DECLARING YOUR EARNINGS WHILE

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1 DECLARING YOUR EARNINGS WHILE ON EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (EI) Earnings while on claim General Information Allowable earnings Reporting your earnings Mistakes can happen So, what happens if you do make a Frequently Asked Questions mistake? How do we consider the undeclared earnings What does it change for employers? Related Links Just a reminder Legislation and Agreements Research and Statistics Earnings while on claim Most people know that you can t work fulltime and receive regular EI benefits. But did you know that the rules let you receive some benefits if you work part-time? Publications Eligibility Payment and Taxation Information Forms Allowable earnings If you are receiving regular, parental or compassionate care benefits, you can earn 25% of your weekly benefit or 50$, whichever is higher, without changing the amount of EI benefits you will receive for that week. You must, however, always declare all your earnings. E-Services SERVICES FOR: Individuals Business Organizations Services Where You Live Reporting your earnings Don t forget that all monies that you earn while on EI must be reported in the week(s) in which they are earned. You can declare your gross earnings (earnings before deductions) when you complete your reports through our claimant's reporting service on-line or our automated telephone reporting

2 service, Teledec. If your gross earnings are not reported correctly, you may not receive all the benefits you are due or, you may have to pay back benefits to which you were not entitled. Mistakes can happen Mistakes can happen when filling out reports or filing your report over the phone. Some of the most common errors made are: estimating weekly earnings instead of putting in the actual amount earned and then forgetting to tell us so we can adjust your file; forgetting to declare all the earnings received; writing/entering the wrong number when reporting earnings; adding up the number of hours wrongly. Some mistakes can cause a delay in payment and others could cause an error in the amount of benefits you receive either higher or lower than your entitlement. So, what happens if you do make a mistake? Two examples will give you an idea. Example 1 Estimate too high If you declared earnings higher than what you actually Your benefits may have been less than you

3 earned were entitled to LET US KNOW, we will adjust your file and ensure that you receive all the benefits to which you are entitled. If you declared less earnings than what you actually earned Example 2 Estimate too low You may have received more benefits than you were entitled to, which could result in an overpayment LET US KNOW, the overpayment will have to be paid back but we'll ensure that the repayment causes no undue financial hardship How do we consider the undeclared earnings Effective August 12, 2001, the undeclared earnings on the reports for any weeks starting August 12, 2001 and later are allocated on a weekly basis (from Sunday to Saturday) rather than over the whole period of employment. This means that if money was earned but not declared for a specific week, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) will go back and allocate that money to the week in which it was earned. Only an overpayment for that specific week will be established. (See example). Example Work performed during 4 weeks Benefit rate : $413 Allowable earnings: $103 (25% of $413)

4 Calculation for benefit paid: Benefit rate ($413) + allowable earnings ($103) = $516 - amount earned ($200) = $316 Week Amount earned Amount Benefit Benefit declared paid that should have been paid 1 $ 200 $200 $ 316 $316 2 $ $ $ $ $ 200 $200 $ 316 $316 If earnings would have been declared on the claimants' reports, no benefit would have been paid for weeks 2 and 3, because the earnings for each of these weeks are higher than the benefit rate plus the allowable earnings ($413 + $103=$516). Since benefits were paid in the amounts of : $413 for week 2 $413 for week 3 $826 is the overpayment to be reimbursed For more information, do not hesitate to contact your local office. What does it change for employers? For evaluation purposes, employers will be asked to provide only week-by-week earnings (from Sunday to Saturday) of former employees, rather than total earnings for the period worked. Just a reminder

5 Your claimant report can be amended at any time. So, if you think you have not reported your earnings correctly, LET US KNOW. Contact your local office. Last modified :