Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332)

Application for Reduction of Employer's Premium Rate

• 68 (1) An application for a reduction of the employer’s premium rate in respect of insured persons, or for the continuation of such a reduction after the modification or replacement of a plan, shall be made to the Commission by the employer and shall

  • (a) be accompanied by a copy of the documents that represent the formal commitment referred to in subsection 67(1) or, if the application is for the continuation of a reduction, by a copy of the documents that have been modified or replaced;

  • (b) provide all the information necessary to determine whether the plan meets or continues to meet the requirements of this Part; and

  • (c) be accompanied by the employer's undertaking that the insured persons will benefit from the reduction of the employer's premium in an amount at least equal to five twelfths of the reduction, as required by subsection 69(1) of the Act.

• (2) Where an application referred to in subsection (1) is incomplete or where the Commission requires further information or documentation in order to make a decision on the application and the Commission requests that information or documentation from the employer, the employer shall provide the information or documentation within 30 days after the request is made, and where the information or documentation is not provided to the Commission within that time, an officer of the Commission shall make a decision on the existing information or documentation.

• 69 (1) In the case of an application for a reduction of the employer’s premium rate, or for the continuation of such a reduction, an employer shall group the insured persons employed by the employer into the following categories:

  • (a) insured persons who are covered by a plan that satisfies the requirements of section 63;

  • (b) insured persons who are covered by a plan that satisfies the requirements of section 64;

  • (c) insured persons who are covered by a plan that satisfies the requirements of section 65, except the insured persons referred to in paragraph 65(d);

  • (d) insured persons who are covered by a plan that satisfies the requirements of section 66, except the insured persons referred to in paragraph 65(d); and

  • (e) all other insured persons, including those referred to in paragraph 65(d).

• (2) In the case of an application for a reduction, the employer shall

  • (a) on notification by the Commission that a plan satisfies the requirements of section 63, 64, 65 or 66, request immediately from the Canada Revenue Agency a separate account number for each category of insured persons who are covered by a plan that entitles the employer to a reduction; and

  • (b) notify the Commission immediately on receipt of those account numbers.

• (3) If a modification or replacement of a plan results in a change to the previously established categories of insured persons, the employer shall

  • (a) on notification by the Commission that the plan as modified or replaced satisfies the requirements of section 63, 64, 65 or 66, request immediately from the Canada Revenue Agency a new account number for any newly established category; and

  • (b) notify the Commission immediately on receipt of that account number.

• (4) For each year for which a reduction of the employer’s premium rate is applicable, the employer shall

  • (a) beginning not later than the first remittance for the first month from which the employer’s reduction is applicable, remit to the Canada Revenue Agency the employer’s premium payable in respect of all insured persons in each category for which an account number has been received; and

  • (b) submit to the Canada Revenue Agency, for each account number, an information return that shows the total amount of insurable earnings, of employees’ premiums and of employer’s premiums in respect of all insured persons in the category for which the account number was issued.

70 If the plan on which a reduction of the employer’s premium rate is based is modified or replaced, the employer shall

• (a) notify the Commission within 30 days after the modification or replacement; and

• (b) apply for a continuation of the reduction in accordance with section 68.

71 The effective date of a reduction of the employer’s premium rate under subsection 62(1) is,

• (a) in the case of an initial application for a reduction,

  • (i) the first day of the month following the month in which the application was made, if it was made on or before the 15th day of the month, or

  • (ii) the first day of the second month following the month in which the application was made, if it was made after the 15th day of the month, and

• (b) in the case of an application for the continuation of a reduction, the effective date of the modification or replacement of the plan.

• 72 (1) On receiving an application that is in accordance with section 68, an officer of the Commission shall decide whether the employer meets or continues to meet the requirements for receiving a reduction under this Part and shall notify the employer of the decision.

• (2) If an employer does not comply with section 70, an officer of the Commission shall, after learning of the non-compliance and giving the employer an opportunity to be heard, make the decision referred to in subsection (1) and notify the employer of the decision.

• (3) If an employer’s plan ceases to meet the requirements of paragraph 63(d), an officer of the Commission shall terminate entitlement to the reduction and notify the employer of the decision.

73 An employer who makes an application referred to in subsection 69(4) of the Act shall produce evidence that a qualifying plan pursuant to paragraph 67(3) was in effect during the period in respect of which the application is made.

Termination of Plan

74 An employer shall, within 30 days after termination of a plan on which a reduction of the employer’s premium rate is based, notify the Commission of the plan’s termination.

Appeals

75 An employer may appeal to the Commission a decision made pursuant to section 72 of these Regulations or pursuant to subsection 69(4) of the Act or a new decision made pursuant to subsection 69(5) of the Act, within one year after the day on which notice of the decision or new decision is sent to the employer.

Transitional Provisions

76 The Commission may reconsider an application by an employer for a reduction of the employer's premium for the year 1995 where the employer

• (a) has made the application before December 4, 1994;

• (b) has been considered for a premium reduction for the year 1995; and

• (c) would have been entitled to a greater premium reduction if the application had been made on or after December 4, 1994.

PART III.1Reduction of Premiums for Employees Covered by a Provincial Plan and for their Employers

DIVISION 1General

Interpretation

76.01 The definitions in this section apply in this Part.

provincial benefits

provincial benefits means allowances, money or other benefits, paid to a person under a provincial plan because of pregnancy or in respect of the care by that person of one or more of their new-born children or one or more children placed with them for the purpose of adoption. (prestations provinciales)

provincial plan

provincial plan means a plan, established under a provincial law, that provides for the payment of provincial benefits and in respect of which an agreement has been entered into between the Government of Canada and the province to establish a system for reducing employer’s and employee’s premiums where the payment of those benefits would have the effect of reducing or eliminating benefits payable under section 22 or 23 of the Act. (régime provincial)

variable administrative costs

variable administrative costs means the amount of direct operating costs incurred to provide benefits under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act that fluctuate with the number of claims for such benefits that are processed, not including any fixed operating costs related to the administration of the Act. (frais administratifs variables)

Adaptation of the Act and these Regulations

76.02 For the purposes of this Part, the Act and these Regulations are adapted as provided in this Part.

DIVISION 2Premium Reduction System

Standards

76.03 A provincial plan shall, beginning on the day on which it takes effect, meet the following requirements:

• (a) the plan must provide for the payment of provincial benefits;

• (b) the plan must, at a minimum, cover substantially the same persons as those who are insured persons under the Act;

• (c) the global amount of provincial benefits payable to a person under the plan must be substantially equivalent to or greater than the global amount of benefits payable to a claimant under section 22 or 23 of the Act;

• (d) the plan must provide that an applicant who has received at least one week of provincial benefits under it shall continue to receive such benefits for their full period of entitlement, even if, after receiving that first week of benefits, they become a resident of a different province;

• (e) the plan must provide for premium adjustment payments to be made to the Receiver General by the province where the plan is established in respect of employer’s and employee’s premiums paid under the plan in respect of employees who are not covered by the plan because of their residency; and

• (f) the plan must provide for the sharing, by the province with the Government of Canada, of information obtained in the course of administering the plan that is necessary for the administration of a premium reduction system established by this Part, as well as information prepared from that information.

Premium Reduction

76.04 The employee’s and employer’s premiums payable under sections 67 and 68 of the Act, respectively, shall be reduced as provided by section 76.05 if the payment of provincial benefits to insured persons under a provincial plan would have the effect referred to in subsection 69(2) of the Act in respect of benefits payable to those persons under section 22 or 23 of the Act.

76.041 [Repealed, SOR/2010-301, s. 2]

76.05 The premium reduction to be applied to employer’s and employee’s premiums shall be calculated by applying the premium reduction rate determined in accordance with section 76.06.

• 76.06 (1) The premium reduction rate for a year is the rate determined by subtracting the rate determined under paragraph (b) from the rate determined under paragraph (a) and by rounding off the difference in accordance with section 66.4 of the Act:

  • (a) the rate determined by adding the following results, namely,

    • (i) the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of all benefits that will be paid under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act in respect of that year to all claimants who are not covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are not covered by such a plan, and

    • (ii) the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of the variable administrative costs that will be incurred in that year to provide benefits under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act to all claimants who are not covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are not covered by such a plan; and

  • (b) the rate determined by adding the following results, namely,

    • (i) the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of all benefits that will be paid under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act in respect of that year to all claimants who are covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are covered by such a plan, and

    • (ii) the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of the variable administrative costs that will be incurred in that year to provide benefits under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act to all claimants who are covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are covered by such a plan.

• (2) Actuarial estimates shall be used to determine the estimated amounts referred to in subsection (1).

• (3) The results referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) shall be determined having regard to the same factors as those set out in section 66 of the Act.

76.07 The premium reduction rate determined under section 76.06 is to be published in Part 1 of the Canada Gazette by the Commission as soon as feasible after it is determined.

76.08 The reimbursement amount paid by the Province of Quebec in accordance with section 4.5 of the Entente finale Canada-Québec sur le régime québécois d’assurance parentale, signed on March 1, 2005, shall be paid to the Receiver General and shall be considered as if it were an amount required to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund under section 72 of the Act and shall be paid into that Fund.

DIVISION 3Entitlement

Disentitlement

• 76.09 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every claimant is disentitled to be paid benefits under section 22 or 23 of the Act if they are entitled to receive provincial benefits under a provincial plan.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if, at the request of the claimant, it is determined by the Commission that the amount of provincial benefits the claimant is entitled to receive under the provincial plan is not substantially equivalent to or greater than the amount of benefits that they are entitled to receive under section 22 or 23 of the Act.

• (3) Every claimant who has received, or has applied for and is entitled to receive, provincial benefits under a provincial plan in respect of any week is disentitled to be paid benefits in respect of that same week under

  • (a) Part I of the Act, other than benefits under section 22 or 23 of the Act; or

  • (b) the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations.

• (4) For greater certainty, subsections (1) to (3) apply in respect of a claimant who has applied for and is entitled to receive provincial benefits under a provincial plan even if the claimant, after making that application, ceases to reside in the province where that plan was established.

• (5) For greater certainty, if two persons are caring for the same child or children and one of them is a claimant referred to in subsection (4),

  • (a) subsections (1) to (3) apply in respect of the other person if that other person is an insured person; and

  • (b) subsections 76.36(1) to (3) apply in respect of the other person if that other person is a self-employed person.