Where a claimant takes the initiative in severing the employer-employee relationship, he or she will be considered to have voluntarily left that employment. Claimants who do voluntarily leave will not be entitled to receive benefits unless they can establish they had "just cause" for doing so.
Voluntary leaving includes the refusal of employment offered as an alternative to an anticipated loss of employment; the refusal to resume an employment; and, the refusal to continue in an employment after the employer's operation is transferred to another employer.
Section 29(b.1) Employment Insurance Act
Where a claimant takes a leave of absence which is authorized by the employer, and where both parties have agreed when the claimant will return to work, the claimant will not be considered to have voluntarily left without just cause. However, a claimant who does take an authorized leave of absence is not entitled to receive benefits until he or she returns to work or accumulates the necessary number of weeks of insurable employment with another employer in order to qualify for benefits.
[ previous | table of contents | next ]
2009-04-28