I'm on EI currently. *sigh*. Is anyone hiring a competent IT professional in Ontario? I'm willing to move anywhere. At any rate, I've been on it since September. It
really sucks getting laid off near the holiday season. Everyone was away and
no companies were hiring.
You get 60% of your paycheque at the company you were previously at. You can only be on it for one year at a time. You can (and should) apply for EI as soon as you get your Record of Employment. You must also have all your banking and social insurance information handy at the time of application, as this will speed up the 6-8 week wait before EI starts kicking in. It is just like a regular paycheque and you get a T4 from the government for you to declare at income tax time.
Most importantly, EI in Ontario is accounted for from the time of application for a period of 365 days, from the time you receive your first cheque (which gets direct-deposited into your bank account as per your application).
Once you start receiving EI you will be mailed all your information including an all-important access code for your reports.
Every two weeks you must fill out a report on-line (or via telephone) with your PIN access code. It can range from the simple:
"Yes, I'm available for work but haven't found any in the last two weeks" to
"Yes I'm available, but I'm doing part-time training for [x] amount of hours a week or I've received a small paycheque for some on-the-side work"
I would encourage you not to lie on your reports as the hassle with insurance agents can get you in
very hot water - think of losing your benefits altogether or even getting charged with
fraud!
There should be an employment centre setup by the government near your place of residence. They can help you with resume writing, cover letter writing, interview skills and even funding for training or courses you can take (while you still get EI benefits). I'm training right now, and you cannot be training for more than 10 hours a week or you will be deemed "not searching for work", which in effect, cuts you off EI.
Again I ask, is there anyone hiring? I hope you don't mind me asking here... I'd like to explore all my options.
