Chapter 4: Program administration

4.1.1 Payment of Employment Insurance

• Standard: For EI benefit payments or non-benefit notifications to be issued within 28 calendar days of filing
• Target: ESDC aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: ESDC met this standard 85.4% of the time, compared to 88.8% last fiscal year
• For more on EI claims processing, consult section 4.4.2

4.1.2 Employment Insurance requests for reconsideration

• Standard: For EI requests for reconsideration decisions to be finalized within 30 days of the request being received
• Target: ESDC aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: ESDC met this standard 83.7% of the time, compared to 88.7% last fiscal year
• For more on EI requests for reconsideration, consult section 4.6.1

4.1.3 Employment Insurance Call Centre

• Standard: For agents to answer EI calls within 10 minutes (once a caller is in the queue to speak to an agent)
• Target: ESDC aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: the EI Call Centre answered 40.6% of calls within 10 minutes, compared to 11.2% last fiscal year
• For more on the EI Call Centre consult section 4.3.2

4.1.4 Employer Contact Centre

• Standard: To answer calls within 10 minutes
• Target: ESDC aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: The ECC surpassed this target by answering 95.2% of calls within 10 minutes, compared to 68.8% last fiscal year
• For more on the Employer Contact Centre consult section 4.3.2

4.1.5 Outreach Support Centre

• Standard: To answer calls within 5 minutes
• Target: ESDC aims to meet this standard 90% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: the Service Canada Outreach Support Centre surpassed this target by answering 99% of calls within 5 minutes, compared to 99.3% last fiscal year
• For more on the Outreach Support Centre consult section 4.3.1

4.1.6 Social Security Tribunal

General Division

From the date that the appeal is filed

• Standard: To make decisions within 45 days
• Target: SST aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: SST met this standard 68.8% of the time (compared to 79.4% in FY2021), with an average processing time of 42.9 days (compared to 37.0 in FY2021)
  • When including group appeals, this fiscal year's results remain unchanged

Following a hearing

• Standard: To make decisions within 15 days after a hearing.
• Target: SST aims to meet this standard 80% of the time.
• Performance in FY2122: the SST met this standard 68.8% of the time, averaging 9.0 days to issue a decision after the hearing compared with 8.8 days in FY2021
  • When including group appeals, this fiscal year's results remain unchanged
• For more information consult section 4.6.2

Appeal Division

Leave to Appeal decisions

• Standard: To make decisions within 45 days
• Target: SST aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: SST met this standard approximately 95% of the time, which is unchanged from FY2021, with an average processing time of 23.1 days (compared to 21.6 in FY2021)

Final decisions

• Standard: To make decisions within 150 days of the Leave to Appeal decision
• Target: SST aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in FY2122: the SST met this standard 93.9% of the time (compared to 96.5% in FY2021), with an average processing time of 89.0 days (compared to 77.1 days in FY2021)
• For more information consult section 4.6.2

4.2.1 Service transformation and the Benefits Delivery Modernization programme

The Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme (BDM) is a key element of Service Canada's service transformation agenda, which aims to modernize the delivery of statutory benefit programs including EI, Old Age Security, and the Canada Pension Plan. By bringing all three programs onto a common operating platform and replacing aging IT systems, BDM will improve the ways Canadians can access benefits as well as overall service management.

In FY2122, BDM started implementation through work on its Foundations phase, the first step needed to onboard future benefits onto a multi-benefit platform. Although the Old Age Security program will be the first to be migrated over to the modern platform, early high-level planning efforts are underway to prepare for the migration of EI in the next phase of the programme.

4.2.2 Transformations to the Employment Insurance program

Enhancement of document upload for EI clients

Every year, the EI program receives millions of paper documents, by mail or in person, at Service Canada Centres (SCCs). Officers must manually sort and enter these documents into the various systems.

At the end of FY2021, ESDC introduced a new feature enabling claimants to upload supporting medical documents directly to their EI files using AppliWeb or My Service Canada Account (MSCA). This document upload feature lessens the burden on claimants and reduces the need for manual intervention from officers.

In June 2021, ESDC enhanced the document upload feature, allowing clients to upload more types of supporting documents directly to their files for their EI claims. This new functionality provides a streamlined approach for submitting documents. The expanded documents accepted for upload include:

• additional types of medical documentation
• documents related to proof of employment
• proof of authorization to work in Canada

This fiscal year, 424,589 claimants have uploaded 717,816 documents to their EI claims.

Artificial Intelligence to review records of employment

When issuing records of employment (ROEs) for their employees, many employers include text comments to provide additional information. EI systems cannot automate claims with ROEs with these added comments and requires officers to review the information in the comment section. However, since 2020, Service Canada has used artificial intelligence (AI) to support the review and interpretation of these added text comments on ROEs. This reduces the need for human intervention and supports claim processing automation.

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In FY2122, AI reviewed nearly 1.3 million comments, successfully automating an additional 34.5% of ROEs.

4.2.3 Call Centre improvement strategy

In FY2122, Call Centres worked on several new and ongoing improvement strategies. These strategies are in the areas of managing client experience, modernization, prioritization, and inventory reduction.

Client experience

• Created online messaging advising clients of wait times for the EI call centre and of specific periods of high call volume
  • This strategy supported client expectations around services, ensuring they were aware of the wait times to speak to an agent

Modernization

• Prepared for the introduction of call recording, which is targeted for FY2223. FY2122 preparations include:
  • holding engagement sessions with the National Union and with all employees
  • training staff on the system and procedures
  • updating the Interactive Voice Responses (IVR) system to ensure clients are aware their calls will be recorded

Prioritization

• Identified and trained a group of employees to manage overpayments resulting from the EI Emergency Response Benefit (EI ERB)
• Advanced efforts to allow for the better placement of staff to address peaks in the workload.
• Began scheduling call centre agents to assist with eServiceCanada requests, providing support to in-person services in responding to the various enquires received online

Inventory

• EI call centre agents were reallocated to offline processing work during periods of lower call volumes
  • This increased capacity addressed processing inventory volumes and allowed for more alignment between employees with specific training and knowledge and areas of demand

4.3.1 In person

Service Canada Centres

Service Canada Centres (SCCs) are open up to 5 days a week, managed and staffed by Service Canada employees, and offer general information and transactional services.

SCC employees provide general program information and intake support to clients. They help clients complete the application online by walking them through the various steps. Although SCC employees do not process claims, they perform support functions for the EI program, such as:

• authenticating identity
• validating supporting documents
• verifying information for completeness
• non-complex transactions: change of address, direct deposit
• temporary access code issuance, change of tax code, and extension of sickness benefits
• assisting with completing claimant reports
• assisting with completing EI applications
• clarifying emergency pandemic benefit overpayments, including the EI Emergency Response Benefit

On March 31, 2022, Canadians were able to access services at 332 In-person Points of service across the country (consult annex 4.3.1a). These were comprised of:

• 317 SCCs
• 15 Service Delivery Partner (SDP) sites

In FY2122, Service Canada in-person points of service staff completed almost 880,000 service requests related to EI (consult annex 4.3.1b). This represents 19% of all service requests handled. Chart 2 below provides a breakdown of the types of EI program in-person services.

Note: "Other" includes EI first point of contact resolution follow-up, employment processing support, and EI T4E tax form inquiries follow-up.

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The breakdown of the types of In-Person services provided on the EI Program is as follows:

• Information: 282,000 or 32%
• Application: 84,000 or 10%
• Follow-up: 484,000 or 55%
• Other: 23,000 or 3%¹

¹"Other" includes EI first point of contact resolution follow-up, employment processing support, and EI T4E tax form inquiries follow-up

Emergency benefits

In FY2122, clients continued to have questions or concerns related to the concluded EI emergency pandemic benefits. A specialized EI team prioritized requests related to overpayments and other issues pertaining to the EI Emergency Response Benefit, providing support, advice, and timely responses.

eServiceCanada

Launched in 2020, eServiceCanada is an online service that mirrors the services available to clients who usually come into SCCs. As an alternative to going into an SCC, EI clients can make requests for a call back through the eServiceCanada online request form. These requests are routed to Service Canada staff who contact the client within 2 business days. Staff are available to answer questions, help with applications, and provide personalized support to EI clients.

In FY2122, Service Canada staff contacted EI clients who made requests through the eServiceCanada channel within 2 days, 93% of the time. All clients for any program requests were contacted within 2 days, 89% of the time.

*the number of clients represents the number of general requests made

For more on eServiceCanada requests, consult annex 4.3.1c.

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In FY2122, 874,615 EI eServiceCanada requests were made by 694,692 clients.

The types of eServiceCanada services requested from the EI Program included:

• general information – 221,040 or 25.27%
• help applying online – 209,480 or 23.95%
• update Direct Deposit/address – 124,152 or 14.20%
• submit additional information – 105,475 or 12.06%
• obtain a personal access code – 89,691 or 10.25%
• help with claimant reports – 88,668 or 10.14%
• obtain information on an overpayment – 18,764 or 2.15%
• obtain information on a T4E – 17,345 or 1.98%

Scheduled outreach sites

Scheduled outreach sites are points of service located in host sites within communities that offer similar services to those offered at SCCs on a scheduled basis. Service Canada staff travel to a pre-determined location that is otherwise underserved, typically in a rural or remote area.

Scheduled Outreach sites remained closed due to COVID-19 throughout FY2122. A vast assessment exercise was conducted at the end of FY2122 to ensure host communities and Service Canada were ready to reopen these sites with appropriate Public Health and Safety measures in place. Scheduled Outreach reactivation will be implemented in a phased approach in FY2223.

Community Outreach and Liaison Service

The Community Outreach and Liaison Service (COLS) focuses on building relationships with communities and stakeholders to facilitate the delivery of service to priority populations who otherwise may face barriers to access. It provides expanded reach and scope to support vulnerable clients to have access to programs, services, and benefits. COLS can assist by creating awareness of the program and connecting clients with EI subject matter experts.

COLS provides responsive outreach to employers and workers facing labour market adjustments by offering EI application assistance, EI information sessions for those affected by mass layoffs, and program information for employers. Service Canada outreach staff made proactive calls to 1,469 employers at risk of conducting layoffs, and to the unions and professional associations, to promote other mitigation options. These options included the Work-Sharing and the Work Force Reduction programs.

In the event of a mass layoff, COLS staff work in partnership with provincial and territorial governments to organize information sessions for employees. The purpose of these joint sessions is to help reduce the stress and worry of employees facing a job loss, and to provide participants with important information on:

• when, how, and why to apply for EI
• the impact that payments can have on benefits upon termination of employment (for example, severance or pay in lieu of notice)
• other federal programs and services such as CPP, OAS, the Job Bank, and My Service Canada Account

The provincial or territorial partner provides information on programs and services available to help participants find suitable employment. This also includes information on retraining, resume writing, job search techniques, and interview skills. For more information, consult annex 4.3.1d.

In FY2122, in-person activities remained suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, COLS continued to build relationships and provide virtual support to increase and improve program and benefit access for Indigenous and underserved communities facing barriers to service. COLS offered virtual services, including information sessions and clinics to clients, throughout the year. These offerings ensured that clients had continued access to the full range of activities usually delivered by the COLS community. Where COLS was unable to go into the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Outreach Support Centre provided an alternate approach to ensure access to and awareness of services.

In FY2122 COLS conducted 1,306 EI-related information sessions to 11,313 participants:

• 466 EI information sessions to citizens
  • 146 mass layoff sessions
  • 174 Work-Sharing sessions
  • 8,151 participants
• 582 EI information sessions to employers
  • 91 mass layoff sessions
  • 363 Work-Sharing sessions
  • 1,469 companies and organizations participating
• 258 EI information sessions to other stakeholders
  • 42 mass layoff sessions
  • 10 Work-Sharing sessions
  • 1,693 stakeholder organizations participating

For more information on the Community Outreach and Liaison Service, consult annexes 4.3.1e-h.

Service Canada Outreach Support Centre

The Service Canada Outreach Support Centre (OSC) was launched in April 2020 as a complement to the COLS program. This toll-free service for Indigenous communities and clients who face barriers to accessing Service Canada's programs, services, and benefits was designed to ensure continuity of service when face-to-face interaction is not possible.

The OSC immediately connects clients with a Service Canada representative to receive assistance, including with enquiries regarding the EI program. The OSC acquired the VOCALLS system to support hearing-impaired clients by enabling them to communicate directly, and in real time, with Outreach Support Centre staff using a teletypewriter (TTY).

Although the Outreach Support Centre (OSC) was initially created as an alternate service delivery channel to meet client needs while in-person COLS activities were temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, it will remain a permanent service delivery option for clients facing barriers to service even after in-person outreach is reactivated.

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In FY2122, staff received 27,345 calls at the Outreach Support Centre. As a result of these calls, 31,932 service requests were completed. Of these requests, 52% were for EI.

The OSC surpassed its service standard (90% of calls answered within 5 minutes) by answering 99% of calls within 5 minutes. The OSC provided services that included:

• assisting clients facing barriers to service with the completion of their EI applications
• supporting clients in emergencies, such as the wildfires experienced in the summer and the flooding experienced in the fall

As of March 31, 2022, 579 Indigenous communities had received services through either the OSC or virtual outreach activities.

Accessibility

In FY2122, the department continued to take action to make its programs and services more accessible for persons with disabilities.

In-person service locations

• Counter loops, which project sound directly to a client's hearing aid, and Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) were made available in 145 SCCs
• Wayfinding beacons, technology used to help enable indoor navigation, were installed in 43 sites
  • Further installations will continue into FY2223 to equip common areas and 14 additional offices with the beacons
• "Talk through" microphones for Plexiglas shields are available in all offices, which reduce communication barriers

During FY2122, Service Canada conducted interviews and consultations across the country to gather feedback on barriers faced by clients with disabilities. The findings will play a role in improving the client experience as the Department works to reduce these barriers across the client-facing channels.

4.3.2 By telephone

Employment Insurance call centre

The EI Call Centre network is the main point of contact for EI clients. The EI Call Centre spreads calls across the national network based on next available resources, regardless of from where in the country the calls originate. The network maintained the increased staffing levels from FY2021 of approximately 3,000 full time agents. The EI Call Centre had a turnover rate of 38%, of which approximately two thirds permanently left (including resignations and retirements).

EI call centre agents respond to questions about the application process for EI, eligibility for EI benefits, and enquiries specific to claimants' EI files. Agents resolve enquiries by:

• providing claim-specific information
• updating information on the claimant's file (for example, changing an address or direct deposit information)
• processing claimant reports for which a client requires an agent's intervention in order to access the payment to which they are entitled
• adjudicating a wide variety of non-contentious issues (such as claim calculation and reason for separation)

Call volume

The EI call centre received almost 23.6 million calls in FY2122 compared with 53.3 million calls in FY2021. This decrease of 29.7 million calls represents a return to call levels seen before the pandemic.

Interactive Voice Response system

The EI call centre is equipped with an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The IVR system allows clients to self-serve by:

• authenticating themselves
• updating their access code
• checking their application status
• getting details about their payments
• completing their bi-weekly claimant's reports

In FY2122, 60% of calls (14.1 million) were resolved^{Footnote 1} in the IVR system without the need to speak to an agent. This is an increase in the percentage of calls resolved in the IVR, compared to FY2021 (54%). FY2021 saw a considerable reduction in the total number of calls from the previous fiscal year, when the pandemic and measures were at their heights. Therefore, the actual number of calls that were resolved in the IVR compared to FY2021 was lower by 11.5 million (consult annex 4.3.2a).

Agents are available to guide clients through issues not resolved by self-service. For this reporting year, the top 5 reasons clients requested agent assisted services were regarding:

1. Questions about the status of a claim/decision
2. Support to complete an electronic claimant's report started through a self-service option
3. Questions about entitlement conditions for EI benefits unrelated to a claim
4. Questions about the status of an expected payment
5. Help on how to file their application

Calls answered

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This year, call centre agents answered almost 7.2 million calls, which is 1.6 million more calls than last year

As described in image 4 above, FY2122 saw an increase in calls answered. In fact, this is the highest number of calls answered since the EI call centre was networked nationally (consult annex 4.3.2b). This increased responsiveness is a result of the implementation of the new telephone technology last year and maintaining the staffing levels from FY2021.

Many of the calls were with regard to questions about the status of a claim. Because there were more applications for and revisions of claims in FY2122, the volume of the claims waiting to be processed steadily increased over the year. The number of new and reopened claims was around half that of the pandemic volumes but remained a little higher than the average before the pandemic. The volume of new revisions of claims remained high.

Call length is affected by the nature and complexity of the calls received. FY2122 had additional complex situations such as EI ERB repayments and calls related to potentially fraudulent activity on client files. Call length is also affected by the proportion of new staff, who generally have longer call lengths than more experienced agents. In FY2122, 44.4% of call centre agents had at least a year of experience compared to 27.5% in FY2021. It was still far below the level in FY1920 when the majority (68.9%) had at least 1 year of experience. In FY2122, the average call length was about a minute longer than in FY2021, at approximately 16 minutes.

Agent availability and caller wait times are two important performance indicators for call centres. Agent availability represents the percentage of call attempts^{Footnote 2} that are successfully placed in queue to wait to speak to an agent. Caller wait times represents the amount of time a caller is in queue waiting to speak to a call centre agent.

In FY2122 agent availability was much higher at 98.9% compared to FY2021 when agent availability was 50.1%. Also in FY2122, the average annual wait time to reach an agent was 20 minutes, which was 42 minutes shorter than in FY2021. The FY2122 average annual wait increased when compared to the pre-pandemic FY1920 results of just over 14 minutes. Although the wait time has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, the availability of call centre agents to speak to callers has increased dramatically and callers no longer need to make repeated attempts to get through. In fact, aside from 9 high-call-volume weeks, 100% of clients who wanted to speak to an agent were placed in the queue. For information on the rate of callers who chose to hang-up, rather than wait to speak to an agent, consult annex 4.3.2c.

The changes and improvements to agent availability and caller wait times is directly related to the following initiatives:

• the FY1920 migration to the modernized call centre platform, the Hosted Contact Centre Solution (HCCS), and upgrades to queue capacity
• maintaining the higher staffing level established in FY2021

HCCS allows all callers to access the call centre queue and wait to speak to an agent. Consequently, the increase in agent availability for the EI Call Centre results in longer wait times for callers but more answered calls.

Factors affecting Call Centre performance

The number of calls received throughout the year from clients waiting for EI claim decisions remained elevated this reporting year. Claim status enquiries are directly correlated with the volume of EI claims submitted but not yet processed.

Increased fraudulent attempts to access EI benefits resulted in increased calls from impacted clients. Calls from these clients also took longer to handle. Consult section 4.5.3 "Disrupting wrongdoing" for further details on the Department's response to fraudulent activities.

Calls resolved at first point of contact

Once a client connects to a call centre agent, most of their telephone enquiries are resolved at the call centre. There may be cases where the call centre environment is not well suited to handle a request efficiently. If this is the case, the call centre agent sends the request to EI processing officers for appropriate follow-up actions.

The EI call centre tracks the volume of calls resolved at first point of contact. The call is considered resolved if the agent was able to address the client's enquiry during the telephone interaction^{Footnote 3}.

During FY2122, the percentage of calls that were resolved by a Call Centre agent with no additional follow-up required decreased by 1.5% to 83.4% (consult annex 4.3.2d). This decrease remains above the 81.5% result for FY1819, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic. This is due to the temporary EI simplification measures and changes to the way that call centres manage status enquiries for claims that are taking longer to process. Of note, the shift in handling enquiries related to claim status also reduces unnecessary items in the processing workload. This allows staff to focus on ensuring clients receive their payments quickly.

Employer Contact Centre

Another critical component of the call centre network is the Employer Contact Centre (ECC). The ECC provides enhanced services to employers through an accessible, national, single point of contact. The ECC network is comprised of approximately 71 full-time agents.

Employers contact the ECC to get information and help on a variety of service offerings.

Call volume

Clients made 490,735 calls to the ECC in FY2122. This volume includes:

• calls answered by ECC agents
• calls for which the self-serve option resolved the clients' needs
• calls for which the caller chose to abandon while waiting to speak to an agent
• calls prevented from accessing an agent

In FY2122, 175,964 calls were resolved in the IVR system, which was a decrease compared to 385,835 calls the previous fiscal year. The ECC answered 307,586 calls in FY2122, which is 57,793 fewer calls than in FY2021, when the ECC experienced high call volume because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the GCKey incident^{Footnote 4}.

Calls answered

In FY2122, virtually 100% of clients who opted to speak to an ECC agent were placed in queue. This is a 9.7% increase from the previous year.

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The number of calls for which a client could not reach an ECC agent decreased from 44,825 in FY2021 to only 12 in FY2122.

The ECC has the same service level target as the EI Call Centre, which is to answer 80% of calls within 10 minutes. The ECC surpassed this target by answering 95.2% of calls within 10 minutes, an increase of 26.4% from the previous fiscal year. The average length of time clients had to wait to speak to an agent decreased by approximately 8.2 minutes to 1.4 minutes. The number of clients who chose to hang up after being placed in queue decreased to 6,979 from 50,367 calls the previous year.

Records of employment on the web (ROE Web) remained the ECC's main service offering for a second year in FY2122, ahead of requests for paper ROE forms. This could indicate that the shift to ROE Web observed in FY2021 has become a general trend.

ECC agents answered 307,586 calls in FY2122, compared to 365,379 calls in FY2021. The following are the top 5 reasons employers called the ECC to speak to an agent for assistance:

1. To enquire about ROE Web registration and login
2. To order paper ROE forms (consult section 4.4.1)
3. To receive help about block specific information on ROEs
4. To receive technical support for ROE Web
5. To receive help on how and when to issue an ROE

In FY2122, the ECC improved its service delivery and ability to address client issues. Historically, when employers needed to change a contact name, add a contact name, or change an address, ECC agents had to refer the callers to the EI call centre. However, in FY2021 the ECC agents were granted additional access to the EI Premium Reduction Program System allowing them to input the changes directly, resulting in quicker service and fewer escalations. In FY2122, ECC agents started giving employers EI-related guidance regarding payroll information, letters from EI, requirements, and applications.

Training for call centre agents

The EI Call Centre and the ECC are committed to ensuring that clients receive consistent high-quality service. Agents are supported in delivering on this commitment from the moment they are hired, beginning with an extensive training program.

The initial training for call centre agents varies by program. EI Call Centre agents receive a minimum of 10 weeks of onboarding training, whereas ECC agents receive a minimum of 8 weeks. The training takes various forms, including computer-based learning, classroom instruction, practical exercises, and reading materials. A post-training monitoring program ensures that agents are supported as they begin to answer calls. Even once agents begin to work more independently, ongoing support is available through a dedicated agent-assist telephone line. Call centre agents receive additional training as required when the Department introduces changes to programs or systems.

Given the complexity and volume of calls regarding the COVID-19 emergency benefits, supplementary reference material was provided to support call centre agents during the busy tax season. Agents also received additional training to address the temporary EI simplification measures that came into force in September 2021.

Coping skills and crisis intervention training for call centre employees

Employees responding to telephone enquiries must sometimes deliver difficult information to clients. The Department offers all call centre employees the opportunity to attend coping skills and crisis intervention training.

All call centre employees receive 2 full days of training relating to coping skills as part of their initial training curriculum. The intent is to prepare employees by helping them develop active listening skills, call de-escalation techniques, strategies to help manage and control their personal reactions as well as provide them with resources and tools to help support their own wellness.

Additionally, every call centre employee benefits from the availability of training relating to dealing with crisis in a call centre environment. 2,217 EI employees and 114 ECC employees attended this training course in FY2122.

The objectives of this 1-day session are to:

• help employees improve their ability to recognize an emotional or mental crisis in themselves, their co-workers, or their clients
• identify and apply coping mechanisms to help them through a crisis
• identify and apply tools to de-escalate issues present because of a crisis
• identify available resources

The Department ensures that ongoing support is available to employees as they progress in their call centre careers with the implementation of a 3-year training cycle. 2 full-day training sessions are offered to employees each fiscal year. Training content reinforces the technical, interpersonal, and self-care skills employees may need to foster a positive work environment and support their mental health, and well-being.

Quality of call centre service delivery

Beyond supporting agents through training, Service Canada ensures the delivery of high-quality service to clients. The Department does this through its National Quality and Coaching Program (NQCP) for Call Centres.

Through the program, agent calls are monitored on an ongoing basis. Agents receive regular feedback to ensure that they provide accurate and complete information. Feedback may include coaching or training plans tailored to individual needs. Additional monitoring can also be completed as part of these plans to ensure continued performance improvements. To ensure consistency across the network, national calibration sessions are held to ensure that the same monitoring criteria is applied across all call centres.

The NQCP evaluates specific elements of calls to the call centres to ensure quality of service. These elements include professionalism, authentication, accuracy, and resolution of the client's needs. The elements are categorized as meeting^{Footnote 5}, partially meeting , or not meeting quality expectations.

In FY2122, 86.6% of the reviewed calls to the EI Call Centre adequately fulfilled the essential criteria for calls. The specific element "Provides Accurate and Complete Information" is a key indicator of the result achieved for the client. For this element, 88.96% of reviewed EI calls adequately fulfilled the essential criteria.

For the ECC, 94.4% of calls monitored adequately fulfilled the essential criteria for calls, and 96.11% of reviewed ECC calls adequately fulfilled the essential criteria for the element "Provides Accurate and Complete Information".

In addition to the Department's formal quality program, clients may sometimes provide feedback about their service delivery experience, either directly to a call centre agent or to the Office of Client Satisfaction. Call centre agents have an ID number assigned to them. Clients can request this number during any call and reference it when providing feedback.

4.3.3 Online

Canada.ca

Online EI information and services were among the most popular content on Canada.ca. In FY2122, there were 60 million visits across all EI web pages, down from 137.7 million visits in FY2021.

The following EI pages were among the most used ESDC web pages in both official languages:

• EI reporting
• EI benefits
• EI regular benefits: Apply
• Record of employment on the Web (ROE Web)
• EI contact information - Individuals

EI regular benefits web pages

The EI regular benefits pages had 9.2 million visits in FY2122. There were 41% fewer visits than in FY2021. Compared to FY2021, when the page visits were elevated all year but spiked in a few busy months, this year the visits were spread out more evenly.

The EI regular benefits pages had a high task conversion rate^{Footnote 6} of 46% in FY2122, compared with 45% in FY2021. This demonstrates the continued trend that started at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating the ongoing contributions of the online channel to supporting EI claimants.

Maternity and parental benefits web pages

Claimants have access to an estimator tool, which provides access to an interactive calculator that potential claimants can use to estimate how much they could receive when applying for maternity and parental benefits.

In FY2122, the data shows that:

• 318,156 clients used the estimator tool, generating 663,704 estimates
• there were 2.5 million visits to the EI maternity and parental benefits information pages, a 10% increase over FY2021
• 20% of visitors to the maternity and parental benefits pages went on to start applications for benefits

EI sickness benefits web pages

The EI sickness benefits pages had 2.7 million visits in FY2122, 17% fewer visits than in the previous year. About 10% of those visits went on to start applications. This is a 4% increase over last year.

Services

Clients use ESDC's secure web applications to access information and make transactions. EI online tools are fundamental to the delivery of services.

AppliWeb

AppliWeb is the online tool EI claimants can use at any time to submit applications. Claimants can access AppliWeb from anywhere offering an internet access, including in Service Canada Centres. Information shared by claimants is automatically transferred to the EI system and used to support claim processing automation.

For more on AppliWeb consult annex 4.3.3a.

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In FY2122, 97.7 % of EI applications were submitted using AppliWeb

Electronic reporting

Every 2 weeks, claimants must complete EI reports attesting to their work situation. In their report, claimants provide responses to a series of questions. Their answers determine, week to week, if they are entitled to benefits.

Electronic reports can be completed using the phone or the internet reporting services. While both services are simple, secure, and always available, the internet reporting service offers additional electronic questionnaires. Instead of having to contact the call centre, claimants are prompted to provide supplemental information directly in their reports. The information is instantly transferred to the EI system and may result in faster payment processing for claimants.

In FY2122, the internet service remained the preferred electronic reporting method for EI at 86.6%, compared to 90.7% in FY2021. The remaining 13.4% of electronic reports were completed by phone (consult chart 3, below).

Text description

Fiscal Years	FY1718	FY1819	FY1920	FY1921	FY1922
% of internet reports	77.9%	79.1%	80.9%	90.7%	86.6%
% of phone reports	22.1%	20.9%	19.1%	9.3%	13.4%

My Service Canada Account

My Service Canada Account (MSCA) is an online portal that Canadians can access through Canada.ca. MSCA allows Canadians to view and update their information for:

• EI
• Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
• CPP disability
• Old Age Security (OAS)

MSCA offers self-serve options and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere with internet access. The MSCA portal contributes to accessible, accurate, and timely services for Canadians. In late FY2021, ESDC launched a chatbot designed to provide clients with access to an automated chat about the MSCA process. The chatbot answered 589,731 questions in FY2122.

Using MSCA, EI claimants can:

• check the status of their applications and transactions, including payment information
• receive new information from Service Canada about their EI claim or changes to their account
• get their T4E tax slip
• view previous EI claim information
• submit or view supporting documents to an EI claim
• view and print their electronic records of employment

The EI services on MSCA are promoted through Canada.ca, on AppliWeb, via the EI Call Centre, and in communications sent to claimants. For more information on the MSCA, consult annexes 4.3.3b-c.

Online security and design improvements

After its launch in FY2021, multi-factor authentication was made mandatory for all MSCA users in FY2122. This security measure helps protect users' personal information and prevent unauthorized access to MSCA.

In FY2122 the design of the online EI reporting content was updated to make it easier to use. Through random testing, by showing different versions of the page to real life users, the final version saw improvements in terms of time visitors spent on the pages and the number of visitors that clicked through to the reporting tool. In the 60 days following the launch of the new design, the updated page showed a 4% increase in the number of visitors successfully clicking through to complete their EI report, from 89% to 93%. This represents over 130,000 more clicks. During that same 60-day period, over 55,000 more visitors stayed on the site instead of immediately leaving. Clients reported that task success, ease of use, and satisfaction all improved.

In FY2122, the Department worked to improve headings throughout the EI regular benefits pages. New and rewritten headings were added to improve users' ability to scan and understand the pages quickly and navigate to the sections that are relevant for their needs. ESDC also reworked the content of EI services in the non-secure pages leading into MSCA. This makes it easier for Canadians to see what information and services are available in MSCA.

Online literacy and accessibility

ESDC's top 150 web pages generate over 90% of ESDC's web traffic and include several EI pages. All of these pages continue to meet the grade 6-8 literacy standard level.

ESDC continues to use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 for Web accessibility and to offer:

• top-level AAA features for Accessibility Standards on the web
• continuous work with the blind and visually impaired community on improvements to the Job Bank Mobile app
• voice-based services as an assistive technology, including:
  • virtual assistant pilots via Google Home and Alexa
  • publishing voice-ready content onto Canada.ca
  • search engine optimization for voice content

4.3.4 Client Experience Survey FY2122

Context of the Client Experience Survey

The Client Experience (CX) Survey tracks satisfaction among Service Canada clients receiving an initial decision, measures changes in use and satisfaction of service channels, and assesses the ease, effectiveness and emotion by service channel and program.

The CX Survey is used to monitor the service delivery performance of Service Canada, the impact of service delivery changes, and generate insights into action.

The FY2122 Survey results for EI clients^{Footnote 7} reflect the service experience of claimants who received an initial decision between January 1 and March 31, 2022, inclusively. This is the fifth wave of the annual Service Canada-wide survey and was preceded by the EI Service Quality Review Survey in 2017.

Client response

ESDC strives to meet Canadians' expectations with respect to service delivery. The Department takes the pulse of clients via the CX Survey on an annual basis. This helps provide clients with the best services that are adapted to their needs.

EI sample, statistical information, and statistical errors

For the survey, ESDC selected a random sample of recent clients, organized by province and territory, from the EI administrative databases. The sample included new and repeat clients, whether granted or denied benefits, including all benefit types^{Footnote 8Footnote 9}. Clients living in remote areas and from Indigenous communities were sampled in sufficient numbers for analysis of service delivery issues across all ESDC programs.

Results (EI items)

Results from the Service Canada CX Survey FY2122 found that overall satisfaction among EI clients decreased 8% between FY2021 and FY2122, from 84% to 76%.

Overall satisfaction was higher, at 85%, among seniors (aged 60 and over) than it was among youth (18 to 30 years old), which were 68% satisfied. EI clients who were first time claimants are less satisfied with the service experience overall (70%) compared to those who also applied before (77%).

Drivers of overall EI satisfaction

The top driver of overall satisfaction for EI clients was the timeliness of the client journey^{Footnote 10}. The ease of registering for MSCA, receiving consistent information, clarity of the issue resolution process, and the helpfulness of Service Canada in-person representatives also took on increased importance.

The three strongest drivers of overall satisfaction among EI clients in FY2122 were:

• Reasonable timeliness
  • 69% of EI clients considered the amount of time it took from start to finish reasonable (compared to 80% in FY2021. This is an 11% decrease).
• Ease of registering for My Service Canada Account
  • 51% of EI clients found registering for MSCA easy (compared to 65% in FY2021. This is a 14% decrease).
• Receiving consistent information
  • 76% of EI clients found that the information they received was consistent (compared to 82% in FY2021. This is a 6% decrease).

The greatest opportunity to boost the service experience for EI clients was in improving the timeliness of service. Areas of secondary importance for improvement included the ease of registering for MSCA, the ease of follow-up, and the ease of getting help on the application.

EI clients' satisfaction across various service channels also changed significantly:

• Satisfaction with the specialized call centre decreased to 63% in FY2122 from 70% in FY2021
• Satisfaction with the online channel decreased to 71% in FY2122 from 77% in FY2021
• Satisfaction with the in-person channel decreased to 73% in FY2122 from 77% in FY2021

Service channel usage

There was a behavioural shift in channel usage at the height of the pandemic when a significant volume of EI clients moved from in-person to the online channel to access services. In FY2122, this shift did not reverse, and EI clients' reported channel usage remained stable compared to FY2021 with only a slight rebound in the use of the in-person channel.

• 43% of EI clients reported completing their client journey using only self-service (online and/or mail and without assistance by phone or in-person) compared to 51% in FY2021.
  • Compared to FY2021, in FY2122 EI clients were more likely to have used a combination of phone and online, or mail throughout their journey and less likely to have only used online or mail.
• In the awareness stage^{Footnote 11}, the use of the in-person channel for EI clients in FY2122 remained stable (14% compared to 13% in FY2021), while use of the online channel also remained stable (83% compared to 85% in FY2021).
• In the application stage^{Footnote 12}, the use of the in-person channel for EI clients in FY2122 remained stable at 8% compared to 7% in FY2021.
  • This sharp decline is notable compared to the 44% seen in FY1920.
  • The use of online channels remained stable at 94%.
• 45% of EI clients followed up, compared to 38% in FY2021.
  • EI clients continued to be most likely to use the telephone channel in the follow-up stage^{Footnote 13}.
  • 79% of EI clients that followed up used the phone compared to 71% in FY2021.
  • Of these, 33% of EI clients followed up with Service Canada to check on the status of their application, compared to 28% in FY2021

For more on overall EI satisfaction and the CX survey, consult annexes 4.3.5a-e.

4.4.1 Employer intake

Record of employment

Records of employment (ROE) are electronic or paper forms issued by employers to provide information on an employee's work history. ROEs are at the core of EI processing. When claimants submit EI applications, Service Canada uses the ROE to:

• determine eligibility to benefits
• calculate the benefit rate
• calculate the number of weeks of entitlement to benefits

Employers and payroll service providers play a crucial role in EI claim processing. In order to avoid delays in the payment of EI benefits, employers must complete ROEs in a timely and correct manner. Failing to issue ROEs, issuing incorrect ROEs, or delays in issuing ROEs can impact payments for eligible claimants. This is because fact-finding with employers or manual interventions may be necessary to process these claims.

For more on eROE distribution, consult annex 4.4.1a.

Text description

In FY2122, more than 12.5 million records of employment were issued. Of these, 97.5% were issued electronically.

Electronic records of employment

Service Canada encourages employers to issue electronic records of employment (eROE) through the ROE Web application as it offers many advantages, including:

• direct interaction between the ROE Web application and pay systems
• reduction of errors from the manual input of paper ROEs
• no need for employers to order, fill, and send paper ROEs
• no need for employees to provide their paper ROEs to Service Canada
• Service Canada instantly receives the information in its EI processing systems

In FY2122, 40,231 employers registered to ROE Web, compared to 84,699 in FY2021. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an exceptional number of employers chose to register for ROE Web in FY2021. In FY2122, new registrations returned to a pre-pandemic level (45,849 in FY1920).

For more on electronic ROEs consult annexes 4.4.1b-c.

4.4.2 Claimant application intake and processing

A national network of officers processes EI claims. They sort, review, and make decisions about EI applications with support from EI processing systems. These systems automate the processing of claims and the management of the workload.

Claims received

In FY2122, 3,512,858 EI claims were received, compared to 6,801,926 in FY2021. The department received a record number of claims in FY2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Claims processed

In FY2122, the Department processed 3,387,201 EI claims compared to 7,958,457 EI and EI ERB claims in FY2021. The average time for eligible claimants to receive a first payment was 18 days from filing an application, compared to 16 days in FY2021^{Footnote 14}.

Text description

Fiscal years	FY1718	FY1819	FY1920	FY2021	FY2122
Number of received claims	2,786,835	2,802,814	4,458,841	6,801,926	3,512,858
Number of processed claims	2,784,056	2,811,697	3,325,534	7,958,457	3,387,201

For more on claims processed and speed of payment (consult annexes 4.4.2a-b).

Hiring and training

Each year, experienced EI processing officers progress in their career paths to move into management and expertise positions. In FY2122, the turnover rate was consistent with previous years. ESDC continued to hire and train new employees in order to maintain EI processing operations.

New officers must go through extensive training, and it takes up to 2 years before they are able to perform all the duties of an EI processing officer. The initial training program is comprised of multiple modules staggered over time. Officers then require additional subsequent phases of training to perform the full duties of their position. The training format is designed to help the organization to:

• handle large volumes of officers in training
• remain flexible in the face of legislative changes
• support manager's plan for future hiring needs

National Operating Model

In FY2122, the processing network^{Footnote 15} operates under a National Operating Model (NOM), which means that work is moved to the next trained and available officer anywhere in the country. The model ensures equal service is offered to Canadians nationwide.

Its key principles are:

• 1 workforce: uniform hiring and training of employees
• 1 process: standardized processes and procedures
• 1 workload: assignment of work to the first available officer anywhere in the country

Inventory

The department regularly receives new information regarding EI applications that were already processed. Officers then need to review those claims. Due to an increase of the inventory in recent years, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department opted to focus its activities on the processing of new claims to ensure that Canadians were receiving their payments in a timely manner. As a result, there is an important inventory of older claims waiting to be reviewed.

Most of the inventory requires fully trained and experienced officers. At the end of FY2122, 45% of the EI officers had between 0 and 12 months of experience and only a limited number of officers had all the knowledge required to review claims.

Starting in FY2223, the Department is implementing a multi-year strategy to reduce the volume of claims in its inventory and to improve its capacity to meet service standards. For this purpose, additional funding^{Footnote 16} has been granted to ESDC to onboard new staff, upskill employees, and maintain the workforce.

4.5.1 Employment Insurance Payment Accuracy program

The objective of the EI Payment Accuracy (PAAR) program is to provide assurance that the error rates stated in the departmental financial statements do not exceed 5% of the total EI payout. This is achieved by reviewing a statistically valid sample of files and forecasting the monetary value of the identified errors. Through this process, the department can provide estimates of overpayments, underpayments, and overall payment accuracy.

EI Payment Accuracy Review sample

Historically, files selected for the PAAR program were selected using Monetary Unit Sampling (MUS). To increase the usability of the PAAR data, in October 2021, the sampling approach shifted from MUS to a Simple Random Sampling (SRS). As such, for this fiscal exercise, the 504 files selected and reviewed to identify undetected errors that result in possible mispayments were identified using a combination of MUS and SRS^{Footnote 18}.

EI Payment Accuracy Review results

ESDC has an established target accuracy rate of 95%^{Footnote 19} in benefit payments per year. This rate includes claimant, employer, and Service Canada errors. The accuracy rate of approximately 95% has been maintained over the last 15 years. During FY2122, the overall accuracy rate was 94%^{Footnote 20} (consult annex 4.5.1a)^{Footnote 21}.

Claimant error rate

This year, the client error rate increased from 2.1% to 4.2% (consult annex 4.5.1b). While PAAR reviews uncover unidentified client errors that occur in the initial processing of the file, most situations that lead to client errors identified in a PAAR review occur after the initial claim is established. These include situations where clients incorrectly reported earnings while in receipt of benefits, failed to declare the refusal of a job, quitting a job, or being dismissed from a job. Service Canada has limited control over these types of errors but is looking to identify solutions that would allow for a reduction in the frequency of these issues.

Employer error rate

The employer error rate decreased slightly this year, from 1.0% to 0.6% (consult annex 4.5.1c). Incorrect information reported by the employer accounts for 100% of the error rate. To identify employer errors, all ROEs used to establish the claims of sampled files are validated with the employers. Electronic ROEs contribute to maintaining low levels of errors. They represent approximately 95% of the ROEs validated through the PAAR process. The Department also continues to analyze employer errors to understand why they occur, the financial value, and possible ways to avoid them.

Service Canada error rate

The Service Canada error rate increased from 0.8% to 1.1% in FY2122. The majority of these are processing errors. Processing errors occur when activities are actioned incorrectly or not actioned at all by processing staff, when required. Service Canada's continued efforts to automate processing contributed to maintaining low levels of errors (consult annex 4.5.1d).

4.5.2 Processing Excellence, Accuracy and Quality program

Previously, the Department provided information related to the Processing Accuracy Reviews (PRAR) and Individual Quality Feedback (IQF) programs. Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Quality Services Division programs including PRAR and IQF were paused for several months. This unique operational pause allowed for the exploration of changes that could bring quality processes into a more aligned and cost-effective model, while still meeting program objectives and stakeholder needs. Following careful analysis, at the end of FY2021, the similarly scoped PRAR and IQF programs were merged into the Processing, Excellence, Accuracy and Quality (PEAQ) program.

Through the PEAQ program, Service Canada will continue to measure the level of processing accuracy, but it will also provide meaningful individual feedback to employees and management regarding the employees' ability to accurately apply legislation, policies, and procedures in the processing of core program files. Initial PEAQ results will be available in the next iteration of this Report.

4.5.3 Administrative reviews and investigations

Integrity activities at ESDC focus primarily on detection, with the most significant of these activities being directed towards administrative reviews and investigations. The Department uses a variety of tools and processes to help identify and address instances of error, abuse, and fraud.

During FY2122, ESDC conducted close to 93,000 administrative reviews and investigations relating to the EI program. This reflects significantly more reviews than the 15,596 conducted last fiscal year, but the number has not returned to the amount seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. This is largely due to resources being allocated to solving issues related to emergency pandemic benefits.

Typically, administrative reviews and investigations uncover instances of unintentional errors by claimants related to undeclared work and earnings. The most common types of intentional error are when a claimant knowingly:

• fails to declare work, earnings, or self-employment income
• fails to declare periods when unavailable for work
• fails to report absences from Canada

Administrative reviews and investigations generate significant savings for the EI Operating Account. In FY2122, savings of $80.62 million were generated (consult chart 5, below).

^*NIS: National Investigative Services (NIS). Cases dealing with unreported absences from Canada while on EI and the Report on Hiring program are centrally managed through Integrity's NIS centre in Miramichi, New Brunswick.

Note: The numbers ($M) have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. The national amounts were calculated using the raw data.

Text description

Region	FY1718	FY1819	FY1920	FY2021	FY2122
Western	157.40	166.70	141.60	18.30	26.7
Quebec	116.40	118.80	111.70	14.80	16.6
Ontario	137.70	131.90	119.90	13.20	18.2
Atlantic	54.40	51.70	46.60	9.10	13.3
NIS	25.60	27.30	22.30	0.60	5.9

The savings amount reflects a combination of overpayments, penalties, and the prevention of future ineligible payments. These efforts benefit both employee and employer payers of EI premiums as the savings reduce the overall cost of the EI program when overpayments are recovered.

ESDC uses several methods to recover funds from EI claimants who have been overpaid. These include:

• the automatic recovery of monies from active EI benefit claims (either the full amount or an agreed upon partial deduction)
• voluntary cash payments, or the collection of debts by the CRA through an agreed upon repayment schedule

Disrupting wrongdoing

Organized fraud attacks against public sector organizations have increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic and show no signs of slowing. In the context of increases in instances of identity theft, detecting and preventing fraudulent attempts to establish EI benefits using another person's personal information continued to be a priority for the Department in FY2122. The Department focused its resources on identity validations to mitigate impacts on legitimate claimants and to ensure that they receive the benefits to which they are entitled in a timely manner.

Due to increased fraudulent attempts to access EI benefits, procedures were created to mitigate the impact of fraud on legitimate claims. A specialized group of call centre agents was established to assist in handling the volume of enquiries related to fraud. These agents triaged the cases and prioritized the resolution of claims for clients who were experiencing delays due to fraudulent activities.

Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit

In FY2021, ESDC developed a comprehensive 4-year plan (FY2122 to FY2425) to support post-payment verification of EI Emergency Response Benefit (EI ERB) eligibility. Since the planning was ongoing at the end of FY2122, results of the post-payment verifications will be included in future iterations of this Report.

Throughout FY2122, the Department conducted investigations of potentially fraudulent EI ERB claims. As reported in the 2022 Public Accounts of Canada, the Department reported losses of $7.6M from 12,507 EI ERB files due to suspected fraud. These files have been referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for investigation.

Also during this time, ESDC developed new processes, training, procedures, and quality monitoring protocols in support of future post-payment verification activities. The Department analyzed the data, once the necessary information became available, to identify and prioritize claims for post-payment verification.

Claimant Information Sessions

In addition to administrative reviews and investigations, integrity activities also include outreach and prevention activities. These include mandatory Claimant Information Sessions for recipients of regular EI benefits. The purpose of these sessions is to:

• provide claimants with information on programs and services available to help them find suitable employment
• inform claimants about their rights and obligations regarding the EI program requirements and the consequences of abusing the system, namely penalties and prosecutions

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Claimant Information Sessions were suspended due to public health protocols governing Service Canada Centres. As of the end of FY2122, Claimant Information Sessions have not yet resumed.

4.5.4 Evolution of integrity in the Department

ESDC's Transformation efforts, such as Benefits Delivery Modernization, represent an opportunity to use newer technologies within the integrity process. Through the design of a more proactive approach and the use of analytical tools, ESDC will further improve the accuracy of payments and ensure good stewardship of public funds.

Integrity quality initiatives

The Department has a National Quality Management Program in place to ensure a high level of quality and consistency across investigative activities. This includes conducting in-depth quality monitoring activities to measure work performance as it relates to the handling of investigations. The results from these activities determine the type of corrective measure(s) to be implemented. This involves:

• amending the training material
• national guidance
• policy and system enhancements

Quality initiatives and results are tracked and reported nationally and regionally. They are used to indicate trends, patterns of errors, and to identify best practices. Quality Management activities were temporarily put on hold in FY2021 but have since resumed.

Identity management

The accuracy of the Social Insurance Register (SIR) is fundamental to all programs and services that use the Social Insurance Number (SIN) to identify clients accurately. The EI program relies on the accuracy of SIR outputs to ensure program integrity. The SIN program maintains accuracy of the SIR following strict identity and quality management practices. These include aligning program procedures with the newly updated ESDC Identity Management Policy Suite. These practices are designed to ensure that claimants applying for a SIN (or updating their SIN records), are properly identified and that SIN records are accurate. The SIN program electronically validates the applicant's identity information with the issuing source when performing most transactions. When validated, the risk of critical errors while processing SIN transactions is significantly reduced.

Online applications to the EI program are facilitated in part by the electronic validation of claimant identities with the SIR in real-time. This amounts to approximately 35 million validations annually. These efforts ensure, not only an efficient application process, but also that the individual requesting benefits is the correct SIN holder.

Risk management

ESDC uses various risk-based strategies to improve the overall integrity of the EI program and to ensure resources are directed to higher-risk cases. These cases have an increased probability of misrepresentation, abuse, payment errors, or fraud. Detecting and flagging potential issues with higher-risk cases in the early stages of the benefit life cycle allows the Department to allocate integrity resources to high priority investigation activities.

Generally, the number of EI administrative reviews and investigations that are conducted annually is in line with the number of cases that are considered high-risk. However, in any given year, the volume might vary based on the changing nature and significance of identified risks.

ESDC also has a risk analysis function to assess program integrity risks and to understand better the root cause of "mispayments." This function includes developing appropriate mitigation strategies, which may involve implementing more controls, to address any identified vulnerabilities.

4.6.1 Employment Insurance requests for reconsideration

If claimants or employers disagree with an EI claim decision, they have the right to ask Service Canada to reconsider the decision. A request for reconsideration provides clients with the opportunity to submit new or additional information, and to have the decision reviewed.

A reconsideration is never done by the officer who made the first decision. A different officer considers all information on file, as well as the legislation and policies that apply. Following the review, the first decision is either kept, reversed, or changed. Once the review is completed, Service Canada informs the client of the outcome^{Footnote 22}.

ESDC's service standard is to finalize requests for reconsideration within 30 days of the request being received. The Department was able to meet the standard for 83.7% of the requests, compared to 88.7% in FY2021.

This year, the CEIC received 48,545 requests for reconsideration, compared to 22,250 in FY2021 and 48,297 in FY1920. For FY2021, the higher acceptance rate to benefits for EI ERB and the subsequent EI simplification measures resulted in a lower volume of requests for reconsideration. The increase for FY2122 coincides with the gradual return to pre-pandemic legislative measures for EI.

In addition, in FY2122 the average time to complete a request for reconsideration increased from 18 days to 21 days.

In FY2122, 47.8 % of reconsidered decisions were reversed or changed following the review, a decrease from the previous four years (consult chart 6, below).

Text description

Fiscal years	FY1718	FY1819	FY1920	FY2021	FY2122
% of initial decisions reversed or changed following review	49.9%	52.6%	52.0%	52.5%	47.8%

In 2020, an internal assessment was completed to better understand why decisions were changed or overturned at the request for reconsideration stage. The two main reasons identified were:

• new or additional information provided by clients
• errors made by Service Canada

Based on the patterns identified through the internal assessment, the following improvements were put in place in FY2122:

• introduction of national tools
• updates to training and procedures

4.6.2 Employment Insurance appeals and the Social Security Tribunal of Canada

The Social Security Tribunal (SST) is an independent administrative tribunal that makes decisions on appeals related to:

• EI benefits
• CPP disability benefits
• other CPP benefits
• OAS and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits

The SST is separate and independent from the CEIC and ESDC. The EI Operating Account, the CPP Operating Account, and the Consolidated Revenue Fund for OAS cases fund the SST's activities.

The SST is divided into:

• the General Division, Employment Insurance Section
• the General Division, Income Security Section
• the Appeal Division

Members appointed by the Governor in Council decide these appeals.

Text description

The General Division Employment Insurance hears appeals of EI reconsideration decisions. The General Division Income Security Hears appeals of CPP and OAS reconsideration decisions. The Appeal Division hears EI and Income Security appeals, based on restricted grounds, of General Division decisions.

The mandate of the SST is to provide the Canadian public with an appeal process that is simple, quick, fair, and more client centric. The SST's recourse process was studied in 2017 and a review was published in January 2018. It made several recommendations. Based on those recommendations, the SST put together an in-depth plan to make the process better. The following initiatives were put in place:

• simplifying the criteria to get an appeal started and proactively reaching out to appellants to complete their applications
• giving appellants their choice of form of hearing at the General Division, including teleconference, videoconference, and in person
  • In-person hearings were temporarily unavailable during the pandemic but have since resumed
• scheduling hearings as soon as permission to appeal is granted at the Appeal Division
• publishing more General Division decisions and publishing all Appeal Division decisions along with the related General Division decisions
• offering HTML forms and the option to email applications and documents
• training staff and SST members in plain language writing
  • SST letters that were once at a university reading level have been rewritten to be clear and simple
• training employees who work directly with the public over the phone on how to communicate clearly
• partnering with an independent distress and crisis helpline to support appellants who demonstrate a need for immediate support
• surveying claimants to evaluate and improve operations, publishing the feedback on the SST's website
• offering alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for suitable appeals at the Appeal Division
• implementing navigator services

All of these initiatives have led to improvements in services. For example, processing times for the EI General Division went from 203 days in FY1617 to 43 days for FY2122. The Social Security Tribunal's 2022 Progress Report: Working Together for Justice includes more information on some of these initiatives, as well as statistics on the SST's performance and service standards in FY2122.

This report includes information on EI appeals to the General Division and the Appeal Division.

Social Security Tribunal – General Division, Employment Insurance Section

After the CEIC makes a reconsideration decision, a claimant has 30 calendar days to appeal the decision to the SST - General Division, EI section. In FY2122, the SST received 3,237 appeals (including 98 group appeal files) and it concluded 2,582 (including 22 group appeal files). This resulted in an increase of inventory from 587 active appeals (including 322 group appeal files) in March 2021 to 1,242 (including 398 group appeal files) in March 2022. For more information, consult annex 4.6.2a.^{Footnote 23}

On behalf of the CEIC, Service Canada provides the SST with the reconsideration file. The file includes all relevant documents used in making the reconsideration decision and reviewing the initial decision. When requested, the CEIC will answer questions or requests for more information from the SST and may attend appeal hearings.

Regular and Group Appeals

The SST manages and tracks EI appeals in 2 categories:

• Group appeals
  • A Group appeal includes more than 1 claimant appealing decisions made in the same or a similar matter.
  • Group appeals are more complex and require more time to complete than regular appeals.
• Regular appeals
  • An appeal filed at the Tribunal that is not a part of a group is considered a Regular appeal.

Service standards and performance

The SST was able to meet its commitment to serve the public throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It continued to hold teleconference and videoconference hearings, in accordance with public health measures. The January to March overall client satisfaction surveys went from 92% in 2021 to 97% in 2022.

The General Division has the following service standards:

• Decisions are made within 45 days from the date the appeal is filed with the SST, 80% of the time.
  • For FY2122, the SST met this goal 68.8% of the time (down from 79.4% in FY2021), with an average processing time of 42.9 days (up from 37.0 in FY2021). The fiscal year's results remain unchanged when including group appeals.
  • For more information, consult annex 4.6.2b.
• Decisions are made within 15 days after a hearing, 80% of the time.
  • For FY2122, the SST met this goal 68.8% of the time, averaging 9.0 days to issue a decision after the hearing compared with 8.8 days in FY2021. The fiscal year's results remain unchanged when including group appeals.
  • For more information, consult annex 4.6.2c-d.

Outcomes at the General Division, Employment Insurance Section

An appeal to the General Division, EI section may be concluded by a written decision or a withdrawal. In FY2122, 29% of cases were allowed (33% excluding groups), 58% were dismissed (54% excluding groups), approximately 6% were withdrawn and the remaining were summarily dismissed or concluded for other reasons.

Note:

Dismissed – decision not in the claimant's favour

Allowed – decision is in the claimant's favour

Withdrawals – claimant either withdraws or abandons the appeal

Concession – Service Canada recommends that the Tribunal allows the appeal

Summary Dismissals – the Tribunal decides, based on the information in the file, that the appeal has no reasonable chance of success

Late Appeal Denied – the Tribunal refuses the appeal filed beyond the 30-day deadline

Appeals Concluded for Other Reason(s) – administrative closures

Text description

FY2122 General Division decision outcomes (groups included)

Outcome	% Share
Dismissed	57.7%
Concession	4.1%
Allowed	29%
Withdrawal	6.2%
Summary dismissals	1.3%
Late appeal denied	1.3%
Appeals concluded for other reasons	0.4%

FY2122 General Division decision outcomes (groups excluded)

Outcome	% Share
Dismissed	53.6%
Concession	4.4%
Allowed	33.0%
Withdrawal	5.4%
Summary dismissals	2.0%
Late appeal denied	1.5%
Appeals concluded for other reasons	0.1%

Social Security Tribunal – Appeal Division, Employment Insurance appeals

When a party to an appeal disagrees with the decision made by the General Division, they may dispute this decision at the Appeal Division. Apart from appeals summarily dismissed by the General Division, the first step at the Appeal Division is to file an application for leave to appeal. The Appeal Division will grant permission to appeal if there is an arguable case. The grounds of appeal to the Appeal Division are limited to certain errors of fact, law, jurisdiction, or procedural fairness.

In FY2122, the SST Appeals Division received 373 appeals and concluded 272. This resulted in an increase of inventory from 39 active appeals in March 2021 to 140 in March 2022. For more information, consult annex 4.6.2e.

There were no group appeals before the Appeal Division in FY2122.

Service standards and performance

The Appeal Division has the following service standards:

• Leave to appeal decisions are made within 45 days, 80% of the time
  • For FY2122, the SST met this goal approximately 95% of the time, which is unchanged from FY2021, with an average processing time of 23.1 days (up from 21.6 in FY2021).
  • For more information, consult annex 4.6.2f.
• Final decisions are made within 150 days of the Leave to Appeal decision, 80% of the time
  • For FY2122, the SST met this goal 93.9% of the time (down from 96.5% in FY2021), with an average processing time of 89.0 days (up from 77.1 days in FY2021).
  • For more information, consult annex 4.6.2g.

Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Appeal Division

The Appeal Division brings the parties together for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) when there is a reasonable expectation that the appeal can be resolved informally, without a hearing. For FY2122, 11% (or 30) of Appeal Division cases went through the ADR process. Of these cases, 63% (or 19) were resolved by ADR.

Outcomes at the Appeal Division

An appeal to the Appeal Division may be concluded by either a written decision or a withdrawal. In FY2122, 31.3% of cases were allowed, 11.8% were dismissed, 41.5% were denied leave to appeal, 10.7% were withdrawn, and the remaining were concluded for other reasons.

Note:

Dismissed – decision not in the claimant's favour

Leave to Appeal Denied – the Appeal Division denies permission to appeal

Allowed – decision is in the appellant's favour

Withdrawals – appellant withdraws the appeal

Late appeal denied – the Appeal Division refuses the appeal filed beyond the 30-day deadline

Appeals Concluded for Other reason(s) – administrative closures

Text description

FY2122 Appeal Division outcomes

Outcome	Dismissed	Allowed	Withdrawal	Leave to Appeal denied	Late Appeal Denied	Appeals Concluded for Other Reasons
% Share	11.8%	31.3%	10.7%	41.5%	4.4%	0.4%

Representation at the Social Security Tribunal

At each level of appeal, appellants can choose either to represent themselves or to have a representative assist them during the appeal process. This can be formal representation or informal representation, such as by a friend or family member. The SST has compiled a list of organizations that can help free of charge across Canada to assist appellants.

Appeals with representation include files with any type of representative. Of files that were concluded in FY2122, 18% (521 of 2,852) of appeals had a representative. Of appeals that had a representative, the distribution of representation types is as follows:

• Advocacy Group 10% (51 appeals)
• Lawyer 21% (111 appeals)
• Legal Clinic 6% (31 appeals)
• Member of Parliament 1% (5 appeals)
• Paralegal 3% (13 appeals)
• Personal Representative 56% (290 appeals)
• Non-Legal, Professional Representative 2% (8 appeals)
• Union Representative 2% (12 appeals)

Reaching out to help keep the Social Security Tribunal accountable

The SST is responsible for handling appeals in a way that is simple, quick, and fair. It does so with the help of its stakeholders who have a lot of insight into what works, or does not work, for the parties. The SST's EI stakeholders include:

• claimants
• legal clinics
• lawyers
• paralegals
• unions
• advocacy groups
• the CEIC

Working with stakeholders is an important step to building a better administrative justice system. The SST meets with stakeholders regularly to share ideas and hear what they have to say. This year, for EI appeals, fall and spring stakeholder meetings were held for the Employment Insurance Appeals Consultative Committee. The SST also meets twice a year with its stakeholders for the Income Security Appeals Consultative Committee.

The SST also had special sessions to talk about upcoming legislative changes and new rules of procedure. The information and advice provided by stakeholders is summarized on the SST website.