Best 14 Weeks pilot project available in 25 EI regions has been extended until April 2013

• The new Variable Best Weeks approach will not apply to the self-employed or fishers

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