Getting fired to get employment insurance

Can I get fired on purpose to collect employment insurance?

By Julie Cazzin on June 13, 2014
Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Think twice before asking your boss to fire you so that you can get E.I.

Q: I want to ask my boss to lay me off so I can go on E.I. Any tips? —Wanting Out, Vancouver A: “To successfully approach your employer about getting terminated so you can go on Employment Insurance, the stars really need to align,” says Sabatina Vassalli, an employment lawyer with Agro Zaffiro in Hamilton, Ont. It only works if your employer is already looking to reduce its workforce, wants to terminate people without cause and is being forthcoming about it. In this case you could volunteer to be downsized. Otherwise, just remember that terminating an employee costs the employer, at minimum, termination pay under the Employment Standards Act. So if they catch wind that you want or need to leave, they could be inclined to simply wait until you quit, in which case you’re not entitled to E.I. Worse, if you purposely try to get laid off, you could be outright fired with cause and you wouldn’t be entitled to anything. Got a delicate money question? Send it to [email protected].

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