Can one claim benefits after employment ends?

Hello,

I became ill with anxiety and depression due to my employer not accomodating me after returning to work after a workplace injury.

I was able to return to my pre injury position after 8 weeks of being on wsib however my employer wanted to put me into a completely different position in a different location going from a day to night shift. I had already been fired from the position they were trying to put me in a year and a half prior and given the position I was in when I injured myself.

I told my employer I could not do the position, I was already let go from it and they insisted I had to. I asked to be accomodated because I was having so much anxiety over returning to a position I had been fired from and they said I had no choice.

My doctor diagnosed me with anxiety and depression over it all and I was off work for a month with no contact from my employer.

I felt that it was constructive dismissal and resigned. WSIB is investigating as to why my employer did not return me to my pre injury position but it has been 6 weeks since I have heard anything after leaving numerous messages.

I am receiving ei sickness benefits at the moment.

My question is, if I became ill and was employed fo 30 days but then had to resign, can I still claim benefits even though I resigned but illness started while employed?

I contacted the insurance company and they are saying I need to speak with employer as the employer knows what the contract states however I do not think the employer will cooperate with me at this point. The insurance company says the date I was still on the plan was 2 weeks after resigning. My employer for the month I was ill prior to resigning never suggested anything anout benefit options, it was not until an ei representative advised that I should look into this that I realized I may be entitled to either short or long term benefits.

Thank you in advance!

Apply for disability benefits soon as possible from your group insurer as there is often a time limit to apply. in writing request your employers assistance in applying for disability under your group plan and providing you the forms to apply.
There is case law that your employer should have advised you of group benefits.

Get your questions/facts in order and ask for the free consult. You do not want to lose out on any benefits due to delay.
Your date of disability is key.

Thank you allyoops,

Its been 7 weeks since I was no longer insured and about 15 weeks since becoming ill… I’m afraid I found out too late and will stress myself out more fighting for these benefits…I feel like the HR manager will run me around as I am no longer employed and Sunlife will not tell me themselves what the contract states.

You usually have 3-12 months to apply. Get the Sun Life application off the internet Forms | Workplace Benefits and Retirement Services

Don’t lose out on a claim by technical default of not applying. Don’t stress. Send in your application via fax or registered mail so you can prove it was received. Send your Doctor portion.

Don’t stress just take those steps. You can not predict the future and doing those two steps will protect a claim

Thanks again! Do I need to involve the employer to apply? I was just reading case law and it seems they should have advised me of what benefits were available to me as I was off for a month before resigning!

Once you send in your application or sooner you should in writing request your employer to send in their portion. If you find it stressful to speak with them then send via email or fax. If approved you for any period you were collecting EI sickness would have to be paid likely back to EI. Also if you have short term and long term-even if denied short term you should still apply for long term always.

Thanks, I found out our plan had LTD only and have emailed my employer to send any info in re to what the contracts deadlines are etc. Thanks for sending the form links!

You may have a human rights complaint-there are deadlines of 6 months to 1 year depending on Federal/Provincial jurisdiction. You may want to jump the LTD hurdle and explore that avenue thereafter

I am in Ontario and this has already turned into a Human Rights issue, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre has already urged me to file against my employer for discrimination in re to not accomodating me after coming off WSIB… they tried to put me back upon my return to a completely different position…one that a male co worker was sexually harassing me and 2 weeks after I reported it they said I couldn’t perform my duties and gave me the option of leaving or transfering to another division…I took the transfer and was in my last position for 18 months. I called HRLSC back then so even though I never made a formal complaint they still had it on file. I had to call them over this saying I let my employer know I could not work in a location where someone had harassed me as I previously reported or to a job that I had been fired from as THEY found me to be incompetent ironically 2 weeks after reporting the harassment and that I asked for accomodation but they refused saying that was my job. WSIB is also supposed to be investigating as to why they gave my position to someone else after being medically cleared to do my previous job but it has been 6 weeks since they said my employer had 7 days to give an explanation to avoid being penalized by them and I have left message after message and they are not returning my calls, I was told they would send me a letter if they felt my employer did nothing wrong informing me the case was closed and I have received nothing… this is all why I didn’t want to contact my employer over LTD Benefits because I don’t trust them one bit after everything they’ve done…long story!

Sounds like you might have a WSIB claim.

Hi Jammer,

Not sure, it’s all very complicated! I just returned to work after a slip and fall after only being gone 8 weeks and as I wrote above when returning to work my position I was told was given to someone else. They wanted to return me to a position I was deemed incompetent for previously in a different division of the company but accepted a transfer doing a different position or else basically walk. I took the transfer, made my new manager aware of the harassment claim I had handed to my previous manager only 2 weeks prior…I had been working 3 months in the position in total at the time and this was 2 years ago. I made my manager aware at the time so he would know the anxiety I had being around my harasser so he would not send me there to work as the 2 divisions share a very small office. I never worked there but for 2 days the harasser was not there out of 18 months…for 18 months I did a job in a totally different town.

So when returning to work after WSIB okd me along with my Doctor and being told I would be doing a job instead that I supposedly had lost money for the company for previously and working with a harasser I had a literal nervous breakdown and am fighting anxiety and depression. I never made it into the office my first day, I had an anxiety attack on my way in and notified my employer. I had already emailed tje day before my return begging to be accomodated and the reasons why and I was told to report as already told and it was my job.

After being off sick for a month and after everything I realized the company was not one I wanted to work for and I resigned. I informed WSIB and I was told by the department that handles investigations on April 7 they were asking for the details from my employer as to why they did not return me to my pre injury position and I as well told WSIB the reasons why I could not work in the position/location they wanted me to that it causes me to have anxiety.

Luckily for me At my return to work meeting with WSIB for modified duties I made it known that I had been fired from a position should my employer want to put me there while on modified duties…the return to work specialist made note of it.

So WSIB said on April 7 I may be entitled to benefits again through them for the anxiety and depression I’m now facing but I couldn’t wait for their decision and am on ei sickness benefits but they are running out very soon and still no word…I have left about 5 messages with the case worker in the last 3 weeks with absolutely no response and no wrtten communication. I wondered if I would qualify for LTD through my group benefits with Sunlife as I did become ill while still employed and my Doctor says it will be at least October before I can work again and ei will not put on regular benefits if I am still sick… I basically am freaking out on top of everything else due to my finances…not knowing where my next dollar is coming from is just making everything worse…

Sorry for the rant its just really hard

You would have to apply for LTD through your insurer and company.
Since your company is not being cooperative (and I think they broke the law), you should phone Resolute for a free consult.

You should request a complete copy of your WSIB file. They won’t mind. Form to request is here http://www.wsib.on.ca/WSIBPortal/faces/WSIBDetailPage?cGUID=WSIB014530&rDef=WSIB_RD_ARTICLE&_afrLoop=130971021745000&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=a42m2qi1x_26#%40%3FcGUID%3DWSIB014530%26_afrWindowId%3Da42m2qi1x_26%26_afrLoop%3D130971021745000%26rDef%3DWSIB_RD_ARTICLE%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Da42m2qi1x_50

Please ensure you visit your Doctor at least every two weeks. You should ask to be referred to a psychologist -the public system is a 6 month wait-WSIB may also pay but you try to choose the psych help. You have a Human Rights claim. I personally would request right away a complete and entire copy of your employee file from your employer. I believe you are in Ontario so not sure if your request would fall under PIPEDA or if Ontario has other Privacy legislation.
The benefit of requesting your employee file now is once you proceed with other actions it will be harder and longer to obtain. Trust me-start getting your info put together.

I received an email from the employer stating I resigned voluntarily in March therefore eligibility has ended.

If I had had any idea how this all affected me I wouldn’t have resigned until after

Email back your employer that you never voluntarily resigned but given the unbearable situation you were forced out. And that they were well aware of that.

Don’t say anything more.

Review this article Voluntary Resignation or Termination? | CanLII Connects

I am not a lawyer-before you do anything you may want a free consult. The above is just what I would do to protect my claim. A brief one liner,

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The short answer is yes (a person can be eligible for LTD benefits after employment ends), as long as the work stoppage due to disability arose while the person was still employed. It is very common for a person at work to qualify to apply for both WSIB (workers comp) and LTD insurance benefits, and I recommend people always apply for both.


David Brannen

Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal

The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliabile manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.

Good etext on wrongful dismissal http://commentary.canlii.org/w/canlii/2012CanLIIDocs1en?zoupio-debug#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc482193837/(hash:(chunk:(anchorText:zoupio-_Toc482193837),notesQuery:‘’,scrollChunk:!n,searchQuery:Industrial+Alliance+Insurance+and+Financial+Services+Inc.+v.+Brine,searchSortBy:RELEVANCE,tab:search))