If im self employed . and havent paid in to it,,, Any way of getting EI ??
I recently registered for EI as a self-employed individual, so I can provide a few details. You have to pay EI premiums for at least a year before you can claim any benefits, and the premiums are equal to 1.73% of your declared income. You have to pay into EI for as long as you're operating the business, and if you've received benefts in the past, you can't cancel your registration until the following year - you still have to pay premiums for the rest of the current year.
It's a good insurance policy - if you trip and break an ankle or something, you can claim sickness benefits while you recover. The benefits aren't huge, but at least you can receive enough to cover you rent and living expenses until you're healthy enough to work again.
If you've been an SP for a while, it might be a wise decision to register, because it can really help sex workers when they transition out of the business. It would also be a wise choice for anyone who's planning to have kids someday, because you can receive maternal and parental benefits equal to 55% of your income, to a maximum of $468 per week, for up to 50 weeks (15 maternal, 35 parental).
Here's a link with more information:
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/ei/sew/index.shtml
Also, you can register online very easily through the ServiceCanada website, it took me all of 5 minutes to set up. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!
