Compassionate Care Benefit
In January 2004, the federal government is launching the Compassionate Care Benefit Program under the Employment Insurance Program. The Compassionate Care Benefit will include:
- The new provisions will pay up to six weeks of special benefits to claimants who provide care or support to a gravely ill family member.
- Claimants would have access to this new Employment Insurance (EI) special benefit if they have 600 hours of insurable employment in their qualifying period (the same rules as for existing EI special benefits programs such as sickness, maternity and paternal).
- Family members would be defined as a spouse or common-law partner, a parent, a spouse or common-law partner of a parent, a child, or a child of the spouse or common-law partner.
- The new provision would require a waiting period, but when eligible family members share the benefits the waiting period may be deferred for all but one family member.
- Claimants would need to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor indicating that the family member is gravely ill with a significant risk of death in the next 26 weeks (six months) and that there is a need for one or more family members to provide the ill family member with care or support.
- The government also made related amendments to the Canada Labour Code to establish an entitlement to a period of leave of up to eight weeks duration with job protection within a 26-week period, for the purpose of providing compassionate care to a family member. This means you cannot be fired from your employment for asking for or taking up to eight weeks leave to provide compassionate care for a family member.
Please visit the Service Canada Website for more details. You can also visit an Employment Insurance office in your community.
