Understanding EI Sickness Benefits

When health problems start, financial worries shouldn’t add to your stress. Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits can help support you during difficult times of illness, injury or quarantine when you’re unable to work.

Do you qualify 

To be eligible for EI sickness benefits, you must show that: 

• you’re unable to work for medical reasons 

• your regular weekly earnings from work have decreased by more than 40% for at least 1 week 

• you accumulated 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of your claim or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter

Quick tip: While receiving sickness benefits, you must be available for work if it weren’t for your medical condition.

In addition, you must get a medical certificate signed by a medical practitioner. You can ask your medical practitioner to complete Service Canada’s Medical Certificate for Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits or they can complete their own medical form as long as all of the certificate requirements are met.

Your medical practitioner must practise in Canada or the United States and the illness they’re treating must be in their field.

Quick tip: Keep your medical certificate in a safe place for 6 years in case we require it later.

How much could you receive

The exact amount you receive is determined once your application is processed. You could receive 55% of your insurable earnings up to a maximum of $668 a week. The amount you receive depends on your insurable earnings before taxes in the past 52 weeks or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter.  

If your weekly earnings vary or your income changes, we calculate your benefits amount by using a specific number of your highest paid weeks of employment (called best weeks), which could be between 14 and 22 weeks.  

Apply

Step 1: Gather the required information  

To complete your application you will need:  

Personal information 

• your Social Insurance Number 
• the last name of one of your parents at the time of their birth 
• your mailing and home addresses, including postal code 
• your banking information to sign up for direct deposit, including the branch or transit number, the name of your financial institution, and your account number
• the names and addresses of all the employers you worked for in the last 52 weeks, or since the start of your last EI claim
• the dates of your employment and why it ended
• if you quit or were dismissed from any job in the past 52 weeks, your detailed explanation of the facts  

Medical certificate 

Records of employment

Quick tip: Don’t wait until you have all your documents to apply. Complete and submit your online application as soon as you stop working, even if you’re still missing some information. You can send us the required documents later.

Step 2: Complete the online application  

The online application will take about 1 hour to complete. Your information is saved for 72 hours (3 days) from the time you start. If you don’t submit your application within this time, it will be deleted, and you will have to start again.

Step 3: Provide missing documents 

After you complete your online application, you can mail any additional required documents to us or drop them off at a Service Canada Centre.

Step 4: Receive your benefit statement and access code by mail  

Once your application is received, we will mail you a benefit statement with a 4-digit access code. Use this code, with your SIN, to follow up on your application.

Step 5: Check your application status 

To check the status of your EI claim, sign in to My Service Canada Account.  

Next steps

After you apply, you will have to submit reports every 2 weeks for as long as you receive benefits. These reports check your ongoing eligibility and make sure you are getting the benefits you are entitled to.

If you’re eligible and have provided all required information, you will receive your first payment about 28 days after you apply.

Find more information on what to expect after you apply for EI sickness benefits, such as if your situation changes, if you travel outside of Canada, or when your payments end, by visiting the EI sickness benefits page.