Maternity and parental leave

Generally, you will be entitled up to (3.75) hours of time off with pay to attend routine medical appointments related to your pregnancy. Where there will be a series of continuing appointments related to a particular condition of the pregnancy, the time off should be charged to sick leave.

You should notify your manager as far in advance as possible, with notification at least 4 weeks prior to the date you plan to commence your maternity or parental leave without pay.

Approval of maternity or parental leave without pay is not discretionary. This leave shall be granted upon your request.

The Pay Centre does not have access to your departmental leave system. Therefore, it is your responsibility for requesting and receiving authorization for any absences from the office through your departmental leave system.

In the event your department does not have a departmental leave system, your authorized leave request form will be forwarded to the Pay Centre for recording your leave usage.

Most Collective Agreements and terms and conditions of employment provide for the use of sick, annual or compensatory leave beyond the date of termination of pregnancy.

Once your leave is approved your manager will notify human resources who will in turn update the departmental human resource system and provide the necessary information to the Pay Centre under cover of a pay action request form.

The relevant authorities such as your collective agreement and/or the various terms and conditions of employment specific to your classification group provide that maternity or parental leave without pay can commence before, on or after the termination of pregnancy and must end not later than 18 weeks following the termination of pregnancy. Parental leave taken following your maternity leave cannot go beyond 52 weeks following the date of birth of your new-born child.

Parental leave which does not follow maternity leave may be taken as a single period of up to 37 consecutive weeks of leave without pay in a 52 week period following the date of birth of your new-born child or the day on which the child comes into your care.

Extensions are allowed in cases where your new-born child is hospitalized. Please refer to the relevant authorities such as your collective agreement and/or the various terms and conditions of employment specific to your classification group for specific details.

The criteria that you must meet in order to be eligible for the maternity or parental allowance are:

• you must have six months of continuous employment before the commencement of your maternity leave without pay
• you must provide proof that you have applied for and are in receipt of maternity or parental benefits under the employment insurance or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan
• you must sign an agreement stating that you will return to work on the expiry of your maternity or parental leave without pay and will work for a period equal to the period you will be in receipt of the maternity or parental allowance

Additional eligibility criteria can be found at the employment insurance site. Visit the benefit types page if you will be claiming benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.

Most Collective Agreements and terms and conditions of employment contain special provisions for the payment of maternity or parental allowance to totally disabled employees.

As an employee hired for a specified period, you should ensure that your remaining period of employment will permit you to fulfill your return-to-work agreement. However, if your period of employment will end prior to the time you need to fulfill your return-to-work agreement, you may want to consider waiting until you are certain your employment will be extended to make a retroactive application for payment of this allowance. Otherwise, all or part of this allowance will have to be recovered, as your return-to-work agreement will not be fulfilled.

Should you fail to return to work, or should you return to work but fail to work for the total period specified in your agreement, you will be required to repay the allowance or portion of the allowance. Refer to the relevant authorities such as your collective agreement and/or the various terms and conditions of employment specific to your classification group for details of the calculations.

In general, maternity allowance payments consist of the following:

• 93% of your weekly rate of pay for each week of the waiting period under the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan minus any earnings made during this period
• for each week that you are eligible for maternity or parental benefit under the employment insurance or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, you will receive the difference between 93% of your weekly rate and the maternity or parental benefit minus any earnings made during this period

Additional eligibility criteria can be found at the employment insurance site. Visit the benefit types page if you will be claiming benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.

The maternity or parental allowance will be paid at your acting rate if you have been acting for a period in excess of 4 months and are acting on the day immediately preceding the maternity or parental leave.

Your maternity or parental allowance will be adjusted to reflect changes to your salary as a result of a pay increment and/or a salary revision.

The Pay Centre will provide you with a letter outlining the effects that your maternity or parental leave will have on your pay, insurances and benefits. You will also be provided with:

• a return to work agreement to be completed, signed and returned to the Pay Centre
• an option for advance payment of the estimated amount to be signed and returned to the Pay Centre should you wish an advance of the maternity or parental allowance while awaiting approval from employment insurance or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan; and
• if you are a resident of Quebec, an employee statement required for Quebec Parental Insurance Benefits to be completed signed and returned to the Pay Centre

A web-based record of employment will be completed on your behalf in the week your earnings are interrupted and retained at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. In the event you’d like to make a claim for employment insurance, this information is required in order to establish your eligibility and level of benefits. Information about applying for Employment Insurance benefits can be obtained online at Service Canada or from your local Service Canada office.

You will be provided with an option form for completion, should you wish to receive advance payments of the estimated amount you will be entitled to. The advance payment will be for the first three instalments (equivalent to six weeks) of the estimated amount.

You should provide the original proof to the Pay Centre as soon as you receive payment stubs or entitlement letter from employment insurance or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan indicating your eligibility. Subsequent proof of entitlement should be provided on a monthly basis, and at the very latest, at the end of your maternity leave. They should be forwarded to the Pay Centre under cover of a pay action request form.

Reconciliation will be undertaken once you provide proof of receipt of employment insurance or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan parental benefits. Your estimated advance payments will be reconciled with what the original payments should have been. Should there be an underpayment or overpayment, your next payment will be adjusted accordingly.

As maternity or parental benefits and the duration of leave are calculated and based on the date of birth/adoption of your child, the Pay Centre requires a copy of your child’s birth certificate. You should provide the Pay Centre with a copy of the birth certificate as soon as you receive the original. It should be forwarded to the Pay Centre under cover of a pay action request form. The Pension Centre will also require a copy of your child’s birth certificate. Additional information can be found on the pension and benefits website under becoming a parent.

Failure to submit the payment stubs or entitlement letter will result in a calculation of an overpayment of the allowance which will be treated as a debt to the crown and recovered from your first available funds. It/they should be forwarded to the Pay Centre under cover of a pay action request form.

The relevant authorities such as your collective agreement and/or the various terms and conditions of employment specific to your classification group contains special provisions for the payment of maternity or parental allowance to totally disabled employees.

The Pay Centre will provide you with information relative to amending your insurance coverage to include your newborn or adopted child. Detailed information can be found on the Pension and Benefits website under becoming a parent.