Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles - Chapter 9
REFUSAL OF EMPLOYMENT
9.3.0 NOTIFICATION OF OFFER OR REFUSAL
9.3.1 In Person
9.3.2 By Telephone
9.3.3 By Mail
9.3.4 Messages or Posted Notices
9.3.0 NOTIFICATION OF OFFER OR REFUSAL
The claimant is always notified of a job opportunity by someone else except where discovered on one's own initiative. There may be a contention that there was misunderstanding or that all the essential information was not given.
Notification may be made orally or in writing and usually originates from an employment counsellor, employer or union. It cannot be said that there is a refusal of employment where the claimant was not duly notified of the possibility of obtaining employment1.
Where the notification originates from the Commission, it is preferable although not essential that the claimant also be informed that a refusal of employment may lead to a disqualification from benefit2.
The written instruction provided by the Commission to help the claimant find suitable employment must be reasonable considering one's situation3. We must also consider factors such as the claimant's level of education, professional qualifications, age, the distance between the claimant's residence and place of potential employment. There is no obligation to attend a job interview in respect of employment for which a claimant does not possess the minimum qualifications.
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- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/good cause/;
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/warning prior to disentitlement/;
- EIA 27(1)(c); Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/written instructions from Commission/.
A refusal of employment cannot be said to have occurred where the employment counsellor decides not to offer the employment to the claimant or decides not to request the claimant to apply for it1.
However, a plea that one was not properly notified of the possibility of employment was not upheld where one did not bother asking for the particulars or where one expressed a refusal before being given all the particulars2. It was found otherwise in a situation where the interview was not held in the claimant's own language which was one of the two official languages of the country3.
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- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/existence of refusal/;
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/refusal to apply/;
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/good cause/.
The telephone is a proper and normal means of communication. Where the claimant contends not having received a telephone call, not having been given the message or not understanding, the question becomes one of credibility1.
Where the employment counsellor had reasons to believe that it was the claimant to whom he spoke on the telephone, an unsupported contention that it was to a visiting brother who forgot to pass on the message was not accepted.
It may also happen that the claimant believed to be the brunt of a practical joke and therefore did not follow up on the telephone call. Although such a contention may be accepted2, it should first be explained why the claimant did not check right away with the Commission.
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- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/messages by phone/;
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/good cause/.
Provided there is a document supporting its dispatch, any notice by mail is presumed to have been received by the addressee in the ordinary course of the mails1. Further, claimants should realize that being unemployed and in receipt of benefit, they are likely to receive notification from the Commission. It is reasonable to expect claimants to take the necessary steps to ensure that they can be contacted without delay2.
Thus, for claimants who do not pick up their mail every day or who absent themselves from their residence without telling the Commission, it will be considered that the notice was nevertheless received although there may be extenuating circumstances. However, this will not be so where it appears that the notice was mislaid by the post office or was delayed in delivery.
If the notice was sent by registered mail, the presumption that it was received is stronger. Accordingly, a claimant's contention that his wife, who signed for the letter, did not pass it on was not accepted.
Once a notice of an offer of employment or a referral is received, the claimant must report to the employer as directed and not delay by writing to the Commission for further information. Where a notice has been sent too late for the claimant to do anything, no refusal of employment will be considered to have occurred unless the employment is still vacant and the claimant so informed3.
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- EIA 134(2)
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/notice of interview/;
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/notification/short notice/.
9.3.4 Messages or Posted Notices
In one case where the employer, prior to a temporary shutdown, drafted and posted a general notice of possible work at another job site, it was considered that the notice was too vague1.
In another case, a message, left with another person at the claimant's home during his absence, was considered sufficient2.
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- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/notice of employment misleading/;
- Jurisprudence Index/refusal of work/messages by phone/.
