Temporarily laid off, but manager asking if I can come back for a few weeks in the middle of the layoff period.
BACKGROUND: I work as a support staff at a university. My contract is casual-permanent, so I get full hours during the "school year", but they can lay me off when I'm not needed during the summer. When this happens I apply for employment insurance benefits and go on EI. Last year I had two casual jobs during that period and, according to EI rules, they deducted from my EI payment 50% of every dollar I earned at the casual jobs. Over the past school year I quit those extra jobs to have a better work/life balance.
ISSUE: I have been given an official notice of temporary layoff with dates describing my last day in May and the approximate day which they will bring me back in August. Now my manager has sent me an email asking "Are you available to come back for a few weeks of work in June?" with a short explanation that there MAY be an opportunity for me to help with inventory.
I'm unsure how to phrase my concerns explicitly as questions, but would very much appreciate some advice or outside input on the situation.
MY CONCERNS/QUESTIONS:
- How will this affect my EI claim? (moreso, will this make EI a nightmare to deal with?)
- Does this count as a recall? (Am I obligated to return if I'm still laid off afterwards?)
- Can, or will, I get screwed somehow if I say no?
I've just been screwed by employers taking advantage of me in the past, and have been a little sour about being the only one in my team that gets laid off (not to mention no benefits). So I'm feeling really apprehensive about saying yes to this request, and my gut wants to decline. Not to mention, how open ended the request is...
Anyways, thank you for an input.