In Ontario, employees who have commenced a maternity or parental leave may be entitled to Employment Insurance (“EI”) maternity and parental benefits if they have accumulated at least 600 hours of insurable employment during the qualifying period and their normal weekly earnings have been reduced by more than 40% because of pregnancy or the need to care for a newborn or newly adopted child(ren).
EI maternity benefits are available to biological mothers who cannot work because they are pregnant or have recently given birth for up to a maximum of 15 weeks.
EI parental benefits also are available to parents caring for a newborn or newly adopted child(ren) and can be received as a standard or extended benefit. For example, the standard parental benefit is available for up to a maximum of 35 weeks and provides a weekly benefit rate of 55% of the individual parent’s average weekly insurable earnings. By comparison, the extended parental benefit is available for up to a maximum of 61 weeks (or in some cases 63 weeks) and provides a weekly benefit rate of 33% of the individual parent’s average weekly insurable earnings.
If you have any further inquiries relating to your entitlements while on pregnancy and/or parental leave, or are seeking legal advice in the event of a conflict, please contact Toronto employment lawyers, Sultan Lawyers at 416-214-5111 or via email to khayward@sultanlawyers.com.