Eligibility Criteria for EI Benefits for Independent Workers and Professionals
The following eligibility criteria for independent workers and professionals for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits are based on insurable employment.
You may be eligible for EI benefits if:
- you have accumulated enough insurable hours from insured employment to qualify for EI benefits, even if you have self-employment earnings;
- you meet the entitlement criteria for the type of EI benefits you applied to receive;
- you demonstrate that you are unemployed through no fault of your own for each week you claim EI benefits;
- you are actively looking for another job and are ready, willing, and capable of working each day (in the case of EI regular benefits ); and
- your self-employment activities while you are receiving EI benefits are determined to be minor in extent.
You are not entitled to EI benefits if you are working a full work week. If your main source of income is from operating a business on your own account, in partnership, or as a co-adventurer, and your self-employment activities are not considered to be minor in extent, you are considered to be working a full work week and therefore you are not unemployed.
You are also considered to be working a full work week when you work in employment where you control your own hours of work. You are therefore not unemployed and you cannot receive EI benefits.
Natural concerns for your investment
If you are not directly involved or participating in the running of the business, but instead you have only a natural concern for your investment, you are not necessarily considered to be self-employed.
Simple ownership of all or part of a business does not necessarily mean that a person is self-employed. Self-employment is based on a person's work or labour in the business.
Insurable employment
If you are not sure whether you are an employee or self-employed, or whether your employment is insurable, please contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Under the Employment Insurance Act, CRA is responsible for determining whether or not your employment is insurable.
To help determine if you are eligible to receive EI benefits, please see the examples involving different types of independent workers, including professionals.