Today, three new job protected leaves of absence come into effect under the Employment Standards Act: (1) Family Caregiver Leave, (2) Critically Ill Child Care Leave, and (3) Crime-Related Child Death and Disappearance Leave.
We have been actively following the progress of Bill 21, the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Leaves to Help Families), 2013, since March 2013 when I wrote about what job protections are available when a family member gets sick and you need to take leave from work, and again when I wrote in September 2013 about how the Bill passed second reading.
What you need to know about the 3 new leaves:
The new leaves of absence allows caregivers to focus their attention on what matters most: providing care and support to their loved ones without the fear of losing their job.
The existing Family Medical Leave
The act builds on the existing Family Medical Leave under the ESA: if a family member is terminally ill, an employee is entitled to 8 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave. An employee who takes Family Medical Leave is also eligible to apply for up to 6 weeks of Compassionate Care Benefits under the Federal Employment Insurance Act.
What has been added to the existing Family Medical Leave policy?
The new leaves of absence add additional unpaid job-protected leave for caregivers by offering:
- Family Caregiver Leave: up to 8 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees to provide care and support to a family member with a serious medical condition.
- Critically Ill Child Care Leave: up to 37 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to provide care to a critically ill child.
- Crime-Related Child Death and Disappearance Leave: up to 52 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for parents of a missing child and up to 104 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for parents of a child that has died as a result of a crime.
What this means for Employers:
Employers need to ensure that contracts with employees and workplace policies are updated to reflect the new changes.
What this means for Employees:
If you provide care and support to a family member with a serious medical condition or a critically ill child, or are the parents of a missing child or a child that has died as a result of a crime, the new leaves of absence apply to you. If your employer has not helped you understand the new policies and how they effect you, you should seek legal advice to make sure that your employer is complying with the new policy.
