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Maternity leave

If you are a birth mother, you are eligible for maternity leave of up to 17 consecutive weeks, provided you were hired at least 13 weeks before your expected delivery date. You may start your leave as early as 17 weeks before your expected delivery date and as late as the day of delivery. Your leave must not end before six weeks after your delivery date.

If your maternity leave ends within the period of your existing contract, you will return to your previous position or will be provided with similar work at the same rate of pay for the remainder of your appointment. If you return after your contract has terminated, you will be eligible to apply for positions in the following semester.

Benefits

You will receive the lesser of:

  • The balance of pay owing under your contract, and
  • 95% of your salary for 62.5 hours.

If you are collecting Employment Insurance benefits while on maternity leave, any benefit payments from the University during this period will be reduced by any amount that is over 95% of your total compensation, when the benefits you receive from the University and Employment Insurance are combined.

While on maternity leave, you may choose to continue your participation in group insurance benefits by continuing to pay your required contributions.

Notifying the University

You must notify your department or faculty in writing at least one month before the start of your maternity leave. At that point, your department/faculty will notify Human Resources, who will provide you with information and assistance for planning your leave.

Additional information

Record of Employment – A Record of Employment is created and submitted to Service Canada up to five calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the leave begins. Based on your province of residence, you must apply for Employment Insurance or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan benefits and provide the University with proof of receipt of Employment Insurance or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan benefits.