EI Caregiving Benefits Explained: Compassionate Care and Family Caregiver Leave
If you need to take time off work to care for a critically ill or injured family member, Employment Insurance (EI) offers income replacement through two related benefits — most caregivers don’t know these exist until they need them.
What EI Caregiving Benefits cover
- • Compassionate Care Benefit: for people providing care or support to a family member who is gravely ill with a significant risk of death, up to 26 weeks
- • Family Caregiver Benefit for Adults: for people caring for a critically ill or injured adult family member, up to 15 weeks
- • Family Caregiver Benefit for Children: for people caring for a critically ill or injured child, up to 35 weeks
Who qualifies
- • You must have accumulated at least 600 insured hours of work in the past 52 weeks (or since your last claim)
- • Your income must have decreased by at least 40% because of the care you’re providing
- • A medical doctor or nurse practitioner must certify that the family member is critically ill, injured, or gravely ill with significant risk of death
- • You can share these benefits with other eligible family members caring for the same person, splitting the available weeks between you
The medical certificate — a common sticking point
To claim these benefits, you need a completed medical certificate (Service Canada form INS5242B) from the treating doctor or nurse practitioner, confirming the condition and expected duration of care needed. This is often the part that takes the longest — worth requesting from your family member’s medical team as early as possible once you know you’ll need to apply.
How to apply
- • Confirm you meet the 600-insured-hours requirement and the 40% income reduction test
- • Get the medical certificate (INS5242B) completed by the treating doctor or nurse practitioner
- • Apply online through Service Canada as soon as possible after stopping work — applying late can affect how far back your claim can be backdated
- • Submit the medical certificate and any additional required documentation
What you’ll need to keep track of
- • The medical certificate and any renewal/extension documentation if the caring period continues
- • Records of income before and during your leave, to support the 40% reduction requirement
- • If sharing benefits with other family members, documentation of how weeks are being split
A note on Ontario-specific job protection
EI caregiving benefits provide income replacement, but job-protected leave (ensuring you can return to your job) is a separate, provincial matter — Ontario’s Family Medical Leave and Critically Ill Child Care Leave provide job protection alongside the federal EI benefit. Confirm your specific provincial leave protections apply on top of the EI claim.
Keeping this organized
Between the medical certificate, income documentation, and potentially coordinating shared weeks with other family members, this process has real paperwork demands during an already difficult time. FeatherKeep organizes your caregiving records and documentation automatically, so you have what you need when you need it.
Related guides
- • Is CDPAP available in Canada?
- • Canada Disability Tax Credit checklist
- • Financial assistance for family caregivers in Canada