Parent Time

Until now, many parents spent more time waiting for a baby than they did at home with their child after birth. This is about to change thanks to revisions to the Employment Insurance Act. As of December 31, 2000, it will be easier to qualify for benefits, and the payments will last longer than ever before. Here's what you need to know before you start planning your new addition:

1. What's new in the legislation?

The most significant change is the length of time that new parents may collect Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. In the past, a woman who gave birth could collect benefits for a total of 25 weeks, or about six months. Under the new legislation, that same woman will be entitled to collect for up to 50 weeks, or about a year.

Here's how it breaks down. Women who give birth are entitled to 15 weeks of pregnancy benefits to recover from delivery and care for the baby. Parental benefits - which can be taken by a woman or a man, after a pregnancy or adoption - have increased from ten weeks to 35 weeks.

2. I'm pregnant. How does the new legislation affect me?

If your child is born on or after December 31, you are entitled to 15 weeks of pregnancy leave plus the extended 35 weeks of parental benefits. Therefore, following an initial two-week waiting period, you can stay home with your baby and collect Employment Insurance benefits for almost a year.

If you become ill during your pregnancy, you may be able to collect EI sick benefits for 15 weeks. Under the old system, you could combine sick benefits with pregnancy and parental benefits to a maximum of 30 weeks, lengthening the usual leave by five weeks. Now, the longest you can collect benefits for is 50 weeks. Therefore, if you use 15 weeks of sick benefits and 15 weeks of pregnancy benefits, you will only have 20 weeks of parental benefits to split with the father.

3. I'm an expectant father. What am I entitled to?

You can collect parental benefits for up to 35 weeks if your child is born on or after December 31 and you meet the requirements set out in Question 5.

Parental benefits must be used before your baby's first birthday. It's up to you and your partner to decide how to use them. For example, after she takes 15 weeks of pregnancy leave, you can stay home for the next 35 weeks. Or you may decide to take shifts: She takes the first six months off and you stay home for the next six. Or you can both stay home at the same time. If the benefits are split, only one parent is required to serve the two-week waiting period before receiving benefits.

4. I am adopting a child. Am I entitled to Employment Insurance benefits?

If you are adopting a child who will be placed with you on or after December 31, you will be entitled to 35 weeks of parental benefits if you meet the requirements set out in Question 5. You must serve a two-week waiting period before receiving benefits. If your child was placed with you before December 31, you are eligible for only ten weeks' benefits.

5. How do I qualify for pregnancy or parental benefits?

You must satisfy two requirements. First, you must stop working and earning an income. Second, you must have worked a minimum of 600 hours of insurable employment (i.e., had EI premiums deducted from your pay) in the 52 weeks before your claim. This is another change: The minimum used to be 700 hours. You will be given credit for all hours, including full-time and part-time work, compressed work weeks and overtime. It doesn't matter if you were only employed for a few months in the year before the baby's arrival; as long as you worked 600 hours you are eligible.

6. How much will I receive if I qualify?

Weekly benefits are paid at a rate of 55 percent of your weekly insurable earnings. In the year 2000, the annual maximum of insurable earnings was $39,000, or $750 per week. Therefore, the maximum rate of weekly benefits was $413 per week (55 percent of $750). There was no indication at press time that this amount would change in 2001.

You are allowed to earn up to $50, or 25 percent of your weekly benefit, whichever is higher, without affecting parental benefits. Any additional income will be deducted from your weekly benefit. However, any income earned while receiving pregnancy benefits will be deducted dollar-for-dollar.

7. How do I apply for pregnancy or parental benefits?

You need to fill out an application in person at your local Employment Insurance office. (Look for the nearest office in the Blue Pages of your telephone book under the heading Human Resources Development Canada.) You must also provide your social insurance number and all Records of Employment for the 52 weeks prior to your claim. Ask your employer's personnel or human resources department for a Record of Employment. It will indicate the length of time that you have worked for that employer and the number of hours worked in the relevant period. If you worked at more than one place in the 52 weeks leading up to your claim, you should submit a Record of Employment from each employer. You can apply for these benefits up to ten weeks before the expected due date.

Women who are applying for pregnancy benefits must fill out the baby's expected delivery date. As soon as possible after your child is born, you must notify (in person, by mail or by phone) your local EI office of the actual birth date. You can apply for both pregnancy and parental benefits at the same time using the same form.

In addition to completing the application form and submitting all Records of Employment from the last 52 weeks, fathers must provide the child's birthdate. When he applies for parental benefits, he must supply the names and social insurance numbers of both parents.

Parents adopting a child must provide Records of Employment, the name and address of the adoption agency and the date of placement.

8. When can I start collecting pregnancy and parental benefits?

You have a 25-week window in which you can receive pregnancy benefits, following the two-week waiting period. Although you must collect within 17 weeks after the actual or expected week of delivery (whichever is later), you may opt to begin collecting up to eight weeks before your due date (provided you have stopped receiving an income, as outlined above). You may start collecting parental benefits immediately following the end of the pregnancy benefit period.

Parental benefits can only be collected once your child is born or actually placed for adoption with you (following a two-week waiting period, if it has not already been served by one partner). The benefits must be collected within 52 weeks of your child's birth or placement.

9. Is my job protected while I'm away?

Just because you can collect benefits for 50 weeks doesn't mean your employer has to keep your job open for that long. Unless you work for a bank, airline or some other federally regulated employer, your job protection runs out long before your EI benefits.

In the past, federally regulated employers held jobs open for a pregnant employee for 41 weeks, even though she could collect benefits for only 25 of those weeks. When the benefit period was lengthened to 52 weeks (including the two-week wait), so was the length of time her job was protected. At the end of a year, an employee is guaranteed her job, or a comparable one if the original doesn't exist. Fathers and adoptive parents employed in the federal arena have job protection for 35 weeks.

The federal government expects the provinces to make the same change to protect all employees no matter which sector they work in. So far, it hasn't happened. Right now, the job of a pregnant woman working for an Ontario company (both private and public sector) is only protected for 35 weeks. If that woman wishes to take advantage of the year-long benefits, she may be putting her job in jeopardy. Fathers and adoptive parents have job protection for only 18 weeks.

10. What are the critics saying about these changes?

There are two main criticisms of the amended legislation. First, little has been done to expand the scope of those who qualify for benefits. Although the required hours of insurable employment were lowered, many part-time or temporary jobs - which are held predominantly by women - don't provide the hours needed to qualify. In addition, there is no mechanism to allow self-employed people to opt in. Statistics show that, following childbirth, self-employed women return to work more quickly than other workers.

Secondly, although benefits are provided for a longer period, payments haven't increased. Unfortunately, parents who simply can't afford to live on a meagre 55 percent of their salary won't be able to take advantage of the extended leave, especially after the arrival of a new family member. It appears Canada isn't entirely family-friendly yet, but we're taking baby steps.

Melanie Manning practises employment and labour law in Toronto. She is co-author of Pregnancy, the Workplace & the Law (Canada Law Book), to be published this spring/ summer.

This article is for information only and is not legal advice. Please consult a lawyer concerning your individual circumstances.

December/January 2001