EI Sickness Benefits - MS Society of Canada

[Pages:4]Background on

EI Sickness Benefits

Background

Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits

The Employment Insurance (EI) program offers temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers. EI sickness benefits were introduced in 1971 for people unable to work up to a maximum of 15 weeks following a two-week waiting period. This has remained unchanged since 1971.

To be eligible for sickness benefits you need to:

o have paid EI premiums;

o meet the specific criteria for receiving sickness benefits;

o have your normal weekly earnings reduced by more than 40%; and

o have accumulated at least 600 hours of insurable employment during the qualifying period.

EI sickness benefits are payable only to those people who are unable to work because of sickness, injury, or quarantine but who otherwise would be available for work if not for their incapacity due to medical reasons. To receive sickness benefits, the applicant needs to obtain a medical certificate signed by a doctor or medical practitioner. (Service Canada, Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits (accessed 26 January 2013); available from ) (Prince, M. J., Canadians Need a Medium-Term Sickness/Disability Income Benefit, Caledon Institute of Social Policy, (accessed 26 January 2013) available from

Based on 2004 data from The Employment Insurance Commission, the average claim for illness benefits was 9 weeks with 30% of claimants using the full 15 weeks.

The EI sickness benefits program is based on the premise that an individual is sick and unable to work, which does not take into consideration the context for an individual living with an episodic disability. Rather, the program supports a view based on an understanding of disability as a continuous state rather than one that fluctuates over time. (Furrie, Towards a better understanding of the dynamics of disability and its impact on employment, (accessed 27 January 2013) available from )

Although most people with episodic disabilities are able and eager to contribute to the labour force intermittently and/or part time as they are able, most disability income support programs do not provide partial disability benefits to complement part-time earnings. The result is the unintended consequence that people living with episodic disabilities may be in a worse financial position if they return to work parttime or work intermittently with only their part-time income, than if they completely disengage from the labour force and remain on full disability income. At present, the "all or nothing" nature of most disability income supports leaves these individuals with no realistic alternative to long-term dependence on disability income programs, and no realistic opportunity to contribute economically to society. (Episodic Disability Network, The Path Forward Addressing Episodic Disabilities in Canada, Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance Pre-Budget Consultations, Submitted August 12, 2011 (accessed 27 January 2013) available from ork.pdf)

Labour Market Context for Persons with Disabilities The employment participation rate for Canadians with disabilities was reported in the 2006 Participation

and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) data to be 53.1% or 1,250,700 people compared to the able-bodied Canadian average of 77.8%. It is also well documented that income and employment rates decline significantly by the severity of illness/disability. 46.4% or 1,140,500 of the adult population with disabilities reported at least one of the 27 conditions associated with "episodic" disability. Among those individuals, 49.9% indicated that they were "often" or "sometimes" limited in the workplace. 59% of people reporting symptoms often report the impact as restricting work to less than 30 hours per week. Approximately 19.4% of the estimated 1,062,900 individuals who were active in the labour force at the time of the survey report intermittent labour force attachment. These individuals are also much younger than the total adult population with disabilities Fewer than 50% of Canadians who are working do not have access to Long-Term Disability programs. The most disabling conditions reported include: Pain (77.7%), mobility (59%), agility (57.5%) (Canada: PALS 2006, cited in Furrie, 2010) There are substantial numbers of Canadians with disabilities that are willing and able to work. If not fulltime, then at least on an intermittent basis. Certain conditions including but not limited to multiple sclerosis, arthritis, HIV, and some mental health conditions, have symptoms that are considered episodic, in which periods of good health are interrupted ? often unpredictably ? by periods of illness or disability that affect one`s ability to work. (Smith Fowler, H., Employees' Perspectives on Intermittent Work Capacity: What Can Qualitative Research Tell Us in Ontario? (accessed 26 January 2013) available from )

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Support for the Proposed Changes

Creating a more supportive employment insurance sickness benefits program will support the labour market participation of people with disabilities, including those with episodic disabilities. This is in alignment with two recommendations in the Government of Canada's Report of the Standing Committee on Finance December 2012:

13. That the federal government continue its efforts committed to make targeted, common-sense changes to make Employment Insurance a more efficient program focused on job creation and labour market needs.

14. That the federal government review the upcoming report of the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities to identify ways to increase the labour market participation of disabled persons.

As highlighted in the 2012 Government of Canada commissioned Report from the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, "Rethinking Disability in the Private Sector,"

"As our population ages and disability rates increase, it will become clear that we cannot afford to exclude this group [people with disabilities] of working age adults from the labour force."

The report based on the evidence they gathered from consultations with the Canadian private sector companies plus existing research indicates that hiring people with disabilities is good for business. Companies recognize the value of an inclusive work environment, however there is a need for education and training to overcome barriers, dispel myths and put theory into practice - for example, the myth that the cost of accommodating a person with disabilities is prohibitive. Based on a study by the US Job Accommodation Network (JAN), workplace accommodations are relatively low cost and can include measures such as flexible work schedule, accessible work stations and places, and rest stations. (Beth Loy, "Accommodation and Compliance Series Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact," (accessed 24 October 2012); available from .)

With an aging population moving into retirement, Canada is facing a labour shortage of unprecedented scale. Business leaders and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have noted that a lack of skilled workers threatens Canada's "ability to keep up in a global, knowledge-based economy." &

Deploying sickness benefits in a more flexible, client-centered manner, could help address Canada's labour shortages. (Mowat Centre Task Force, Making It Work, Final Recommendations of the Mowat Centre Employment Insurance Task Force (accessed 26 January 2013); available from )

The Government of Canada is interested in finding ways to assist people with disabilities who can work intermittently to do so. (Smith Fowler, H., Employees' Perspectives on Intermittent Work Capacity: What Can Qualitative Research Tell Us in Ontario? (accessed 26 January 2013) available from )

A study conducted on behalf of HRDC recommended that "federal and provincial governments should continue to make eligibility rules for income support programs less restrictive and more flexible to reflect the fact that many people experience disability and work capacity as variable, episodic, and intermittent" (Smith Fowler, H., Employees' Perspectives on Intermittent Work Capacity: What Can Qualitative Research Tell Us in Ontario? (accessed 26 January 2013) available from )

Industry practice for long-term coverage is usually only for total disability, leaving aside circumstances of partial disability. (Prince, M. J., Canadians Need a Medium-Term Sickness/Disability Income Benefit,

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Caledon Institute of Social Policy, (accessed 26 January 2013) available from

The MS Perspective as an Illustration Multiple sclerosis is an episodic, progressive and disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately, Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world with an estimated 55,000 to 75,000 people affected by the disease.

85% of people diagnosed with MS have a Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS) course of MS which is characterized by unpredictable but clearly defined episodes during which new symptoms appear, or existing ones get worse. (MS Society of Canada (accessed 26 January 2013) available from )

People with MS struggle to continue working and a higher percentage of people with MS are unemployed than in the rest of the population. According to US numbers, there is a lower rate of employment for people with MS than for the general population but people with MS experience some of the highest unemployment rates given their educational and vocational histories. (Sweetland, J., Howse, E., & Playford E., Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34(24): 2031-2038)

"Most people with MS in the UK and US are in full-time education or employment at diagnosis and 90% of people with MS have a work history." (Sweetland, J., Howse, E., & Playford E., Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34(24): 2031-2038)

"Estimates of work retention from New Zealand, the US and Europe vary between 20% and 30% remaining employed 5-17 years after diagnosis." (Sweetland, J., Howse, E., & Playford E., Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34(24): 2031-2038)

MS is most often diagnosed during peak years of employment (ages 20-50) (Measures of Physical and Cognitive Function and Work Status among Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis: A Review of Literature: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, Vol. 15, No. 1. March 2005)

For many people with MS the problem is one of work retention. (Sweetland, J., Howse, E., & Playford E., Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34(24): 2031-2038)

"An American study reported that 40% of people with MS who are unemployed report that they would like to return to work." (Sweetland, J., Howse, E., & Playford E., Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34(24): 2031-2038)

People with MS who are working report being healthier, more financially secure, more socially active and experiencing a better quality of life than those who are unemployed. (Sweetland, J., Howse, E., & Playford E., Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34(24): 2031-2038)

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