Federal Government Programs
Here is a recap of the following federal government programs:
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) – Changes were announced to the CEWS in July which changed the eligibility and subsidy amounts starting with claim period 5 (July 5 – August 1). More details can be found here.
- Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) – This program was extended to 24 weeks for anyone who stopped working due to COVID-19. Anyone who started the benefit when it first became available on March 15, 2020 will complete their 24 weeks on August 29, 2020. As of August 20, 2020, the government announced the extension of CERB benefits for an additional four weeks, providing a new maximum of up to 28 weeks of benefit. Thereafter, employees who continue to be unemployed after CERB runs out will be transitioned to the Employment Insurance (EI) program if they are EI eligible and continue to need income support. EI eligibility requirements have been modified to enable Canadians to access EI benefits more easily.
As part of the federal government’s announcement on August 20, 2020, 3 new benefits have also been proposed:
- Canada Recovery Benefit – This benefit would be effective September 27, 2020 for one year and would provide a benefit of $400 per week for up to 26 weeks to workers who are not eligible for EI, mainly self-employed individuals and those working in the gig economy.
- Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit – This benefit would be effective September 27, 2020 for one year and would provide $500 per week for up to 2 weeks for workers who are unable to work because they are sick or must self-isolate due to COVID-19.
- Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit – This benefit would be effective September 27, 2020 for one year and would provide $500 per week for up to 26 weeks per household to eligible Canadians who are unable to work for at least 60% of their normally scheduled work within a given week because of one of the following conditions:
- they must care for a child (under 12) because their school or daycare is closed, they cannot attend school or daycare under the advice of a medical professional due to being high risk if they contract COVID-19, or because their caregiver is not available for reasons related to COVID-19; or
- they must provide care to a family member with a disability or a dependent because their day program or care facility is closed, they cannot attend their day program or care facility under the advice of a medical professional due to being at high risk if they contract COVID-19, or because their caregiver is not available for reasons related to COVID-19.
More details on the proposed benefits can be found here.
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BC Ministry of Labour – Temporary Layoff Variance Applications
As previously discussed, the BC government extended the allowable period of temporary layoff to 24 weeks within a 28-week period if the COVID-19 emergency is a cause of all or part of the layoff. This COVID-19 emergency temporary layoff extension expires August 30, 2020.
Should you not be able to recall laid off employees by August 30, 2020 and wish to extend the temporary layoff period, the Ministry of Labour has developed a variance application tool to streamline the application process. Should you not apply for an extension and employees continue to be laid off, termination pay may be owed to your laid off employees if the layoff time limits are exceeded.
The government has advised that any application received by August 25, 2020 will be processed by August 30, 2020.
Note that to apply for the variance application, more than 50% of employees affected need to support the application. The Employment Standards Branch has a sample employee email and a support tool available on their website.
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