EI Sickness Benefits: 26 Weeks, 600 Hours and the Certificate

Who qualifies for sickness benefits

Sickness benefits are for people who can't work for medical reasons: an illness, an injury, or a quarantine. They are one of EI's special benefits, so the rules differ from regular benefits in a few useful ways:

• Hours: you need 600 insured hours in the 52 weeks before your claim starts, or since the start of your last claim if that's shorter. Unlike regular benefits, this number doesn't change with your region's unemployment rate.
• Earnings drop: your normal weekly earnings must have fallen by more than 40% for at least one week.
• Availability: you don't have to be job hunting while you're sick, but apart from your medical condition you must otherwise be available for work.

Before you apply, check whether your employer offers paid sick leave or a short-term disability plan, because those usually come first. If your condition is long-term or permanent, canada.ca points to Canada Pension Plan (or Québec Pension Plan) disability benefits as the better fit.

How you left your last job matters less here than for regular benefits: canada.ca notes that people who quit without just cause or were dismissed for misconduct may still qualify for sickness benefits (see quit, fired or laid off).

How much you'll get: two worked examples

The weekly amount uses the same formula as other EI benefits. Service Canada adds up your insurable earnings over your best weeks, divides by the number of best weeks for your region (between 14 and 22; check the regions page), and multiplies by 55%. See how best weeks work for detail.

Example 1, average earner (2026 figures): Daniel's best-weeks average is $900. His weekly benefit is $900 × 55% = $495. If his doctor expects him to be off for the full 26 weeks, the total is $495 × 26 = $12,870 before tax.

Example 2, high earner: Amira earns well above $68,900, the 2026 maximum insurable earnings. Her benefit is capped at $729 a week, so 26 weeks pays at most $729 × 26 = $18,954 before tax.

If your family's net income is $25,921 or less, you have a child under 18 and you or your spouse get the Canada Child Benefit, the family supplement can raise your rate up to 80%, still capped at $729 a week (see the family supplement). EI is taxable income (EI and taxes).

Waiting period: normally the first week of a claim is unpaid. Under a temporary measure (Pilot Project No. 25), the waiting period is waived for claims that start between October 11, 2026 and October 9, 2027. Some canada.ca sickness pages still describe the one unpaid week without mentioning the waiver, so check the waiting period guide for your start date.

The medical certificate: who signs it and what it must show

You need a certificate from the medical professional treating you. It confirms that you can't work for medical reasons and how long that's expected to last.

• Who can sign: canada.ca lists medical doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists and midwives, and registered nurses in isolated areas where no doctor is available. Public health authorities can sign quarantine letters. The practitioner must work in Canada or the United States, and your condition must fall within their field.
• Which form: either Service Canada's own medical certificate form for sickness benefits (INS5140) or the practitioner's own form.
• What it must include: your name, the date your incapacity started, how long it's expected to last if known, the practitioner's letterhead or stamp, and their signature (handwritten, electronic or stamped). It must be readable.
• Submit or keep: you may be asked to send it with your application. If you aren't, keep it for 6 years in case Service Canada asks for it later.
• Cost: the practitioner may charge for it, and EI doesn't reimburse that fee.

You don't have to wait for the certificate before you apply. Apply first and send documents when you have them.

How the 26 weeks work in practice

26 weeks is the most you can receive, not an automatic amount. How many weeks you're paid depends on how long you're unable to work, up to that maximum. Those weeks also have to fall inside your benefit period, which is usually 52 weeks.

If you have already received EI in the past 52 weeks, you may not get the full 26 weeks, and payments stop when you reach the maximum for the combination of benefit types on your claim. If you get sick while on regular benefits, ask Service Canada about switching, since each benefit has its own conditions.

Going back part-time: the working-while-on-claim rule applies to sickness benefits too. You keep 50 cents of your benefit per dollar earned, up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings behind your benefit. Example: Daniel (benefit $495, average $900) returns two days a week and earns $360. His benefit drops by $180 to $315, and he takes home $675 before tax. His 90% line is $810, so he's well under it. See the 50-cent rule for more.

Pregnancy: complications or bedrest during pregnancy can make you eligible for sickness benefits, maternity benefits, or both, as long as you meet the conditions for each (see maternity and parental benefits).

After you apply

Once your application is in, you'll get a benefit statement with a four-digit access code by mail. It confirms you applied; it isn't a decision on your claim. You then complete a report every 2 weeks for as long as you receive benefits, and you have 3 weeks to complete each one. Report any work or earnings on those reports.

Every case has its own facts. If you're unsure whether your situation qualifies, call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218 or start at canada.ca/ei. MyEI is an independent estimate tool, not a decision-maker.