HOW IT WORKS
This benefit is sometimes referred to as EI top up or SUB fund. The benefit normally pays out $100 per week against an eligible EI week to qualifying members.
From April 1 to May 26th , 2020 only, the fund will pay out $125.00 per week in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
For every hour that you work under the ICI agreement, $0.10 per hour is put into your SUB bank. If you’re working a 40 hour work week, the employer is contributing $4 per week to this bank. It will take you approximately 10 weeks to accumulate $40 in your sub bank. Our membership database keeps track of how much money each member collects into their SUB bank.
When a member chooses to access the SUB fund, $40 is subtracted from that member’s SUB bank and the Plan subsidizes the rest. The member then gets a check for $100 ($125 for period April 1 to May 26, 2020). Cheques can only be issued against an eligible paid week of EI Regular Benefit or EI Sickness Benefit. Partial week payments are not an option. Money is subtracted from the member’s bank in $40 increments.
Please note, that the current year of EI payments are valid only until June 30 of the next year. So 2019 EI claims expire June 30 of 2020. On July 1st they are no longer eligible to claim. Some members may not have contributed enough money in their SUB bank to collect all of the eligible EI weeks. When a member goes back to work and starts remitting to the SUB plan, they can come back later to collect the missing weeks (to as much as they have in their SUB bank and providing they don’t go past the June 30 deadline of the next year).
Currently CERB payments do not qualify for SUB payments, We are restricted by current legislation. We have lobbied the Federal government requesting that they allow workers who are in receipt of CERB to qualify for SUB payments. Letter to Minister Carla Qualtrough regarding SUB benefits for members in receipt of SUB.
HOW MUCH DO I HAVE IN MY SUB BANK?
To know how much you have in your sub bank logon to the Members Only area of Local 170’s website. Click on the “My Balances” tab. If you have contributed to the plan, there will be a dollar amount that looks like this: ($0.00). To know how many weeks you have payable, divide that amount by 40.
HOW DO I APPLY FOR BENEFITS?
Log into your My Service Canada Account https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/my-account.html. Navigate to View My Payments. Beginning March 1st please submit the payment details pages which confirms the payment type to ensure that we are in line with the SUB fund requirements. The Emergency Response Benefit is currently ineligible for payment under the SUB plan. EI Maternity and Parental Leave are not covered .
From the “My Payments” page, click the link for each individual payment to get the details of the payment. Forward the details of each payment, confirming the benefit type to [email protected]. It has to be complete with your name on it, the “did you know’ part, and the complete list of your payments.
Direct Deposit Now Available!
We are now set up to process payments directly to members’ bank accounts. Once you submit your EI claim, we will send you a form that you will need to fill out providing us with the necessary banking information to process your current and future claims.