They're From the Government and They're Really Not Here to Help Me
I don't really know who Employment Insurance is set up for.
So far, I've been told the following
1) That I have to do an Internet Report Card every two weeks, and that, if I'm self-employed, I have to report every hour I spent on my business, even if it was only prospecting, and didn't earn any money, and that this would not affect my claim. That if my net income was $0, I should enter $0 in the net-income part of the form.
2) That I should enter 0 hours worked if my business didn't earn me any money that week.
3) That I should enter $1 earned if I didn't earn any money, but worked.
4) That any hours I worked on my home business will be deducted from that week's EI payment, even if I didn't earn any money, because any hours I spend looking for freelance work are hours I'm not spending looking for a real job. So if I declare that I spent 20 hours doing self-employment activities, and I earned nothing from these activities, my EI report will show that I was only looking for work 50 percent of the time. Never mind that in my industry, looking for freelance work and job-hunting are indistinguishable activities, that I can look for jobs 40 hours a week, but there won't be any more jobs than there are when I look for jobs for two hours a day, and, finally, I'm perfectly capable of working more than 40 hours in any given week.
5) That I have to declare my self-employment, even if it works against me, because to do otherwise is, apparently, defrauding the system.
Also? Nobody there understands the nature of freelance editorial work. I asked whether I was supposed to declare an invoice when I worked the hours or when I got the payment, and it took 20 minutes, an application to the Resource Manual, and an application to the Resource Centre for me to get an answer. Who knows if I'd get the same answer if I called back, and spoke to a different person. (I'm supposed to declare the hours when I work them, but not declare the income on the glorious day that my clients decide to pay me, since I'll have already declared the hours.)
Also? I get penalized for not having been ready, willing, and able to work on Christmas day.
So, for trying to establish a career as a freelance editor, and not need EI, I get penalized for not applying for jobs. For working more than 7 hours a day, I get penalized. For not lying I get penalized.
Why do I feel like I'm also getting penalized for not knowing how to game the system?
So far, I've been told the following
1) That I have to do an Internet Report Card every two weeks, and that, if I'm self-employed, I have to report every hour I spent on my business, even if it was only prospecting, and didn't earn any money, and that this would not affect my claim. That if my net income was $0, I should enter $0 in the net-income part of the form.
2) That I should enter 0 hours worked if my business didn't earn me any money that week.
3) That I should enter $1 earned if I didn't earn any money, but worked.
4) That any hours I worked on my home business will be deducted from that week's EI payment, even if I didn't earn any money, because any hours I spend looking for freelance work are hours I'm not spending looking for a real job. So if I declare that I spent 20 hours doing self-employment activities, and I earned nothing from these activities, my EI report will show that I was only looking for work 50 percent of the time. Never mind that in my industry, looking for freelance work and job-hunting are indistinguishable activities, that I can look for jobs 40 hours a week, but there won't be any more jobs than there are when I look for jobs for two hours a day, and, finally, I'm perfectly capable of working more than 40 hours in any given week.
5) That I have to declare my self-employment, even if it works against me, because to do otherwise is, apparently, defrauding the system.
Also? Nobody there understands the nature of freelance editorial work. I asked whether I was supposed to declare an invoice when I worked the hours or when I got the payment, and it took 20 minutes, an application to the Resource Manual, and an application to the Resource Centre for me to get an answer. Who knows if I'd get the same answer if I called back, and spoke to a different person. (I'm supposed to declare the hours when I work them, but not declare the income on the glorious day that my clients decide to pay me, since I'll have already declared the hours.)
Also? I get penalized for not having been ready, willing, and able to work on Christmas day.
So, for trying to establish a career as a freelance editor, and not need EI, I get penalized for not applying for jobs. For working more than 7 hours a day, I get penalized. For not lying I get penalized.
Why do I feel like I'm also getting penalized for not knowing how to game the system?