Chapter 4: Program administration and delivery

From the date that the appeal is filed

• Standard: To make decisions within 45 days
• Target: The Social Security Tribunal (SST) aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in 2023-‍24: SST met this standard 14.1% of the time (compared to 7.4% in 2022-‍23), with an average processing time of 108 days (compared to 113.1 in 2022-‍23)
  • When including group appeals, the SST met this goal 13.6% of the time, with an average processing time of 118.9 days

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 2023-‍24: SST met this goal 66.6% of the time (up from 61.2% in 2022-23), averaging 17.9 days to issue a decision after the hearing compared with 17.7 days in 2022-‍23
  • When including group appeals, the SST met this goal 64.4% of the time, averaging 19.2 days to issue a decision after the hearing
• For more information, consult section 4.6.2

Leave to appeal decisions

• Standard: To make decisions within 45 days
• Target: SST aims to meet this standard 80% of the time
• Performance in 2023-‍24: SST met this goal 23.5% of the time, which is down from 64.3% in 2022-23, with an average processing time of 67.2 days (up from 41.3 days in 2022-23)
  • Including group appeals, the SST met this goal 29.2% of the time, with an average processing time of 65 days

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 2023-‍24: the SST met this goal 81.1% of the time (up from 80.8% in 2022-‍23), with an average processing time of 113.3 days (up from 105.0 days in 2022-23)
  • Including group appeals, the SST met this goal 42.6% of the time, with an average processing time of 149.4 days
• For more information consult section 4.6.2

Scheduled outreach sites

Scheduled outreach sites provide services in host sites within communities on a scheduled basis. To accomplish this, staff travel to pre-determined locations, typically in rural or remote areas, and conduct business using space within the community. These points of service offer the same services as SCCs and act as an extension to the physical in-person SCC network.^{Footnote 2}

Following their closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled outreach sites were reactivated in a phased approach.^{Footnote 3} By March 31, 2024, all 249 were reopened and available.

In 2023-‍24, scheduled outreach sites completed a total of 224,032 service requests, 12,667 of which were related to the EI Program.

• *+/- due to rounding %

Community Outreach and Liaison Service

The Community Outreach and Liaison Service (COLS) offers direct support to at-risk populations, Indigenous communities, those impacted by hazardous weather events, and employers and employees facing labour market challenges. This is accomplished by collaborating with organizations and communities in order to deliver tailored support and information on programs, services, and benefits, including EI. This service expands Service Canada's reach by building relationships with communities, organizations, and employers. The goal is to facilitate the delivery of services to populations who otherwise may face barriers to accessing services.

The COLS program supports:

• northern, remote, and on-reserve Indigenous communities and urban Indigenous populations
• underserved populations-those who generally have more barriers to accessing government programs and services
• employers and workers facing labour market adjustments 
• communities experiencing emergency situations

Outreach staff gather information about labour market events and the affected employers to establish points of contact to start developing a plan to provide services to all impacted workers. Through collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, COLS staff deliver information sessions and application assistance to support workers through the different steps and stages of applying for federal programs, including EI.

Workers receive immediate access to essential programs and information enabling them to make informed decisions about their next steps, such as EI, job search support (Job Bank), and pension information.

Employers are offered information on layoff mitigation options, including work-sharing and the workforce reduction program. They are also provided with support to host EI information sessions and application clinics for their employees.

In 2023-‍24, 1,011 EI-related information sessions were conducted through COLS, to over 16,500 participants.

For more on COLS information sessions in 2023-‍24, consult annexes 4.3.1e-h.

Service Canada Outreach Support Centre

The Outreach Support Centre (OSC) is a toll-free service to assist Indigenous, underserved, and at-‍risk populations to access Service Canada programs and services, including EI. Launched during the COVID‑19 pandemic as a stopgap measure, it is now a permanent service delivery option.

In 2023-24, the OSC expanded Service Canada's reach in communities by partnering with various national and community organizations who can transfer clients to the OSC for assistance with Service Canada programs and services, including EI.

In 2023-24, the OSC received 20,825 calls and completed 25,515 service requests.

Of these service requests:

• 1,727 were for EI information
• 8,734 were for EI related service requests

For the breakdown of the OSC EI requests by regions, consult annex 4.3.1i.

In 2023-24, the OSC met its service standard (90% of calls answered within 5 minutes), with 97% of calls answered within 5 minutes, compared with 98% last fiscal year.

As of March 31, 2024, 310 unique Indigenous communities received services through the OSC. From these communities, 2,386 callers were assisted with 2,479 EI service requests, which include:

• 275 Information requests
• 394 Application assistance
• 1,810 Follow up / First Point of Contact Resolution

Service Referral Initiative

Service Canada relies on community organizations to help identify at-risk Canadians that may be eligible for federal services and benefits, including EI benefits. Launched in 2021, the Service Referral Initiative supports underserved and marginalized populations by partnering with community organizations across Canada to help reach individuals who face barriers to accessing services.

Partnering organizations identify clients who face barriers to accessing services through other channels and refer them directly to Service Canada. During 2023-24, Service Canada received 1,159 referrals from its partners, of which 114 were related to EI.

Call volume

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In 2023–24, the EI Call Centre received 15 million calls. Of these, 8.6 million calls were resolved in the Interactive Voice Response System and 6 million calls were answered by a Call Centre representative

The EI Call Centre received 15 million calls in 2023-24, down from 17.8 million the previous year. This decline was due to improvements in how EI claims were processed, resulting in fewer claimants calling back for updates. Shorter wait times also helped reduce the number of calls because clients had their calls answered in a timely manner instead of hanging up and trying again later.

Interactive Voice Response system

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

• authenticating themselves
• updating their access code
• checking their application status
• getting details about their file
• completing their biweekly claimant's reports

In 2023-‍24, 57.3% of calls (8.6 million) were resolved^{Footnote 4} in the IVR system without the need to speak to a representative. This is an increase in the percentage of calls resolved in the IVR, compared to 56% in 2022-‍23 (consult annex 4.3.2a).

Representatives are available to guide clients through issues not resolved by self-service. For 2023-‍24, the top 5 reasons clients requested representative-assisted services were regarding:

1. Questions about the status of a claim/decision (27%)
2. Support to complete an electronic claimant's report started through a self-service option (7%)
3. Support to complete a claimant report (6%)
4. Questions about the status of an expected payment (5%)
5. Help on how to file their application (5%)

Calls answered

In 2023-‍24 calls answered by a call centre representative decreased to 6 million calls, from 6.2 ‍million in 2022-‍23 (consult annex 4.3.2b).

In 2023-‍24, the average call length was about 2 minutes shorter than in 2022-‍23, at approximately 17 minutes. Call length is affected by the nature and complexity of the calls received. Call length is also affected by the proportion of new staff, who generally have longer calls than more experienced representatives. In 2023-‍24, the number of call centre representatives who had at least a year of experience increased to 86.7% (from 54.2% in 2022-‍23), surpassing the level in 2019-‍20 when 68.9% had at least 1 year of experience.

Representative availability and caller wait times are two important performance indicators for call centres:

• representative availability represents the percentage of call attempts^{Footnote 5} that are successfully placed in queue to wait to speak to a representative
• caller wait times represent the amount of time a caller is in queue waiting to speak to a call centre representative

In 2023-‍24 representative availability increased to 100% compared to 2022-‍23 when representative availability was 99.7%. Also in 2023-‍24, the average annual wait time to reach a representative was 4 minutes, which was 14 minutes shorter than in 2022-‍23. For information on the rate of callers who chose to hang-up, rather than wait to speak to a representative, consult annex 4.3.2c.

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

• the 2019-‍20 migration to the modernized call centre platform, the Hosted Contact Centre Solution (HCCS)
• upgrades to queue capacity
• maintaining a higher staffing level

Factors affecting Call Centre performance

The number of calls received throughout the year from clients waiting for EI claim decisions remained high in 2023-‍24. Claim status enquiries are directly correlated with the volume of EI claims submitted or referred but not yet processed.

Calls resolved at first point of contact

Once a client connects to a call centre representative, most of their telephone enquiries are resolved at that initial point of contact. However, there are occasionally cases where the call centre environment is not well suited to handle a request. When this occurs, the call centre representative 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. A call is considered resolved if the representative can address the client's enquiry during the telephone interaction.

During 2023-‍24, the percentage of calls that were resolved by a call centre representative with no additional follow-up required increased by 3.1% to 90.9 % (consult annex 4.3.2d). This increase is due to a higher ratio of experienced call centre staff. Having more experienced staff means that call centre representatives can make decisions in more cases, have better access to advisors during complex calls, and submit fewer callback requests. Call Centres also implemented initiatives for the upskilling of staff, which included new procedures allowing them additional authorities and refresher training to clarify and solidify knowledge for more complex activities that are part of existing work. Additionally, more easily-resolved calls—such as completing a claimant report or questions about the status of a payment—were received in 2023-24, contributing to the increased resolution rate.

Call volume

Clients made 560,070 calls to the ECC in 2023-‍24. This volume includes:

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

In 2023-24, 34% of calls (191,264) were resolved^{Footnote 6} in the IVR system without the need to speak to a representative. This is similar to 2022-23 with 33% resolved in the IVR.

Calls answered

The ECC answered 349,017 calls in 2023-‍24, which is 45,707 additional calls compared to 2022-‍23.

In 2023-‍24, 99.9% of clients who opted to speak to an ECC representative were placed in queue to speak to a representative compared to 99.7% the previous year.

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 answered 85.6% of calls within 10 minutes, which is an increase of 6.6% compared to the previous fiscal year. The average length of time clients had to wait to speak to a representative decreased to 3.7 minutes from 5.4 minutes in 2022-‍23. The number of clients who chose to hang up after being placed in queue to speak to a representative decreased to 19,002 from 24,058 calls the previous year.

In 2023-24, the top service offering shifted. For the first time, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) became the ECC's main service offering, while record of employment on the Web (ROE Web) moved to second place. This shift was driven by a significant increase in TFWP-related calls due to multiple initiatives implemented during the year, along with a decrease in ROE Web inquiries. While overall call volume for TFWP increased, inquiries were spread across multiple sub-topics, with no single TFWP sub-topic surpassing the top ROE sub-topics in volume. However, when combined, all TFWP-related calls made it the highest-volume service offering, exceeding the total volume of ROE sub-topics. Meanwhile, ROE-related calls remained concentrated on ROE Web registration and login, making it the top individual call driver. Note that the number of ROEs issued^{Footnote 7} decreased to 11,909,683 from 12,022,227 in the 2022-‍23 fiscal year.

The following are the top 5 individual reasons employers called the ECC to speak to a representative for assistance:

1. To enquire about record of employment (ROE) Web registration and login (14%)
2. To order paper ROE forms (consult section 4.4.1) (11%)
3. To request changes or updates to their Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application (11%)
4. To enquire about the status of an application for an LMIA through the TFWP (9%)
5. To receive help about block specific information on ROEs (7%)

To identify the specific reasons for which employers contact ECC, each main service offering is divided into call topic categories. As shown above, the two call topics that drove most calls to ECC were related to ROEs: ROE Web registration and login, and ordering paper ROE forms. Nonetheless, in fiscal year 2023-‍24 calls related to TFWP enquiries increased significantly while ROE enquiries remained stable or slightly decreased.

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 a one-time training course relating to dealing with crisis in a call centre environment. To date, since its launch in early 2021, the overall participant satisfaction rate with this training is 93%.

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 to support the call centre representative

In addition, 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. Two full-day training sessions are offered to employees each fiscal year. Training content reinforces the technical, interpersonal, and self-care skills that employees may need to foster a positive work environment and support their mental health and well-being.

EI regular benefits pages

EI regular benefits pages had 7.4 million visits in 2023-24. There were 3% more visits than in 2022-‍23. 41% of those visits went on to start applications using AppliWeb, similar to the 39% in 2022-23.

Maternity and parental benefits pages

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

In 2023-24, the data shows that:

• 401,386 clients used the estimator tool, generating 836,525 estimates
• there were 2.6 million visits to the EI maternity and parental benefits information pages, a 4% decrease from 2022-23
• 16% of visitors to the maternity and parental benefits pages went on to start applications for benefits

EI sickness benefits pages

EI sickness benefits pages had 2.4 million visits in 2023-24, which is the same as in the previous year. About 7% of those visits went on to start applications.

Reaching out to Canadians

In a continued effort to connect with and engage Canadians, Service Canada is using alternate online channels, like social media, to reach EI clients faster. In 2023-24 the Department enhanced its social media management system's analytical and reporting functionalities. Leveraging these tools led to a 15% increase in EI clients using social media to find EI pages on Canada.ca.

AppliWeb

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

In 2023-24, 98.3% of EI applications were submitted online using AppliWeb.

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In 2023–24, 98.3% of EI applications were submitted online using AppliWeb.

For more on AppliWeb, consult annex 4.3.3a.

Electronic reporting

Every 2 weeks, claimants must complete EI reports and provide responses to a series of questions. Their answers confirm their ongoing entitlement to benefits.

Electronic reports can be completed using the telephone reporting service or the internet reporting service. 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 online reports. The information is instantly transferred to their EI file and may result in faster payment processing for claimants.

In 2023-24, the internet reporting service remained the preferred reporting method for EI at 85.9%. The remaining 14.1% of reports were completed by telephone.

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Fiscal year	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Percentage of EI reports completed online	80.9	90.7	86.6	84.7	85.9
Percentage of EI reports completed on the phone	19.1	9.3	13.4	15.3	14.1

My Service Canada Account

My Service Canada Account (MSCA) is a secure online portal that can be accessed through Canada.ca and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This portal contributes to Service Canada's ability to deliver accessible, accurate, and timely services. MSCA allows users to view and update their information for EI as well as for other government programs.

Using MSCA, EI claimants can:

• check the status of their claims and transactions, including payment information
• receive information from Service Canada about their EI claim
• view previous EI claim information
• view and print their T4E tax slip and their electronic records of employment
• upload supporting documents for their EI claim and also view and print their uploaded documents
• view and print an electronic copy of many of the EI decision letters sent to them by mail

• ¹ Claimants cannot view or print letters sent before May 13, 2022. The total number of letters viewed indicated in the table may not represent individual claimants. One claimant may view the same letter multiple times. Each of those views is counted separately.
• ² Erratum: Last year’s report incorrectly stated that 69,267 EI decision letters were viewed by claimants in MSCA.

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 MSCA, consult annexes 4.3.3b-c.

Enhancement of document upload for EI claimants

Every year, the EI program receives millions of paper documents, by mail or in person, at Service Canada Centres. Staff must manually sort and enter these documents into EI files.

Since 2021, claimants can electronically submit supporting documents directly to their EI files using AppliWeb or MSCA. The document upload tool:

• is a simpler and faster alternative for claimants
• allows documents to be immediately viewable in the file without manual intervention from staff

Since its implementation, the use of the document upload tool has been consistently increasing.

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Documents accepted electronically for EI:

• Medical documentation
• Proof of employment
• Proof of authorization to work in Canada
• Proof of identity
• Documentation related to pregnancy, parental leave, and preventive withdrawal
• Teaching and self-employment documentation
• Third-party authorization

Online security

After its launch in 2020-21, multi-factor authentication was made mandatory for all MSCA users in 2021-22. This security measure remains in place in 2023-24 and continues to help to protect user's personal information and prevent unauthorized access to MSCA.

Online accessibility

In 2023-24, ESDC continues to provide online standards using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 for Web accessibility, this includes:

• 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
  • publishing voice-ready content onto Canada.ca
  • search engine optimization for voice content

Overall

Results from the Service Canada CX Survey 2023-24 found that 77% of EI clients were satisfied with their overall service experience. This is comparable to the 78% of EI clients who were satisfied in 2022-23.

Drivers of overall satisfaction for EI clients

Improving the following service attributes would have the greatest positive impact on overall satisfaction for EI clients in 2023-24:

• reasonable timeliness of the client journey
  • 68% of EI clients found the time it took to go through the client journey reasonable, a slight increase compared to the 66% of EI clients that felt this way in 2022-23
• helpfulness of EI specialized call centre representatives
  • 82% of EI clients found EI specialized call centre representatives helpful, stable compared to the 81% of EI clients who found the representatives helpful in 2022-23
• understanding information about the program
  • 68% of EI clients found it easy to understand the information about the EI program, compared with 73% of EI clients in 2022-23

Service channel satisfaction

EI client satisfaction across various service channels changed as follows (consult annex 4.3.4a):

• in-person channel satisfaction increase to 80% in 2023-24, compared to 73% in 2022-‍23
• specialized call centre satisfaction increased to 75% in 2023-24, compared to 63% in 2022-‍23
• online channel satisfaction decreased to 70% in 2023-24, compared to 72% in 2022-‍23
  • 86% of EI clients found that completing steps online made the process easier for them, a decrease compared to the 89% who found that doing steps online it made easier in 2022-23

Service channel usage

• 37% of EI clients reported only using self-service tools (without assistance by phone or in person) to complete their client journey, stable compared to 36% in 2022-23, but a decrease compared to 43% in 2021-22
• 25% of EI clients reported having used the in-person service channel at some point in the client journey, stable compared to 25% in 2022-23 and an increase compared to 18% who did in 2021-22
• EI clients reported they were more likely to have used the in-person service channel at the application and follow-up stage of their client journey
• EI clients were slightly more likely to have used assisted self-service (self-service channels and telephone) at the awareness or application stages
• Telephone usage remains the preferred channel at the follow-up stage

More than half of EI clients who use the online channel first in the follow up stage of their application continue to follow up by switching to phone channels. EI clients who are using MSCA to check status updates are the ones who are most likely to make this switch from the online portal to the phone.

Client groups

• Overall satisfaction was higher among the following EI client groups:
  • seniors (aged 60 and over), 87% of whom were satisfied
  • EI clients residing in the Atlantic region, 87% of whom were satisfied
  • newcomers, 90% of whom were satisfied
  • clients living in official language minority communities, 86% of whom were satisfied
• Satisfaction for Indigenous clients (78%) and for e-vulnerable clients that rarely or never use online services (83%) was similar to the satisfaction rate for all EI clientele
• Satisfaction was lower than the average rate among clients with disabilities (69%) and clients who experienced restrictions accessing services (66%)

Service accessibility

43% of the surveyed EI clients responded that they encountered a barrier to access services, compared to 40% in 2022-23. The access barriers varied from not having access to internet (9%) or a device (8%) to not being able to visit a Service Canada office during business hours (20% of EI clients).

Electronic records of employment

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

• no need for employers to order, fill, and send paper ROEs
• no need for employees to provide their paper ROEs to Service Canada
• instant transfer of information to EI files
• reduction of errors from the manual input of paper ROEs

In 2023-24, 42,559 employers registered for ROE Web, compared with 42,939 in 2022-‍23. At the end of 2023-24 there were a total of 577,532 employers registered for ROE Web.

For more on eROEs, consult annexes 4.4.1b-c.

Artificial intelligence to review records of employment

When issuing ROEs for their employees, many employers include text comments to provide additional information. When screening the ROEs, the claim automation process stops when these added comments are detected. Staff must then review and process the comments manually.

In 2020, Service Canada started using an AI model to process employer comments on ROEs. The AI model reduces the need for human intervention and supports claim processing automation.

Claims inventory

Service Canada regularly receives new information regarding EI claims that have already been processed. Officers then review the information and determine if the claims require any changes. Due to increased claim volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department focused on processing new claims to ensure claimants were receiving timely benefits. As a result, fewer officers had been assigned to the processing of claims pending review, significantly increasing inventories in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Managing claims pending review is challenging. These claims are more complex to process, require fully trained and highly experienced staff, and offer few possibilities for automation.

In 2022-23, the Department implemented a multi-year strategy to reduce the inventory of claims pending review to a sustainable level and to improve its capacity to meet service standards. In 2023-24, this strategy led to a reduction of inventory levels by half through strategic workload management initiatives.

Going forward the focus will be on workload and workforce stabilization. Strategies and results on EI processing operations will be reported upon in future Reports.

Hiring and training

In 2023–24, the Department hired and trained 70 additional officers for EI processing, compared to 640 in 2022–23, and the turnover rate has decreased.

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Date	On March 31, 2021	On March 31, 2022	On March 31, 2023	On March 31, 2024
0-12 months of EI experience	887 (28.0%)	1,414 (45.1%)	2,160 (50.0%)	1,015 (23.7%)
More than 12 months of EI experience	2,281 (72.0%)	1,728 (54.9%)	2,160 (50.0%)	3,266 (78.3%)

The training program for EI processing officers is comprised of multiple modules staggered over time. The format is designed to:

• manage efficient onboarding and training of officers
• remain flexible in the face of legislative changes
• support managers' plans for future hiring needs

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. On March 31, 2023, 681 officers were trained and able to process claims pending review. As a result of focused training efforts started in 2022-23, this number reached 1,260 by March 31, 2024.

Integrated Workload and Workforce

In 2022-23, the Department implemented the Integrated Workload and Workforce (IWW) strategy. This strategy combines call centre and processing officers to better manage workload peaks.

Within the IWW strategy, staff is assigned where they are needed most: answering the phone during busy periods or processing EI claims. While on the phone with claimants, IWW officers can also process cases that would otherwise be sent to the processing centre, increasing first point of contact resolution. By extending the services offered over the phone, the IWW strategy leads to more efficient service for claimants.

In 2023-24, the IWW objectives intended to build on the foundations and concepts previously established.

• * A work item is a task to be completed by an EI officer on a claim. There may be several work items associated with a single EI claim.
• ** Erratum: In the IWW section of the 2022–23 EI Monitoring and Assessment Report, the statistic on the percentage of calls resolved with no outstanding issues was inaccurate (87%). It was based on reporting methods that were not adapted to the IWW evolution. No statistics on resolution percentage will be provided this year, as reporting methods still need to be improved before reliable statistics can be available.

IWW's growth in 2023-24 supported officer upskilling and cross-training, increasing their ability to offer an enhanced service to claimants. As ESDC moves towards more innovative and modernized approaches, its integrated workload and workforce strategies, combined with new tools, will provide the flexibility and agility to address workload pressures in real time, optimizing service delivery.

Claimant error rate

This year, the claimant error was 2.4%. While a small number of the errors identified were based on information available to the Department when the claim was initially established, most claimant errors were identified through additional fact finding completed by the quality services team and occurred while the claimant was in receipt of benefits.

Errors of this nature include clients incorrectly reporting earnings while in receipt of benefits, and failing to declare the refusal of a job, quitting a job, or being dismissed from a job. Service Canada remains actively engaged in exploring strategies to identify solutions that would allow for a reduction in the frequency of these issues.

Employer error rate

Errors attributed to employers accounted for 1.2% of the issues identified in the EI PAAR program this fiscal year. These errors are the result of erroneous information reported by the employer on the ROE such as the number of hours worked, insured earnings, or dates of employment. Such errors can result in the incorrect determination of the claim start date, or the inaccurate calculation of the entitlement weeks and/or the benefit rate.

To identify employer errors, PAAR reviewers validate all ROEs used to establish the claims of files included in the EI PAAR sample with the employers. Electronic ROEs reduce the occurrence of errors and represent approximately 98% of the ROEs validated through the PAAR process. The Department continues to analyze employer errors to understand why these mistakes occur and determine possible ways to avoid them, as well as their associated cost.

Service Canada error rate

Errors attributed to Service Canada processing staff account for 2.2% of the errors identified in 2023-24. While Service Canada errors vary annually, two consistently recurring errors have been identified in the EI PAAR:

• failing to obtain additional information from the employer or the client when the information provided is missing or unclear
• errors in data entry when manual inputs are required

The EI Quality Council is actively engaged with its EI partners, working to implement solutions that improve policies, procedures, and tools, with the goal of effectively mitigating the error rate.

Regular and group appeals

The SST manages and tracks EI appeals in 2 categories:

• group appeals
  • Group appeals usually arise from a single employment situation that affects many people
  • Group appeals are more complex and require more time to complete than regular appeals
• regular appeals
  • An appeal that is not a part of a group is considered a regular appeal

Volume of appeals

In 2023-‍24, the General Division, EI section received 3,859 appeals (including 13 files that were part of group appeals) and concluded 4,732 (including 91 files that were part of group appeals). This resulted in a decrease in inventory from 1,836 active appeals (including 212 files that were part of group appeals) in March 2023, to 963 (including 134 files that were part of group appeals) in March 2024. For more information, consult annex 4.6.2a.

Service standards, performance, and appellant satisfaction

Surveys indicate that in 2023-24 overall satisfaction for EI appellants remained at 96%, unchanged from 2022-23.

The General Division, EI section has the following service standards:

• decisions are made within 45 days from when an appeal is filed with the SST, 80% of the time
  • For 2023-24, the SST met this goal 14.1% of the time (up from 7.4% in 2022-23), with an average processing time of 108.0 days (down from 113.1 in 2022-23)
  • When including group appeals, the SST met this goal 13.6% of the time, with an average processing time of 118.9 days
  • Through 2023-24, the SST steadily improved this standard from 5.6% in April 2023 to 40.3% in March 2024 (excluding group appeals)

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Month of the 2023-‍24 fiscal year	Apr 2023	May 2023	Jun 2023	Jul 2023	Aug 2023	Sep 2023	Oct 2023	Nov 2023	Dec 2023	Jan 2024	Feb 2024	Mar 2024
Percentage of decisions were made within 45 days	5.6	4.4	5.7	5.9	6.9	10.9	10.7	14.4	21.6	18.5	24.9	40.3

For more information on decisions issued 45-days following an appeal, consult annex 4.6.2b.

• Decisions are made within 15 days of the hearing, 80% of the time
  • For 2023-24, the SST met this goal 66.6% of the time (up from 61.2% in 2022-23), averaging 17.9 days to issue a decision after the hearing compared with 17.7 days in 2022-23
    • When including group appeals, the SST met this goal 64.4% of the time, averaging 19.2 days to issue a decision after the hearing
  • Through 2023-24, the SST steadily improved this standard from 60.5% in April 2023 to 79.6% in March 2024 (excluding group appeals)

Text description

Month of the 2023-‍24 fiscal year	Apr 2023	May 2023	Jun 2023	Jul 2023	Aug 2023	Sep 2023	Oct 2023	Nov 2023	Dec 2023	Jan 2024	Feb 2024	Mar 2024
Percentage of decisions made within 15 days of a hearing	60.5	57.5	57.8	60.3	66.5	69.5	64.6	70.5	70.9	75.2	78.4	79.6

For more information on decisions issued within 15 days of a hearing, consult annex 4.6.2c-d.

Outcomes at the General Division, EI Section

In 2023-24, 32.0% of cases were allowed, 60.3% were dismissed, 4.9% were withdrawn, 2.4% were denied late appeals, and 0.4% were concluded for other reasons.

Text description

Outcome	% Share
Merit dismissed	60.0%
Allowed	32.0%
Withdrawals	4.9%
Late appeal denied	2.4%
Appeals concluded for other reasons	0.4%

• Note:
• Merit dismissed - decision not in the claimant's favour
• Allowed - decision is in the claimant's favour
• Withdrawal - claimant either withdraws or abandons the appeal
• Late appeal denied - the Tribunal refuses the appeal filed beyond the 30-day deadline
• Appeal concluded for other reason(s) - administrative closure

Service standards and performance

The Appeal Division has the following service standards for EI files:

• leave to appeal decisions are made within 45 days of filing, 80% of the time
  • For 2023-24, the SST met this goal 23.5% of the time, which is down from 64.3% in 2022-23, with an average processing time of 67.2 days (up from 41.3 days in 2022-‍23)
    • Including group appeals, the SST met this goal 29.2% of the time, with an average processing time of 65 days
  • Through 2023-24, the SST improved this standard from 14.8% in April 2023 to 67.2% in March 2024. This is excluding group appeals

The inability to meet this service standard is primarily linked to a backlog of cases accumulated in the previous fiscal year when intake at the Appeal Division had doubled. Due to this backlog, new files were often assigned to a member after the service standard for leave decisions had passed. As the year progressed, additional members joined the Appeal Division, the inventory decreased, files were assigned earlier, and processing times improved.

Text description

Month of the 2023-‍24 fiscal year	Apr 2023	May 2023	Jun 2023	Jul 2023	Aug 2023	Sep 2023	Oct 2023	Nov 2023	Dec 2023	Jan 2024	Feb 2024	Mar 2024
Percentage of leave to appeal decisions made within 45 days of filing	14.8	12.2	20.6	16.2	11.7	19.4	30.8	13.1	27.9	18.0	32.8	67.2

For more information on leave to appeal decisions within 45 days of filing, consult annex 4.6.2f.

• Final decisions are made within 150 days from the date that permission to appeal was given, 80% of the time
  • For 2023-24, the SST met this goal 81.1% of the time (up from 80.8% in 2022-23), with an average processing time of 113.3 days (up from 105.0 days in 2022-23)
    • Including group appeals, the SST met this goal 42.6% of the time, with an average processing time of 149.4 days

Text description

Month of the 2023-‍24 fiscal year	Apr 2023	May 2023	Jun 2023	Jul 2023	Aug 2023	Sep 2023	Oct 2023	Nov 2023	Dec 2023	Jan 2024	Feb 2024	Mar 2024
Percentage of final decisions made within 150 days from permission to appeal	91.7	61.1	50.0	75.0	76.9	60.0	90.5	94.1	92.9	89.3	84.0	100.0

For more information on final decisions within 150 days of permission to appeal, consult annex 4.6.2g.

Alternative dispute resolution at the Appeal Division

The Appeal Division may bring 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 2023-24, 5% (40) of concluded Appeal Division EI cases went through the ADR process. Of these cases, 68% (27) were resolved by ADR.

Outcomes at the Appeal Division

In 2023-24, 25.6% of EI cases were allowed, 8.7% were dismissed, 4.0% were withdrawn, 58.2% were denied leave to appeal, 2.1% were denied late appeals, and 1.3% were concluded for other reasons.

Text description

Outcome	% Share
Leave to appeal denied	58.2
Allowed	25.6
Merit dismissals	8.7
Withdrawals	4.0
Late appeal denied	2.1
Appeals concluded for other reasons	1.3

• Note:
• Merit dismissal - decision unfavourable to the appellant
• Leave to appeal denied - the Appeal Division denies permission to appeal
• Appeal allowed - decision is in the appellant's favour
• Withdrawal - appellant withdraws the appeal
• Late appeal denied - the Appeal Division refuses the appeal filed beyond the 30-day deadline
• Appeal concluded for other reason(s) - administrative closure