Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2)

General

Marginal note:Notification to employer

• 207 (1) Every employee who intends to take a leave of absence from employment under section 206 or 206.1 shall

  • (a) unless there is a valid reason for not doing so, give at least four weeks notice in writing to the employer before the day on which the leave is to begin; and

  • (b) inform the employer in writing of the length of leave intended to be taken.

• Marginal note:Exception — valid reason

  (1.1) If there is a valid reason for not providing notice in accordance with paragraph (1)(a), the employee shall notify the employer in writing as soon as possible that the employee intends to take a leave of absence.

• Marginal note:Change in length of leave

  (2) Every employee who intends to take or who is on a leave of absence from employment under section 206 or 206.1 shall provide the employer with notice in writing of at least four weeks of any change in the length of leave intended to be taken, unless there is a valid reason why that notice cannot be given, in which case the employee shall provide the employer with notice in writing as soon as possible.

Marginal note:Minimum periods of leave

207.01 Subject to the regulations, a leave of absence under any of sections 206.3 to 206.5 may only be taken in one or more periods of not less than one week’s duration.

Marginal note:Interruption

• 207.02 (1) An employee may interrupt a leave of absence referred to in any of sections 206.3 to 206.5 in order to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239(1) or 239.1(1).

• Marginal note:Resumption

  (2) The interrupted leave resumes immediately after the interruption ends.

• Marginal note:Exception — medical leave

  (3) Except to the extent that it is inconsistent with subsection 239(7), section 209.1 applies to an employee who interrupted the leave in order to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239(1).

• (3.1) [Repealed, 2021, c. 26, s. 23]

• Marginal note:Exception  — work-related illness or injury

  (4) Except to the extent that it is inconsistent with subsections 239.1(3) and (4), section 209.1 applies to an employee who interrupted the leave in order to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239.1(1).

Marginal note:Notice to employer  — interruption of leave

• 207.1 (1) An employee who intends to interrupt their leave under subsection 206.1(2.4) or 207.02(1) shall provide the employer with a notice in writing of the interruption before or as soon as possible after it begins.

• Marginal note:Notice to employer  — resumption of leave

  (2) The employee shall provide the employer with a notice in writing of the day on which they resume their leave before or as soon as possible after that day.

Marginal note:Notification to employer — interruption for child’s hospitalization

• 207.2 (1) An employee who intends to interrupt their maternity or parental leave in order to return to work as a result of the hospitalization of his or her child shall provide the employer with a notice in writing of the interruption as soon as possible.

• Marginal note:Employer’s decision

  (2) The employer shall, within one week after receiving the notice, advise the employee in writing of the employer’s decision to accept or refuse the employee’s return to work.

• Marginal note:Refusal

  (3) If the employer refuses the interruption or does not advise the employee within the week referred to in subsection (2), the leave under section 206 or 206.1 is extended by the number of weeks during which the child is hospitalized. The aggregate amounts of leave referred to in subsection 206.1(3) and section 206.2 are extended by the same number of weeks.

• Marginal note:Certificate

  (4) The employer may, in writing and no later than 15 days after an employee’s return to work, require the employee to provide a certificate issued by a health care practitioner attesting to the child’s hospitalization.

• Marginal note:End of interruption

  (5) An employee who intends to return to their maternity or parental leave after an interruption shall, as soon as possible, advise the employer in writing of the date on which the maternity or parental leave is to resume.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (6) The extension referred to in subsection (3) applies only once in respect of the same child.

Marginal note:Notice to employer of leave

• 207.3 (1) Every employee who takes a leave of absence from employment under any of sections 206.3 to 206.9 shall, as soon as possible, provide the employer with a notice in writing of the reasons for the leave and the length of the leave that they intend to take.

• Marginal note:Notice of change in length of leave

  (2) Every employee who is on a leave of absence from employment under any of sections 206.3 to 206.9 shall, as soon as possible, provide the employer with a notice in writing of any change in the length of the leave that they intend to take.

• Marginal note:Notice — leave of more than four weeks

  (3) If the length of the leave taken under any of sections 206.3 to 206.5 and 206.9 is more than four weeks, the notice in writing of any change in the length of the leave shall be provided on at least four weeks’ notice, unless there is a valid reason why that cannot be done.

• Marginal note:Documentation

  (4) The employer may require the employee to provide documentation in support of the reasons for the leave taken under section 206.4, 206.5 or 206.9 and of any change in the length of leave that the employee intends to take.

• Marginal note:Return to work postponed

  (5) If an employee who takes a leave of more than four weeks under any of sections 206.3 to 206.5 wishes to shorten the length of the leave but does not provide the employer with four weeks’ notice, the employer may postpone the employee’s return to work for a period of up to four weeks after the day on which the employee informs the employer of the new end date of the leave. If the employer informs the employee that their return to work is postponed, the employee is not entitled to return to work until the day that is indicated by the employer.

• Marginal note:Deemed part of leave

  (6) The period of the postponement is deemed to be part of the leave.

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 208 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no employer shall require an employee to take a leave of absence from employment because the employee is pregnant.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) An employer may require a pregnant employee to take a leave of absence from employment if the employee is unable to perform an essential function of her job and no appropriate alternative job is available for that employee.

• Marginal note:Length of leave

  (3) A pregnant employee who is unable to perform an essential function of her job and for whom no appropriate alternative job is available may be required to take a leave of absence from employment only for such time as she is unable to perform that essential function.

• Marginal note:Burden of proof

  (4) The burden of proving that a pregnant employee is unable to perform an essential function of her job rests with the employer.

Marginal note:Application

208.1 Regardless of the time at which an employee makes a request under section 204, the rights and obligations provided under sections 204 and 205 take precedence over the application of subsection 208(2).

Marginal note:Right to notice of employment opportunities

209 Every employee who intends to or is required to take a leave of absence from employment under this Division is entitled, on written request therefor, to be informed in writing of every employment, promotion or training opportunity that arises during the period when the employee is on leave of absence from employment and for which the employee is qualified, and on receiving such a request every employer of such an employee shall so inform the employee.

Marginal note:Resumption of employment in same position

• 209.1 (1) Every employee who takes or is required to take a leave of absence from employment under this Division is entitled to be reinstated in the position that the employee occupied when the leave of absence from employment commenced, and every employer of such an employee shall, on the expiration of any such leave, reinstate the employee in that position.

• Marginal note:Comparable position

  (2) Where for any valid reason an employer cannot reinstate an employee in the position referred to in subsection (1), the employer shall reinstate the employee in a comparable position with the same wages and benefits and in the same location.

• Marginal note:Wages and benefits affected by reorganization

  (3) Where an employee takes leave under this Division and, during the period of that leave, the wages and benefits of the group of employees of which that employee is a member are changed as part of a plan to reorganize the industrial establishment in which that group is employed, that employee is entitled, on being reinstated in employment under this section, to receive the wages and benefits in respect of that employment that that employee would have been entitled to receive had that employee been working when the reorganization took place.

• Marginal note:Notice of changes in wages and benefits

  (4) The employer of every employee who is on a leave of absence from employment under this Division and whose wages and benefits would be changed as a result of a reorganization referred to in subsection (3) shall notify the employee in writing of that change as soon as possible.

Marginal note:Right to benefits

• 209.2 (1) The pension, health and disability benefits and the seniority of any employee who takes or is required to take a leave of absence from employment under this Division shall accumulate during the entire period of the leave.

• Marginal note:Contributions by employee

  (2) Where contributions are required from an employee in order for the employee to be entitled to a benefit referred to in subsection (1), the employee is responsible for and must, within a reasonable time, pay those contributions for the period of any leave of absence under this Division unless, before taking leave or within a reasonable time thereafter, the employee notifies the employer of the employee’s intention to discontinue contributions during that period.

• Marginal note:Contributions by employer

  (2.1) An employer who pays contributions in respect of a benefit referred to in subsection (1) shall continue to pay those contributions during an employee’s leave of absence under this Division in at least the same proportion as if the employee were not on leave unless the employee does not pay the employee’s contributions, if any, within a reasonable time.

• Marginal note:Failure to pay contributions

  (3) For the purposes of calculating the pension, health and disability benefits of an employee in respect of whom contributions have not been paid as required by subsections (2) and (2.1), the benefits shall not accumulate during the leave of absence and employment on the employee’s return to work shall be deemed to be continuous with employment before the employee’s absence.

• Marginal note:Deemed continuous employment

  (4) For the purposes of calculating benefits of an employee who takes or is required to take a leave of absence from employment under this Division, other than benefits referred to in subsection (1), employment on the employee’s return to work shall be deemed to be continuous with employment before the employee’s absence.

Marginal note:Effect of leave

209.21 Notwithstanding the provisions of any income-replacement scheme or any insurance plan in force at the workplace, an employee who takes a leave of absence under this Division is entitled to benefits under the scheme or plan on the same terms as any employee who is absent from work for health-related reasons and is entitled to benefits under the scheme or plan.

Marginal note:Status of certificate

209.22 A certificate issued by a health care practitioner under this Division is conclusive proof of the statements contained in it.

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 209.3 (1) No employer shall dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline an employee because the employee is pregnant or has applied for leave of absence in accordance with this Division or take into account the pregnancy of an employee or the intention of an employee to take leave of absence from employment under this Division in any decision to promote or train the employee.

• Marginal note:Prohibition

  (2) The prohibitions set out in subsection (1) also apply in respect of an employee who has taken a leave of absence under any of sections 206.3 to 206.9.

Marginal note:Regulations

209.4 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) specifying the absences from employment that are deemed not to have interrupted continuous employment referred to in any of sections 206.6 to 206.8;

• (a.1) [Repealed, 2017, c. 20, s. 267]

• (a.2) prescribing the maximum number of periods of leave of absence that an employee may take under any of sections 206.3 to 206.5;

• (b) specifying what does, or does not, constitute an essential function of a job referred to in section 208;

• (c) specifying what does not constitute a valid reason for not reinstating an employee in the position referred to in subsection 209.1(2);

• (d) enlarging the meaning of care and support in subsections 206.3(1) and 206.4(1), and of critically ill adult and critically ill child in subsection 206.4(1);

• (e) prescribing other persons to be included in the meanings of family member in subsections 206.3(1) and 206.4(1);

• (e.1) adapting the terminology of the definitions of care, critically ill adult, critically ill child, family member and support in the regulations made under the Employment Insurance Act for the purposes of the definitions of those terms in subsections 206.3(1) and 206.4(1) of this Act;

• (f) prescribing offences to be excluded from the definition of crime in subsection 206.5(1) and prescribing other persons to be included in the definition of parent in that subsection;

• (g) prescribing shorter periods of consecutive months of continuous employment for the purposes of subsections 206.6(2), 206.7(2.1) and 206.8(1);

• (h) prescribing cases, other than the one set out in subsection 206.5(4), in which an employee is not entitled to a leave of absence and cases in which an employee is entitled to a leave of absence even if they are charged with the crime;

• (h.1) defining family violence for the purposes of section 206.7;

• (h.2) prescribing cases, other than those set out in subsection 206.7(3), in which an employee is not entitled to a leave of absence and cases in which, despite that subsection, an employee is entitled to a leave of absence under subsection 206.7(2);

• (h.3) prescribing documentation that the employer may request under any of subsections 206.6(4), 206.7(5) and 206.8(3);

• (i) prescribing documentation that the employer may require under subsection 207.3(4);

• (j) specifying the circumstances in which a leave under this Division may be interrupted; and

• (k) extending the period within which a leave under this Division may be taken.