The post is part of the Baby Expenses Series. See the entire series here.
In Canada, new mothers are allowed by law to take 52 weeks off from their jobs. This time off is called maternity leave. During that period they are eligible for employment insurance (EI) benefits which are calculated as 55% of their normal earnings up to a maximum salary of $40,000. Some companies also offer a “top up” which usually involves paying the difference between what the mother gets from EI and some percentage of their normal salary. The top up amount and duration will vary from company to company – I’d be interested to hear what your company offers?
New fathers are allowed to take up to 37 weeks off which is called parental leave however the EI benefits that are paid out have to be shared between the mother and father so they can’t both collect EI benefits at the same time. In my case my wife didn’t qualify for EI since she wasn’t working so I was able to collect EI benefits when I took my parental leave. The “top up” feature available to new mothers at some companies is also available to new fathers in some cases. At my company, most dads don’t get any EI since their wife gets all the EI benefits so their top up is calculated as though they were getting EI.
One misconception which I’ve heard from a number of my friends is that the time off has to be shared between the two parents and can’t total more than a year – this is not true, only the EI benefits have to be shared.
The EI benefits is calculated as 55% of the mother’s salary up to a salary of $40,000. The first two weeks of the maternity leave are unpaid so the EI benefits actually start on the the third week. My salary is more than $40k so I received the maximum benefit which is $413 per week. The actual payment after tax ($48) was $778 which I received every two weeks. In my case the withholding tax wasn’t enough but I think my company adjusted for it because I didn’t owe anything at tax time. You should keep in mind that you might end up owing some money at tax time because of this. You can get the withholding tax increased if desired.
The way to apply for EI is to go online at here. This contains all the steps you need. It also contains a link to the Quebec parental insurance plan which is different than for the other provinces. Basically you go online and fill out the required information and they will send you a pin number which will allow you to go here and see your online information. One of the items you will need from your employer is a form called “Record of Employment” which basically lists your financial employment for the past year. I went into my local Service Canada Centre when I got this form in order to complete my application. Applying for EI is not something you can do in advance, you have to wait until you have finished work before applying.
Something to keep in mind is that it will take about four to six weeks to get your first EI benefit deposited into your bank account, so don’t count on getting any money right away. Usually once you start getting them, you’ll get two or even three payments right away and then every two weeks after that.
When I was receiving EI benefits, I used the reporting feature of the online account to fill out my report every two weeks. This report basically says that you aren’t looking for work, are still not working etc. However in researching this post I realized that you can sign a declaration of exemption when applying which means you don’t have to fill out the reports every two weeks.
Tomorrow, I’ll be starting a series of posts where I take a look at the essential items that new parents should have.
103 replies on “Maternity and Parental Leave – Baby Expenses I”
R.G.: We’re just a couple of guys who mouth off on the Internet. This is the sort of question you want to discuss with your family, friends and a lawyer if you decide to go that route.
If you google “employee rights” and whatever country you live in you might be able to find more resources to inform your decision.
If you INSIST on advice from us, my recommendation would be to have your newborn baby trained as a Ninja and encourage him/her to take revenge on those who have wronged you (that’s my plan if I ever have kids).
(see what I mean about getting advice from anonymous people on the Internet? Its not really “Grade A” stuff…)
Hi,
i already post the question about lay-off on maternity. Yes, I am laid off and I can not have EI because I used it as maternity/parental.
R.G call EI and ask them (see on their web site for the tel#). As I understand you can have 50 weeks paid either as EI or maternity/parental, but you need to have 700h working (for ontario) before you can get the EI.
RG try not to quit your job, ask to place you back on not-harassing position, or call employment standard 1800-531-5551 and ask about your rights.
Other option is to talk to the labor lawyer: call lawyer referral services 1900-565-4577 (6$ per call) and they will give you referral# to have free consultation with the lawyer.
Thanks Tatjana i will give them a call…..i guess since i have 750 working hours since august i should be able to get some mat leave..I have called HR about being descriminated against , I am just waiting for them to call me back to let me know what i need to do next…. lolz@mr. Cheap good advice thanks…..
Thanks for answering my previous question above.
I have decided to stay with the company where I am working now as a part-time teacher at a college. This job is always contract. I have worked for them for a year now and each session (every 13 weeks) I sign a new contract.
What are my rights in terms of getting my job back once I decide to go back to work?
A friend of mine is afraid that they may not take me back as I am on contract and she also mentioned I shouldn’t say I am pregnant to anyone as its not required by law, even though I am showing.
What are the laws re: getting your job back if you are only part-time/contract? And, should I tell?
Thanks
Leah (now in 2nd trimester, 4 months)
Leah – as Mr. Cheap said – we’re just a couple of yahoos who like to mouth off on the internet. I know nothing about labour laws – this post was just to go over the basics of mat and pat leave.
I suspect if you are contract then the company might not be under any obligation to hire you back – but again – check with a labour lawyer if you want to be certain.
As for not telling them – I don’t really see the wisdom of that – they’re going to figure it out pretty soon (if they haven’t already).
My wife is pregnant. We think we go home /in Europe / 4-5 months before birth. She is not eligible for maternity leave. Would I be eligible for parental leave if i quit my job 4 months before birth? I would still have enough hours worked in 52 weeks before birth and salary over 40 000 earned in same period.
[…] Maternity and Parental Leave in Canada. […]
Wow.. what a fun chat room! Ive been learning so much just with scrolling down and reading… my my question hasnt been answered. I have worked at my job as a Support Worker for 4 years. I am now on Maternity Leave ( 3 weeks in). Everything is fine and dandy, but my plans after my year off are to not return to work. I plan on starting my own home daycare. I’m being told that I have to return to my previous employment after my year is up, otherwise I have to pay back all my EI benefits Ive received in the past year. Can I just tell my boss after the year is finished that I want to quit? or do I have to go back for a “little bit” and then quit so I don’t have to pay back EI. I do not receive “Top Up” pay… just my regular 55% pay that Ive paid into.
And I do not have any medical benefits through them. Everything is through my husband. Thanks so much. Looking forward to the answer 🙂
Wanna Stay Home – I’ve never heard of having to pay back the EI. I would check with your employment office to get the official answer though.
Hi, My maternity benefits finishes in Aug but yet I have not been able to secure daycare (have been on subsidy list since oct 2008 in Durham region but they are still working on Feb 2008) for my baby. I am a single mother and do not have family here that can help as everybody works. Can I go from maternity to regular EI? I also looked into doing some training courses but was told that I wont qualify as I have a job to go back to. If I go to work and pay the full fee of daycare then I cannot pay my mortgage and the daycare fee is more then my mortgage do I have any othere options besides welfare?.
Thanks in Advance
Hi i am expecting my baby in Nov End. but my one year will be completed on Dec 30th with the current employer. previously i was full time employee with another co. till Dec 2008, now i am part time there, works only one or 2 shifts in a month with them. but regular employee with this new job since Dec 2008. Am i still eligible for full benefits of maternity as there is no gap in my employement , not even my status, just employer is changed ( for full time job.). I am worried as i read on the website that one should be employed with the same employer for 1 year ( what that mean). i am working in Manitoba. Please give me advice if there is any problem in my case. let me know when should i apply for EI to get the maximum benefits.
Hi KG – I don’t think you have to work with only one employer. In Ontario you have to get a record of employment from each employer – I suspect you’ll have do something similar in Manitoba.
In Ontario you have to wait until you finish work to apply for EI.
I would suggest calling your local employment office to find out the details.
Let’s say for hypothetical reasons i don’t feel like going back to work once my time is up, and i don’t want to Collect EI after my last weeks on parental leave.
I’m wondering what happens when i say I don’t want to come back.
Hey guys… If anyone can help me out on this it would be much appreciated. I was working at a very stressful job that I hated for almost a year, before finding out I was pregnant about 2 months ago. Last week, I had a bit of a breakdown and told my boss I was quitting on the spot. Their response was to give me a week off to think about it.
I am wondering a bunch if things now, such as if I can go on stress leave now for a couple months, then return and immeadiatly take maternity leave, is that possible? Or if I get another job anywhere, will I still qualify for paid maternity leave eventually? Is there any other way I can some fianacial help after quitting? I tried looking at the government website about employment and stuff but couldn’t find any answers. I am a canadian citizen in alberta.
I really need some kind of help as I am only 19 and live with my man who doesn’t have a job right now (he’s on e.i taking a college course
). I’m scared.
i am on parental leave right now, does my employer have to return my position to me when my leave is up or they allowed to give my position to someone else and let me go. my boss is telling me that if i come back they may have work for me. this is why i am asking
Hi there.. If some One could help me out.. I waz working with a company before getting pregnent.. I used to get about 400-500 biweekly thn I got pregnant n continued to work the same for first 3 months.. Then it started getting difficult to work so I limit my hours and thn I used to get about 100 bucks bi weekly.. Although i hav completed 600 hours gir the benefits so u wanted to ask how much I can expect to get as my maternity benefits??
I have a question. My wife does not qualify for EI. Am I able to make a claim and continue to work and just have her collect the EI benefit on my behalf. Or do I have to stop work before I can claim.
@Lenny – You have to stop work in order to claim.
Thanks I thought that was probably be the case. Are there any other programs to help mother that don’t qualify for EI?
Hi,
I am currently 3 months pregnant. Due to pregnancy related complications, I have taken short term disability benefit for around 40 days. I will start going to office again next week. My concern is whether there is any effect of short term disability benefit payout (70% off salary in my case) on the EI benefit? While calculating the 55% of my salary for EI benefit, will it be on my immediate gross salary? What should be the minimum time for which I should be earning my last drawn salary so that I get 55% of the same and not the 55% of the already reduced salary due to STD benefit? Does the accumulation of 600 hrs apply immediately before taking the EI benefit and after STD benefit? I don’t want to end up getting 55% of STD salary which is already 70% of my gross salary.
I’m 2months pragnent’ icant seeem to figure to out how much ill get paid for my maternity leave , imake $460.00 per week can someone please let me know .
Hello,
I ll like to know if someone can answer my question. I am a father since 5 months and I ll like to take parental leave, is it possible? My girl friend, she never asks for maternity leave.
I am working for the same employer 8 years in calgary.
I have been working for a temp agency for the last year as a casual employee, this means I don’t qualify for mat leave right?
I am worried how I will support my family when the new baby comes.
Any suggestions?
Can you tell me how much I will earn after 52 weeks at the rate of 41 000$ on EI? Will I be able to earn the max. amount I believe that would be around 400$ weekly?
thank you,
Hello, I have 35 weeks of parental benefits and I’ve only used 5 of those weeks. I’m thinking about returning to work in 3 or 4 weeks so what I want to know is:
If I return to work my Employment Insurance claim is going to be closed? If that is the case, can I re open it later so I can claim the rest of the weeks I didn’t use ?
I live in Hamilton Ontario.
Hey,
I was wondering if you have to work a year AND acquire 600 hours to qualify, or if you need only have worked 600 hours within the period of a year. It’s a bit confusing…
Hi,
I just had our baby and applied for maternity benefits. Can my husband apply for paternity benefits at the same time? How would that work?
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi,
I am harry, I just want to confirm that can we (husband & wife) go on paternity leave on same time. My wife is starting the maternity from nov 07, 2012 & when can I get parent leave. Nobody can me clear my this point.
secondly my wife is going on maternity from nov 07, 2012, but her company mistakely sent the ROE to service canada. She talked with them, They said we don’t know anything now? What I shoud to ask them now. Can they send it again or not? I should to talk with service canada or not? leave on company all of it or not?
Last point If we both are on parently leave Can we go on back home (india ) or not?
please send me reply all of these points
THANKS
I just found out that I am 6 weeks pregnant. I started a new job 3 months ago. Do I need to be working at the same place for a year to eligible for ei or do I just need 600 hours of insurance hours?
Hi,
I worked in calgary 1 year and 3 month and went for 1 year maternity leave now I am pregnant again. for second pregnancy how many hours I have to work till be eliguble for maternity leave?
Hi,
If my wife took a one year maternity leave, can I, the husband, take a parental leave for 3 months when she goes back to work after maternity? Will I get EI for 3 months even though she got EI for one year?
Thanks.
N
I just found out Im almost 6 months pregnant again, (I had no idea till now, as I didnt have the symptoms and was still regular every month) and am still on mat leave until end of August with our other child. I wont have built up enough time to qualify for EI. Which makes it really scary because we barely scrape by as it is, without me having to go without pay while I recupperate from haviing our 3rd child. Is there something else out there to help out women who dont qualify for EI?
Hi There, Can any one help me with this please. I am not covered by EI. My baby is now almost 11 months old. My husband has been working over 2 years as a contractor and he is eligible for EI. Is it too late for him to apply EI parental benifit. will he still be eligible for 34 weeks. or EI parental benifit expires when the baby become 1 year old. Thank you
Hi,
I was wondering the answer to this scenario
If for example, I am self-employed, and my husband has EI benefits and is employed, if I (the mother) would like to be the one to stay home with the baby, can I collect his EI benefits/top up, while he keeps working? So, I stay home let’s say for 17 weeks or however long we can collect, and he keeps working and earning a salary? Then he would be maxed out of EI benefits/top up for the year, and won’t be able to collect anything of course. Is this how it works? And if so, will this be based on his salary or mine?
Thanks!
Hi there please help me. My wife is not working and I’m in a full time job I made around 25000 including tax last year and this year I almost made 21000 including tax till end of august. Now I’m planning to take parental leave for 36 weeks. So roughly how much I’ll get if I apply for EI. If they pay less than 1000 for a month which is not enough to run my family in that case can I request service Canada about my situation that is one income family as my wife not working .
Thank you
Haja
Hello,
I am gana go on mat leave soon… I will also apply for parental leave.I am not sure if the 55% will be based on my income (which is min wage with unregular hours) or family net income including my husbands income!!
Hi,
I need some clarification. I have been working at the same place for 3 years. I am due on March 6th, 2015 and live in Ontario. I need to know what percentage of pay I will get when off on Maternity leave so that I can plan my expenses however my HR department keeps pushing this conversation off and I am getting very worried.
If I make just a touch more than 40k a year what might I be bringing home monthly? Would you know where I can go to figure this out?
Thank you for your help.
Im on matt leave now and am wondering how many hours do I have to work before being eligible for matt leave again?
If I get fired before I can take my perental leave can I still apply for it ?
Hi
Quick question…. If the mother is a stay at home mom and hasn’t worked for a few years is the husband eligible for paternal EI. Personally I see no reason for a husband to take time off if the wife doesn’t work anyways… Other than to get free money for sitting at home doing nothing. Also if the man on paternal EI works as a taxi driver and gets paid cash and didnt claim it wouldn’t this be illegal?
Thanks
If my husband quits his job 2 months before my due date (for personal reasons), is he eligible for parental EI? I am not eligible.
Thanks!
“New fathers are allowed to take up to 37 weeks off which is called parental leave however the EI benefits that are paid out have to be shared between the mother and father so they can’t both collect EI benefits at the same time.”
The article is possibly incorrect on this point: (1) some parents online report receiving benefits concurrently, and (2) the Service Canada site claims otherwise at http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/faq/faq_special.shtml#partner
“Question: Can my partner receive parental benefits while I am being paid maternity benefits? Answer: Yes. Between you and your partner you have 35 weeks of parental benefits and you can divide those weeks any way you like. …”
Here is another link relevant to my previous comment. http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/digest/13_1_0.shtml
“… At the same time, eligibility was expanded so that parental benefits could be paid to either parent, or be divided between them, and may even be collected simultaneously.”
I was wondering if you have to work a year AND acquire 600 hours to qualify, or if you need only have worked 600 hours within the period of a year. It’s a bit confusing…
This question would fall under other monies when on mat. leave on your E.I. claim .If a women is on mat. leave does she have to claim money left to her from an estate (e.g.) $30,000.00.
I am only getting 400 from Maternity EI. I had been working there for 10 months, my salary isn’t surpassing 40K, which I wonder why I am getting so little while I read that some people are getting 500.
Hi! I have applied for my maternity & parental benefits. I’m planning to go back to Philippines to spend those weeks of my leave… Will I still be getting my claims even if I’m outside Canada?
Good day,
Is there some other organizations or government programs to assist you, if you don’t have enough hours to qualify for Maternity Leave.
Thank you,
Hi. I have a big problem I applied for maternity/parental leave before I gave birth. I received my maternity benefit tlnow they said I received my last pay today I dont know what to do as I thought I will be getting pay until i come back to work on november 2016. I thought I applied for maternity/parental benefit already. Help………..
I am now 3 months late for teh parental application because i was not aware of it i thought i applied already for both. I dont know what to do. Will i be getting the benefit still? I am still unable to work and now dont know how to pay bills