Coronavirus Knowledge Center

You may apply for EI with respect to your loss of earnings for the job where you were laid off. However, you will only be able to keep 50 cents of your EI benefits for every dollar you earn at your remaining job, up to 90% of the weekly insurance earnings used to calculate your EI benefit amount. If you earn any money above the 90 percent threshold, Service Canada will deduct dollar for dollar from your benefits.

For example, if you work at a grocery store and a restaurant, and are laid off from the restaurant, you can apply for EI as you have temporarily lost your job at the restaurant. Once the seven-day waiting period passes, you should begin to receive EI benefits. If your weekly earnings at the restaurant were $500, your weekly EI benefit rate is $275 (55% of $500). If you earn $300 per week at the grocery store, your $275 in EI benefits will be reduced by $150 (or 50 cents for each dollar you earned at the grocery store). Your total EI benefit will be $125. Therefore, your take-home pay will be $300 in wages from the grocery store, plus $125 per week in EI benefits.

If you earn over $450 at the grocery store, EI will deduct a dollar from your benefits for each dollar you earn above $450.