Sisters & Brothers,
The following information is for those Ford Unit-Unifor Local 707 Production and Skilled Trade members who are on lay-off the week beginning Sunday March 22 ,2020 or thereafter .
Please Note: That the Reference Code that our Local was using has since expired, any member that has not yet applied for Employment Insurance should do so without the reference code. While the Employment Insurance Application without a reference code will ask different questions and may take longer to complete, it will still establish a claim for Regular Employment Insurance Benefits and generate a Personal Access Code to complete reports and receive payments.
In Solidarity,
Mark Sciberras Paul Ivey
President, Unifor Local 707 Unifor Local 707 Unit#1 Benefit Rep
Employment Insurance (EI) Regular Benefits
Please follow these basic guidelines to help ensure your EI application goes smoothly.
Here is a checklist to assist you
1) Make an ONLINE application for Regular benefits on the Service Canada website.
2) Wait a MINIMUM of 3 days or until you receive a PIN code in the mail.
3) Go ONLINE to the Service Canada website and Report your earnings during the timeframe asked.
No Previous Employment Insurance Claim (Minority of Local 707 Ford Unit Members and Skilled Trades)
If you have not experienced a lay-off or have not established an Employment Insurance waiting period in the last 51 weeks, you will not receive an Employment Insurance Benefit or Supplemental Unemployment Benefit for the first week of your lay-off. However, it is strongly recommended that you apply for this lay-off week to establish an Employment Insurance waiting period, as the spread of the COVID-19 virus throughout North America could result in further lay-offs.
Established Employment Insurance Claim (Majority of Local 707 Ford Unit Members)
If you were on lay-off for the week of January 5-11, 2020 (our PP3) and you applied and reported, then your Employment Insurance claim should be re-opened with this application, allowing you to report and receive an EI Benefit and a **Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) for the first week of your lay-off.
**Note: An Employee shall be eligible for a SUB Benefit, providing for such Week of lay-off, he/she had five (5) years of seniority on their last day worked.
Frequently asked Question,
I was on lay-off for the week of January 5-11, 2020 (our PP 3) however I did NOT apply for Employment Insurance AND/OR I did NOT complete a report for this week, what can I do?
In short it is TOO LATE, you should apply for the current lay-off with the reference code provided. Then if you wish to attempt to get an EI claim processed retroactive to January 5, 2020, you must first make another application ONLINE. There is no longer a Reference Code to use for the January 5-11, 2020 as that code has expired and this new reference code will not work. Once you have applied, you will need to go to a Service Canada branch and complete an ANTEDATE request and a report for this January 5-11, 2020 period. For you to qualify YOU MUST have a valid reason as to why you did not apply and/or report at the time of layoff.
Important Notes
- Given the current state of the Country and the amount of EI claims being submitted, expect delays in processing your claim
- The EI application ONLINE, is VERY slow due to a high volume of applications being submitted throughout Canada at any given time.
- Ensure you write down the TEMPORARY CODE when prompted to do so, this temporary code will allow you to go back into your application, should if be kicked off the website.
Employment Insurance (EI) Regular Benefits
The purpose of this notification is to provide the necessary information to file for Employment Insurance Benefits for any active Ford Unit-Unifor Local 707 Production and Skilled Trade members that are laid off anytime after March 22nd, 2020
(Read the following information very carefully, so that you clearly understand your rights and responsibilities when applying for EI)
There are two steps involved in this process. One, you must apply for EI benefits. Two, you must report your earnings and your return to work date. You cannot do both steps on the same day.
Eligibility
If eligible you may choose to apply EI Benefits ONLY IF:
- You remain available for work.
- This means you are remaining within two hours from your home and in the province of Ontario.
- This means you will report to work any day, Monday through Friday, should the Ford Motor Company, or any other employer call upon you to do so.
- You accurately report to Service Canada.
- Any absences from Ontario.
- All gross earnings during the week of your lay-off from Sunday to Saturday, this includes any worked hours, holiday pay, vacation pay, short work week, jury duty or bereavement pay form the Ford Motor Company and any other employer or any type of self-employment.
Note: If you are working at the Ford Motor Company and have wages as indicated above (i.e: work hours, holiday, vacation etc..) that equal more than 24 hours, or are in receipt Sickness and Accident (S&A) or WSIB payments during this down week, DO NOT apply for EI Benefits at this time.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are not willing to remain available for work or accurately report all absences and earnings you should not apply for EI Benefits. If Service Canada were to determine you knowingly withheld information or misrepresented the facts to make a false claim, they will consider it an act of committing fraud; as such you may be financially penalized and/or prosecuted.
New Employment Insurance Claim (EI waiting periods NOT served)
Any person starting a brand new EI claim, or serving a waiting period on an existing claim will have any monies earned or received deducted dollar for dollar from any benefit that would otherwise be payable.
As during any Employment Insurance waiting period an individual with gross earnings in excess of $573.00 (the maximum allowable earnings in a waiting period), would not be able to establish a waiting period during this time.
Already Established Employment Insurance Claim (EI waiting periods served)
For those with existing EI claims with a waiting period already served and established by Service Canada, you are eligible to receive a weekly Employment Insurance benefit and any benefit will be reduced by approximately 50% of any gross earnings you report for the week. IF you have no earnings during your lay-off week, from the Sunday to Saturday you will be entitled to an EI benefit, to a maximum of $573.00.
Additional Information
Please note you will be asked to provide your last day worked or paid, which for most, will be Friday last worked prior to the lay-off, however that could be different for the Skilled Trades. For those who are asked to work during the weekend, please reflect the last day worked correctly, and remember any earnings for work performed on a Sunday will be considered earnings for the following week, which could be the week of your lay-off and therefor may exceed any allowable earnings for EI purposes.
The Ford Motor Company of Canada will submit a Record of Employment (ROE) electronically to Service Canada on your behalf; therefore, you do not need to request copies from Ford payroll.
However, if you do not have an established Employment Insurance claim, to obtain the required insurable hours to qualify for Regular EI benefits you may need to request a ROE from any past employers that you may have had over the last 52 week period, which did not previously send your ROE electronically to Service Canada. If your previous employer provides you with a paper format ROE take the Record to a Service Canada outlet or you can pass it on to the In-plant UNIFOR Benefit Office and it will be delivered to Service Canada on your behalf.
Shortly after you complete the application online you will receive a 4-digit Personal Access Code in the mail to use for completing your reports either by phone or online. This 4-digit code will be the same for your lifetime. However, you must wait until your application is processed before you can use it to report. It is important to complete your reports, for all the time you were unpaid, in a timely manner. 3 weeks is considered timely.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your EI claim or application you can access your EI account online by signing up for ‘My Service Canada’ account. If it is necessary to call the inquiry line at 1-800-206-7218, be sure to provide the reference code above to ensure you receive the information that pertains to the ‘Automotive Employment Insurance Application’.
EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REGULAR BENEFITS- FILING PROCEDURES
STEP 1
Read the following information very carefully, so that you clearly understand your rights and responsibilities when applying for Employment Insurance
Online Employment Insurance Application
Employment Insurance is and has always been a government program administrated by a federal branch currently known as Service Canada, which determines how unemployed in Canada apply and receive benefits based on the Employment Insurance Act. Service Canada determines how application is made by a claimant, which is why it is your responsibility to apply for Employment Insurance online using Service Canada’s Employment Insurance Application below.
To Complete an Application Online go to:
Once on the Service Canada Website click “English” then once on the appropriate page
Next, click “Employment Insurance”.
Next, click “Regular Benefits”.
Next, click “Apply”. Then scroll down the page and click “READY TO START?”
Scroll down the page again and click “Start Application”.
Note: Should you have problems finding the web page, do a “Google” search for “Service Canada”.
Important Note when completing “Last Employer Information” in the Emplyment Insurance application
Provide the Business name of your most recent Employer: Ford Motor Company. Phone number is (905) 845-2511.
First day worked is an optional question that is not required to be answered, but you may enter your Seniority Date if you wish.
Last Day Worked: the last day for which you worked or paid before you were laid-off.
Example #1 – (The last day worked or paid, prior to the your lay-off
Note: For most it would be the Friday before.
Also Note:Your last day paid could also be the last day you were paid Short Work Week Benefits or Vacation pay before your lay-off )
Enter: DATE Month/Day/Year
IMPORTANT
STEP 2
Employment Insurance Reporting
Shortly after you complete the application online you will receive a Personal Access Code # in the mail to use for completing your reports either by phone or online. It is important to complete your reports, and accurately report for all the time you were laid-off, in a timely manner, to establish an Employment Insurance waiting period or receive an Employment Insurance benefit.
Once you have your Personal Access Code, go online or phone and report. You should report for the time as prompted. Please make note that reports are normally in 2-week blocks. For further information about how to complete your Employment Insurance Report see article titled: Step 2- Employment Insurance Reporting Guide-April 4, 2020– Located on our Local 707 Website.
In solidarity,
Paul Ivey Tim Batke
UNIFOR Local 707 Unit# 1 Alternate Benefit Representative
Benefit Representative
April, 24th , 2020
