EI caregiving benefits
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Sometimes in life, you might need to take time away from work to provide care or support for a family member who is:
- critically ill
- critically injured
- in need of end-of-life care
If this happens, Employment Insurance (EI) has a caregiver benefit available for you.
As a caregiver, you don’t have to live with the person you care for or support. You don’t even have to be related, but you must be considered to be like a family member.
The weeks of benefits can be shared by eligible caregivers, either at the same time or one after another.
The EI program offers 3 types of caregiving benefits:
Family caregiver benefits for children
If you're away from work to provide care or support for a critically ill or injured child under 18.
Family caregiver benefits for adults
If you're away from work to provide care or support to a critically ill or injured person 18 or older.
Compassionate care benefits
If you're away from work to provide care or support to a person who requires end‑of‑life care, whether they're a child or an adult.
Definitions
Caregiver
A caregiver is a family member or someone who is considered to be like family providing care or support to the person who is critically ill or injured or needing end-of-life care.
Care or support
Care is defined as participating in the care of a critically ill or injured person or someone needing end-of-life care.
Support is defined as providing psychological or emotional support to a critically ill or injured person or someone needing end-of-life care.
Critically ill or injured person
A critically ill or injured person is someone whose baseline state of health has changed significantly because of illness or injury. As a result, their life is at risk as a direct or indirect result of illness or injury and care or support is needed from at least 1 caregiver. Their condition must be certified by a medical doctor or nurse practitioner.
If the person is already living with a chronic medical condition, caregivers aren't eligible for benefits unless the person’s health changes significantly because of a new and acute life-threatening event.
End-of-life care
End-of-life care is defined as providing care or support to a person who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks (6 months).
The person also requires the care or support of at least 1 caregiver. Their condition must be certified by a medical doctor or nurse practitioner.
Family member
A family member includes immediate family as well as other relatives and individuals considered to be like family, whether or not related by marriage, common-law partnership, or any legal parent-child relationship.