Farmers Employment Insurance

Employment insurance benefits can only be claimed by those who are unemployed and have been deemed eligible for these benefits. Those who are self-employed farmers or part-owners of a farming business are considered as workers who have full working weeks. They are not considered unemployed, which means that farmers employment insurance benefits cannot be paid to them. In order to get farmers employment insurance, an individual must have proof that he is unemployed for every week that he claims farmers employment insurance benefits. This means that you are unemployed is you do not work full working weeks. You must also be actively looking for another job and be able and willing to work at all times.

There are, however, some instances wherein you may be paid regular or parental, maternity, sickness, and compassionate care benefits. You will be eligible for these benefits only is you have accumulated the right amount of insurable hours by working a different job aside from your self-employment activities.

Special conditions and rules for self-employed farmers

Self-employed farmers are usually subject to the same criteria as other self-employed individuals. However, since the farming sector is considered unique, there are several special conditions and rules.

If your primary means of living is farming, you typically won't receive employment insurance benefits from the 1st of April to the 30th of September every year. Even though you might have some employment activities which do not include the farm, you will be considered as working a full work week. During the period from the 1st of October to the 31st of March, however, you may be eligible for receiving employment insurance benefits if you have incurred insurable hours while working for an employer.