On March 25, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act (Act) was passed to provide financial support to workers suffering a loss of income for reasons related to COVID-19 (CERB). What follows is an overview of the main conditions that the federal government has since clarified regarding the Act's application.
Summary
- The CERB will offer eligible workers $2,000 per month for up to four months;
- These benefits are taxable;
- This amount will not be subject to a waiting period, but will be paid to workers within three (if by direct deposit) or 10 (if by cheque) business days following their application; and
- The CERB will be available from March 15, 2020, to October 3, 2020, and applications may be filed until December 2, 2020.
Canada Emergency Response Benefit
Which workers are covered has not changed since our last publication – "Preliminary analysis of the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act." They must still be at least 15 years of age, be residents in Canada and, for 2019 or the 12-month period preceding their application, have a total income of at least $5,000 from:
- Employment;
- Self-employment;
- Employment insurance maternity or parental benefits; or
- Allowances, benefits or amounts paid under a provincial plan because of pregnancy or parental care.
According to the latest government announcements, this income
includes non-eligible dividends, but does not include pensions,
student loans and bursaries.
Eligibility
The CERB eligibility requirements have recently been expanded. To
be eligible, workers must now have stopped working or expect to
stop working due to COVID-19 and find themselves in either of the
following situations :
- For the first CERB application: they do not expect to receive more than $1,000 (before taxes) from employment and/or self-employment income for at least 14 days in a row during the four-week payment period; or
- Subsequent applications: they do not expect their situation to change during the four-week period for which they are applying and do not expect to receive more than $1,000 (before taxes) from employment and/or self-employment income.
Workers who are eligible to receive Employment Insurance (EI)
regular or sickness benefits and workers who have exhausted their
EI benefits in the period between December 29, 2019, and October 3,
2020, are also eligible to receive the CERB.
Eligibility periods
The four-week CERB eligibility periods are the
following:
Application Cycle | Periods |
1st cycle | March 15, 2020, to April 11, 2020 |
2nd cycle | April 12, 2020, to May 9, 2020 |
3rd cycle | May 10, 2020, to June 6, 2020 |
4th cycle | June 7, 2020, to July 4, 2020 |
5th cycle | July 5, 2020, to August 1, 2020 |
6th cycle | August 2, 2020, to August 29, 2020 |
7th cycle | August 30, 2020, to September 26, 2020 |
CERB applications
CERB applications can be filed online or over the phone. In both
cases, workers will be asked to file one application on the day
listed for their birth month, and this for each eligibility period
indicated above:
Birth month | Day(s) for applying |
January, February, March | Monday |
April, May, June |
Tuesday |
July, August, September |
Wednesday |
October, November, December | Thursday |
Any month | Friday, Saturday, Sunday |
When filing their applications, workers will be asked to provide
their contact information and social insurance numbers, and confirm
they meet the CERB eligibility requirements. However, they may
later be asked to send additional documents to verify their
eligibility. Note that workers will not be required to provide
medical certificates in support of their applications.
Workers whose situation persists must file a new CERB application
for each four-week eligibility period, up to a maximum of 16
weeks.
Workers who start working again after getting a CERB payment and
then stop working will need to re-apply for the CERB. In such
cases, workers may be required to return or repay the CERB
received, notably if the income they earn when they return to work
in the eligibility period for which they filed the application
exceeds $1,000.
Workers who received a CERB payment and know that they will need
to repay it may consult the steps for returning or repaying the
CERB.
CERB amounts
The CERB amount to which workers will be entitled for a given week
is set at $500, regardless of the EI amount (whether lower or
higher) to which they would have been entitled.
Interaction with government programs
" CERB and
Work-Sharing program: Work-Sharing program participants
cannot receive CERB benefits, only EI benefits.
" CERB and
Supplemental Unemployment Benefits: to date, the government
has not clarified what impact the CERB will have on Supplemental
Unemployment Benefits.
" CERB and
Canada's Emergency Wage Subsidy: employers cannot
request Canada's Emergency Wage Subsidy for workers who have
been without remuneration for 14 or more consecutive days in a
given eligibility period. In this situation, workers will therefore
be eligible for the CERB if they meet the other eligibility
requirements.
Article originally published on 22 April 2020
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