Mat Leave

At the end of this month, I will be going on mat leave. I am really looking forward to it and realize that I’m fortunate to be in a position where I can take the maximum allowable time off. My partner is happily employed and can carry most of our financial burden for the first year of our baby’s life. EI will be contributing 55% of my modest pre-baby income, which, even at 100%, is below BC’s living wage (check out the CCPA’s latest report online) but that’s a whole different entry.

My full maternity will actually comprise of 15 weeks maternity leave and 35 weeks parental leave, which, at a total of 50 paid weeks, is the maximum I would get anywhere in the Americas. In Cuba, I would qualify for 18 weeks at 100% pay. In Mexico, 12 weeks at 100%, and, in the Bahamas, 13 weeks at 60%. In the US, shockingly, my maternity leave would not be guaranteed at all. It would be left in the hands of my employer. If the company I work for was covered under the Family Medical Leave Act, I would be guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid leave… That’s right. Unpaid. Some employee-friendly companies would offer up to 6 weeks paid time off.

Although Canada has a generous maternity leave program, a few countries in Europe have leave programs that rival ours in terms of both time off and pay. In Sweden, for example, parents can split 16 months of paid time off, with the “minority” parent taking a minimum of 2 of those months. In Denmark, the parents can split up to 52 weeks off with full benefit. In Bulgaria, Moms can take the first year off at full pay, and the second year off at minimum salary.

Getting back to my completely respectable Canadian mat leave, I wanted to post a few introductory remarks about the benefit for first time Mom. Detailed information is available at the (extensive) Service Canada website… I present you with the basics:

- In order to qualify for leave under the EI program, you must have worked a total of 600 hours in the last year. That’s actually only 15 weeks of full time work.

- You must notify your employer of your expected due date, in writing, a few weeks before that date.

- You should apply for the benefit as soon as you stop working. Your HR department will provide you with a Record of Employment, which is required for completing the online application process.

- There is a 2-week waiting period before your benefits kick in. If you’re applying for both maternity and parental leave, you only have to wait once. This means that your actual leave is 2 weeks longer than your paid leave. In my case, that means I will actually qualify for 52 weeks off, 50 of which will be paid.

- As mentioned, you will receive 55% of your average income (paid in the last 26 weeks), minus federal and provincial tax deductions.

- You cannot work while on maternity leave, but you can earn a little bit extra while on parental leave: up to $75 or 40% of your weekly benefit, whichever is greater.

- Some employers top up your mat benefits. In those cases, if you don’t return to your position at the end of your leave, you will likely have to repay any supplemental benefits you receive during that period. In any case, you do not have to repay your EI benefits if you do not return to work.