Jill in this story is not a real person, but her story is real, and it captures the reality of thousands of Canadians with episodic disabilities.
Jill is a 50-year-old woman who has been working for over 25 years. 7 years ago, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. As a result of prompt diagnosis and good management, Jill was symptom-free until last year.
Over the past year, Jill begun to experience flare-ups of her arthritis that are unpredictable and last from a few days to, (more recently), a month. Sometimes Jill can work for a few months or more without an episode.
Although Jill only gets 10 sick days a year from her employer, one arthritis episode can use up all her sick leave entitlement. Jill’s doctor cannot promise that her arthritis could be more consistently managed as the condition is not predictable.
Last month, Jill had no choice but to quit her job and go on disability income support. Her employer had offered her a casual part-time position, but Jill is a single woman, and the part-time income would not support her needs, especially since her medications are costly.
Jill is now out of the workforce, on disability income support and not paying employment-related taxes. Her current income support does not enable her to contribute to the Canadian economy. However, if Jill were able to use Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits more flexibly and over a longer period, instead of the current 15 consecutive weeks or 75 full days, she would be able to stay engaged in the workforce, have access to her employer’s benefits plan and continue to pay income tax and Employment Insurance premiums.
At present, the “all-or-nothing” nature of most disability income supports leaves many people with episodic disabilities with no realistic alternative other than to resign themselves to being classified as ‘disabled’; and leave the workforce. This example above demonstrates how a modest change to Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits would keep many people employed, and result in a more efficient and effective program leading to better use of resources. This is not about more; it is about different.