Glossary
To qualify for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, you must have an interruption of earnings. Your employer must fill out a Record of Employment (ROE) every time this happens.
If you’re applying for regular EI benefits, an interruption of earnings happens when you go 7 days without doing any work or getting any pay from your employer.
If you’re applying for special EI benefits, an interruption of earnings happens when your normal weekly earnings go down by more than 40%. Special benefits include sickness benefits, maternity or parental benefits, compassionate care benefits, and family caregiver benefits.
An employer may say they have “just cause” to fire you. If they do have just cause, they do not have to give you notice of termination.
A court might decide that your employer had just cause if you did something that was serious misconduct or you failed almost completely to do your job. The court looks at all the circumstances, including how long you have worked for the employer.
In Debt and Consumer Rights, Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights
In mediation, people who do not agree on something meet with someone called a mediator. The mediator tries to help them find a solution that they agree on.
A mediator does not make decisions or force anyone to agree to anything. If people make an agreement after mediation, they either:
- will not need to have a hearing at a court or tribunal, where a judge or adjudicator decides for them, or
- will only need a hearing about the things they still do not agree on.
In mediation, a worker and an employer meet with someone called a mediator. The mediator tries to help them find a solution that they agree on. The mediator is neutral, which means they do not take the side of the worker or the employer.
If the mediation process works, the worker and the employer make an agreement. This means they will not need to have a hearing at a court or tribunal, where a judge or adjudicator would decide for them.
You do not get Employment Insurance (EI) benefits if you were fired because of misconduct.
Misconduct usually means doing something wrong on purpose. It’s more than not being able to do the job well. Here are some examples that might be misconduct:
- threatening or violent behaviour
- destroying company property on purpose
- being late or away from work without permission
- disobeying an order from your employer
Your employer might be wrong about what the law says is misconduct. So, it’s a good idea to apply for EI even if you were fired.
Modified work means that your employer makes changes to your duties or your workplace because your injury prevents you from doing some parts of your regular job. This includes:
- working in a different job or different area of your workplace
- doing parts of your job and having someone help with the parts you cannot do
- taking breaks or working different hours than you normally would
When an employer fires you or lays you off, they usually have to give you notice of termination. There are 2 ways they can do this:
- Your employer can tell you ahead of time. The amount of time can depend on many things, including how long you’ve been in the job.
- Instead of telling you ahead of time, your employer can let you go right away. Then they have to pay you the money you would have earned if they had told you ahead of time.
A party or parties are the people or organizations directly involved in a court case, contract, agreement, or other legal matter. For example, a party can be one person or a group of 2 or more people, a corporation, or a government organization like the Ministry of Labour.
When an employer fires you or lays you off, they usually have to give you notice ahead of time. The amount of time can depend on many things including how long you’ve been in the job.
If they let you go right away, they must pay you the money you’d have earned if they had told you ahead of time. This is called pay in lieu of notice or termination pay.
A permanent resident is an immigrant or refugee who has been given the right to live permanently in Canada. A permanent resident is not a Canadian citizen. Permanent residents can be forced to leave Canada for reasons given in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.