The Irony ...

I applied for employment insurance as soon as the school year finished and I knew that my work hours would be severely affected. I already had a part-time job lined up for the summer so I was hopeful not to have to make a claim but the one reason that I applied was because I had no idea what would happen in the fall ...

An intensive interview which questioned every decision that I had made in regards to my employment over the course of the past 12 months was almost enough to break me. I felt like offering to send them snippets from my blog to explain the reasons that I acted (and reacted) the way I did.

But within a few weeks, I was told that I qualified for a maximum of $201.00 in weekly benefits. I could earn a maximum of $80.00 and anything I earned over that would be deducted from the $201.00 benefit.

Thankfully, I never qualified for any benefits throughout the first seven weeks of my claim. I found it a bit of a pain in the neck to even bother keeping the claim open, but the very idea of the uncertainty of fall kept me completing the biweekly reports.

Because I found and worked at a completely unrelated-to-my-present-job-skills second job so that I could pay the bills over the summer, I did not need to make an EI claim. But ... if I was to quit that same job after the summer was over, chances are great that decision would have disqualified me from making a claim when I needed it the most.

My choices were narrowed down to being available to work seven days a week to qualify for insurance IF I didn't earn over $281.00 per week OR quit my second job and be disqualified (after what I can imagine only to be a nasty interview with the insurance official in charge of that department).

Either way, I could not foresee myself being in a position to pay all of my bills so ... I decided to go back to what worked for me and reopened my daycare (which was the best decision in EVERY sense of the word; the ability to (soon) be able to pay my bills was simply a bonus).

I quit the two jobs that I had when I started my claim. Two jobs that were not putting me in a viable financial position. I quit them so that I could start a job that had earning potential that far exceeded my present employment situation.

This is the irony of the situation - the final and eighth week of my claim, I qualified for a partial benefit. By my calculations, the maximum amount that EI would be required to pay out for that one week, over the course of eight weeks is $62.00.

I have told the complete and honest truth every step of the way. I have adhered to all of the rules and regulations. When I accidentally missed reporting the stat holiday pay that I received , I reported it as soon as I realized it (which was over a month, due to being paid one month after I worked it and then not automatically receiving my pay stub as usual, so I had to request it which added to the delay). I even admitted that I was not available to work one day - when I was called in to work on a weekday (which was a scheduled day off), and I declined. Even though I was available to work seven days a week. I went above and beyond to ensure that I declared every penny that I made and followed their rules to the letter.

I was so excited when I called to cancel my claim. I told them my revised work situation. I explained my decisions. In a nutshell, I quit two low paying, unreliable jobs so that I could secure one (semi) reliable, full-time wage.

I resigned from Job #2 on Aug 11th. No, I did not have a new job before I quit but the wheels were in motion, my daycare ads were posted and my new daycare was opening on September 4th. I had my first successful interviews with parents on Aug 13th.

I resigned from Job #1 on Aug 15th, after calling and talking to the person in charge of hiring to ask if she knew what I could expect in the fall (she could offer me nothing more than I already knew). I emailed the same person after I wrote my letter of resignation and before I dropped it off as a last ditch effort ...  in the hopes that they could extend an olive branch. Nothing. I was hired to do a bookkeeping job on Aug 17th. After I handed in my resignations at my existing jobs.

The error that I made was giving my employers two weeks notice. If I could have waited until I secured firm employment before I resigned, the result would be different. If I had waited, I would have been unable to open my daycare doors at the beginning of the month and the beginning of a new school year. I suppose I could have just said, "I QUIT!" and walked out on my employers before giving notice. But that isn't the way I roll. I foresaw a bright and shiny future (and the ability to pay my bills) ... so I took a small risk. I quit my jobs one week too soon.

Thus, my claim is being reviewed. Sixty two dollars (maximum) holds in the balance as they extended the two week time frame for them to review my claim. They gave themselves a deadline of "September 10th". Which was extended to "September 10th or the following business day". It now appears that the decision is in an extended limbo as this is the current message on my claim: "We have received new information on your claim but have not yet made a decision. We are making every effort to review this information as soon as possible. We have received your report. Your report will be processed when a decision has been made on your claim."

This isn't about the money. It is about being honest, doing the right thing, making thought out and careful decisions for your future ... and someone out there has the ability to wave their magic wand and make you feel like you are trying to cheat the system.

I am not trying to cheat anyone. I simply want a resolution.
If this scenario doesn't play out in a fair and just fashion, I am afraid that it taints my view that if you do the right thing, are honest and upfront ... you are rewarded.

This does not seem to be the case right now. I promise to update and amend this if and when I hear a final decision.

I'm not asking for the world here. I'm just asking them to do the 'right thing'...

** Final note **
I contacted the EI office Sept 19th. They called me back Sept 26th. I talked to a very nice lady on the phone and after our conversation, she took the 'stop' off of the payment in question. This is the message I found on my claim this morning:

"We have processed your report for the period ending Saturday August 18, 2012 which has resulted in a payment of $0.00 for this period."

The End