Job Search or Refusal of a Job

Your Responsibility to Actively Seek Work

In order to receive regular benefits, all EI claimants have a responsibility to be ready, willing, and capable of working for each day of their claim. If you refuse or fail to apply for a suitable job that is vacant or about to become vacant, or if someone offers you employment and you refuse it without good cause, you may be disentitled or disqualified from receiving E.I. benefits.  This does not mean you have to accept any job available.  You do, however, need to meet certain expectations and obligations.  A good idea would be to follow these general guidelines:

• You have the right to narrow your search to jobs reasonably similar to the one you left. However, the longer you are unemployed, the more you may be expected to broaden your job search or lower your expectations with respect to the type of work, location, and salary demands.

•  You should maintain a job search list.  While on claim, you may be asked to present evidence of your job search to E. I. You are expected to be ready, willing, and able to accept reasonable work. You are also expected to demonstrate this availability by producing a record of your job search. You should keep a list of everything you do to find a job, including looking in the paper and searching the job bank.  When you inquire about a job, write down the employer’s name and location, the person you spoke with, their phone number, and whether a job was offered.  Keep this information whether E.I. asks for it or not. There is no specific rule about the number of contacts you are expected to make; however, E.I. generally instructs claimants to make five to seven contacts per week.

• There are valid reasons for refusing a job.  Claimants must show that they had good cause for refusing a job. While good cause is not the same as just cause, the reasons that generally constitute good cause are similar to those for quitting with Just Cause.  In addition, other reasons will sometimes be considered when refusing a job, such as the distance between the workplace and your residence.  (A commute of at least an hour and a half one way will normally be accepted as good cause for a job refusal.)  However, the Commission will generally not accept as good cause the fact that part-time rather than full-time work was offered, or any availability problems with the work schedule.

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