What Is Mat Leave In Bc

An unpaid maternity leave of up to 17 weeks if you are the birth mother which can be combined with an unpaid parental leave of up to 61 weeks to extend your total time off work.

What is mat leave in bc. The following changes will be in effect for 1 year and could apply to you. If you re taking parental leave and have included this leave with your maternity leave application please refer to the parental leave. If your child was born or placed with you for the purpose of adoption on or after march 17 2019 and you share employment insurance parental benefits with another parent you may be eligible for. Sex discrimination includes both discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and failing to allow a woman to return to work at the conclusion of her maternity parental leave.

So employers and employees in bc need to know what is the law and what has changed. Parental leave is available following the 17 weeks of maternity leave and extends time off of up to 52 weeks if standard parental leave is selected or up to 78 weeks if extended parental leave is selected. Becoming a parent is a major event. To summarize bc parents who take maternity and or parental leave from work are entitled to job protection within certain defined limits.

You only need 120 insured hours to qualify for benefits because you ll get a one time credit. In 2017 the canadian government announced plans to offer an 18 month option instead of the traditional 12 month mat leave and the first round of parents to take this lengthened leave will be back to work in may 2019. The law on pregnancy and parental leave in bc pregnancy and parental leaves. 8 extra weeks of extended parental benefits.

With an 18 month schedule you get 33 percent distributed over 18 months instead of 55 percent distributed over 12 months. During this public health emergency employees can take this job protected leave for the reasons above as long as they need it without putting their job at risk. Maternity leave in canada. Whether you re taking maternity leave in ontario maternity leave in alberta maternity leave in manitoba or maternity leave in british columbia we all have the same access to 12 months or 18 months of parental leave.

We are very lucky in canada to have a 12 month parental leave and now 18 month parental leave. Under the bc employment standards act the following unpaid leaves are available. 5 extra weeks of standard parental benefits or. As of september 27 2020 there are some temporary changes to the ei program to help you access ei maternity and parental benefits.

Parental leave is 61 weeks for parents who took maternity leave and 62 weeks for fathers or adopting parents. The covid 19 leave is retroactive to january 27 2020 the date that the first presumptive covid 19 case was confirmed in british columbia. You must start your parental leave within 78 weeks after your child s birth or placement.