As is known, Employment Insurance (EI) is an income support provided by the Canadian government for unemployed workers looking for employment or temporarily leaving work to learn skills. EI also includes temporary income allowances for specific life events, such as illness, pregnancy, caring for a newborn, or caring for a critically ill family member. So, can self-employed individuals not apply for EI? In fact, self-employed individuals can participate in EI insurance and under certain conditions receive the following 6 EI Benefits:
Maternity benefits for 15 weeks of leave (for mothers only)
Parental benefits for up to 35 weeks of parenting leave that either parent can apply for
Sickness benefits for 15 weeks
Compassionate care benefits for 26 weeks of care, if you need to temporarily leave work to care for a critically ill person in your family
Family Caregiver benefits for critically ill children - for family care of critically ill children. If you have an 18-year-old or younger child who is critically ill, and a parent needs to leave work to care for them, they can apply for this 35-week benefit
Family Caregiver benefits for critically ill adults - for family care of critically ill adults.
If a family member is critically ill and needs to be cared for, they can apply for a 15-week benefit. Do these benefits seem useful? However, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Self-employed individuals need to register with Service Canada and pay EI premiums on a regular basis each year. Only after paying premiums for 12 months can they apply for EI Benefits. The premiums are calculated based on income tax and earnings. For example, if you register for EI in 2018, Service Canada will calculate the insurance premium based on your 2017 income tax and earnings. In 2018, for every $100 you earn, you will need to pay $1.66 as insurance premium, up to a maximum of $858.22 per year, which is based on your $51,700 income. After one year of waiting period, you can apply for EI Benefits.
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