Every resident of Canada would like to know if there is a government program assisting people, who are sick and cannot work. Yes, there is such a program!

The program is called Employment Insurance. This insurance program is compulsory for monthly payments both on part of the employer and the employee. It provides monthly protection in the form of compensation from the government if a person is in lay off or if the business closes down. To be able to get unemployment compensation, it is essential for the person to have worked at the business for a certain period of time.

This insurance also allows to get 55% of income in case of illness or accident. The payment started since 15 days of illness and will contunue till 119 days. It turns out, that the first 2 weeks of illness is covered at your own expense. But even after 14 days expire, the government compensation is not very large, because there is a maximum $ 413 per week. On top of that, the sum of $413 is taxable. Judge for yourself:

Three employees work at the same business and make $3,000, $5,000 and $7,000 per month accordingly. If by any chance they fall ill at the same time, the government compensation will be the same for all three of them - $1,500 per month. The family of the person, which has been receiving the highest salary of the three, will find itself in the most difficult situation. It will be so, because the family has got used to a higher standard of living and sometimes it is not only hard, but impossible to step down to a lower level because of binding commitments, which were made before the illness.

That is why it is essential to know answers to the questions:

• Do you have Disability Insurance alongside with other benefits at your work?
• If you do have one, what are the conditions of receiving compensation? Is it paid in addition to government compensation? Will it be paid before the government compensation? What amount is going to be paid after the 119-th day? How long is it going to be paid?

You will be able to analyze benefits at work if you read the section "Questions and Answers" (Benefits at Work). You can read about the features of individual Disability Insurance in section "All about Insurance" (Disability Insurance). If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

There is another kind of insurance in Canada - Worker's Compensation Plan. This plan covers all employees in case of injury, which took place during work time (not on the way to or from the work) and when carrying out the activities connected with work responsibilities. If a person became disabled as the result of injury, which took place at work, the government will pay him or her compensation. A commission of experts decides whether it will be a one-time compensation, or monthly payments. The premium for this insurance is paid only by the employer.