Changes coming to the Employment Insurance program may have unintended negative consequences for businesses, says the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce.

The end result of the employment insurance changes may not be what was intended, says Kathryn Coll of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce (CBC)

Amendments to the program being put forward by the federal government mean frequent users of EI will have to take a job that pays at least 70 per cent of their previous wage after six weeks without work, or face being cut off.

While that may lead to more Islanders being employed, said Kathryn Coll, past president of the chamber, it could also lead to low productivity.

"The reality is that employees who don't want to be in a particular job will not necessarily be of great benefit to an employer," said Coll.

"There will be productivity concerns, there will be retention concerns. While it might seem like a good solution, the end result may not be what was envisioned."

Coll said the chamber will be polling its member businesses to determine how they feel the changes will affect them.