Parental Benefits
Your employer is required to grant you a certain number of weeks of maternity,
parental or adoption leave, but they are not required to pay you during that time.
Here are some questions you may want to ask your employer:
Will I receive a top-up? Some employers will offer a “top-up” benefit, which
pays a portion of your regular salary in addition to your Employment
Insurance (EI) for a specific period of time.
How much leave am I eligible
for? Check your employee
benefits and find out what your
employer’s policies are about
paid and unpaid leaves and
vacation time.
What are my health and dental
benefits while on leave? If
your employer provides health
and dental benefits, check to
see if you still have coverage
while on leave. If not, and you
want to keep them, remember
to include the premiums in your budget and
ask your employer how you can continue to
get benefits while you’re on leave.
Questions to ask your employer about maternity or parental leave
Photo credit Bill Selak via Visual Hunt CC BY-ND
How much income tax will be withheld? If you receive a top-up from your
employer, make sure there’s enough tax being withheld; otherwise you
may end up with an unexpected tax bill when you file your income tax
return at the end of the year.
Did you know?
If your newborn or newly adopted child is hospitalized, the 35-week parental benefit
timeframe can be extended by the number of weeks your child is in the hospital.
You can apply for EI maternity benefits before you give birth. In fact, you can start receiving
benefits during the eighth week before the actual week you give birth.
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