Will my new boss have to count the insurance money my old boss already paid?

The situation

I have been working as a junior designer at a small boutique agency here in Ontario for about three years. My pay cheque is quite steady, but everything changed last month when my company was bought out by a much larger corporation. The transition happened on the first of January, and my contract stayed exactly the same, so I didn't have to sign anything new or change my start date. My old boss and the new owners both told us that our seniority would be respected, but I am worried about the payroll side of things. I noticed on my most recent statement that the deductions for employment insurance seem a bit confusing because the new company is handling all the remittances now. I already tried asking the new HR manager about it, but they just said they were 'merging the accounts' and couldn't give me a straight answer. Since the new company took over the entire business, I am unsure if they are allowed to treat the insurance premiums already paid by my previous employer as if they paid them themselves for this calendar year. I want to make sure my total contributions for the year are calculated correctly so I don't lose out on benefits if I am ever laid off.

Detailed Analysis

Because your company was bought out and your seniority is being respected, the law regarding the 'succession of employers' applies to your situation.

Under the Employment Insurance Act, if one employer immediately succeeds another due to an acquisition of a business, the new employer has a specific option regarding insurance premiums. The law states that the successor employer "may, for the application of section 82, take into account the amounts deducted, remitted or paid under this Act by the former employer in respect of the year in relation to the employment of the employee as if they had been deducted, remitted or paid by the successor employer"^[1]. This means your new employer is legally permitted to treat the money your old boss already paid toward your employment insurance (EI) as if the new company had paid it themselves.

Crucially, this rule protects both the company and you. The statute further specifies that "If the employer takes those amounts into account with respect to the employer’s premium, the employer shall also take them into account with respect to the employee’s premium"^[1]. In plain language, if the new company counts the old company's payments to cover their own costs, they must also count those payments toward your personal contributions. This ensures that your total contributions for the calendar year are calculated correctly and you do not lose out on benefits.

While the law allows them to do this, it does not strictly force them to; however, in a merger or buyout, it is standard practice to ensure continuity. The confusion you are seeing in your payroll might simply be the administrative process of 'merging the accounts' as the new HR manager suggested, rather than an attempt to ignore your previous payments.

Statutory Citations

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