Maternity/Parental Benefits - Notice to Employees

DATE: March 30, 2001

TO: Compensation Managers

SUBJECT: Maternity/Parental Benefits - Notice to Employees

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide departments with a sample Notice to Employees that can be used to advise employees, currently on maternity or parental leave without pay, of the changes to the maternity and parental leave without pay provisions of various collective agreements.

This bulletin should be read in conjunction with previous bulletins on this topic, dated November 24, 2000 and February 13, 2001. Please note, as well, that the attached Notice to Employees should be sent only to those employees who are members of the bargaining units that have signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the maternity/parental provisions or that have negotiated new maternity/parental provisions. A chart listing those bargaining units that have concluded revised maternity/parental leave without pay provisions as of this bulletin's date is attached.

Departmental Compensation managers should direct any questions they may have to their corporate Compensation officials who, if need be can contact the Pay Administration Section.

Thomas A. Smith

Director, Pay Administration
Labour Relations Division
Human Resources Branch

Attachment

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES

REVISED MATERNITY/PARENTAL LEAVE WITHOUT PAY PROVISIONS

As you know, Employment Insurance provisions were recently changed to give parents, whose children were born or adopted on December 31, 2000, or after that date, extended Employment Insurance parental benefits from 10 weeks to 35 weeks. The Treasury Board Secretariat has recently signed Memoranda of Agreement with various bargaining agents, revising collective agreement maternity and parental leave without pay provisions to reflect this enhancement. These changes apply to your bargaining unit, (insert the appropriate bargaining unit).

Child Born or Adopted On or After December 31, 2000

Effective (insert appropriate MOU signing date), parental leave without pay provisions under your collective agreement have been extended to 37 weeks. If you became a parent on or after December 31, 2000, and were on maternity or parental leave without pay on (insert appropriate MOU signing date), you can, upon request, extend your parental leave without pay to 35 (if you are combining maternity and parental leave without pay periods) or 37 weeks (if you are on parental leave without pay only). If you do so, you can also receive the parental allowance for a maximum of 35 or 37 weeks.

Child Born or Adopted Before December 31, 2000

If you became a parent before December 31, 2000, you can receive Employment Insurance parental benefits for a maximum of 10 weeks (if you are combining maternity and parental leave without pay periods) or 12 weeks (if you are on parental leave without pay only and were subject to a two-week Employment Insurance waiting period). You can, however, request an extension to the leave period to 35 or 37 weeks as mentioned above, but you will receive the parental allowance for 10 or 12 weeks only.

Return to Work

Return-to-work provisions were also simplified. You must now agree to return to work for a period equal to the total period you were in receipt of the maternity or parental allowance. For example, if you receive the maternity allowance for 17 weeks and a parental allowance for 10 weeks, you must agree to return to work for 27 weeks. If you receive only the parental allowance for the maximum 37 weeks, you must agree to return to work for 37 weeks. Also, there is no longer a time limit to fulfil this return-to-work requirement.

Questions

You can address any further questions you may have on this matter to

(insert Compensation Advisor's name, phone number, e-mail address, mailing address)

MATERNITY/PARENTAL BENEFITS

MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED TO DATE

* Return-to-work provisions not changed. Part of new collective agreement (i.e., no MOU).

$ Part of new collective agreement (i.e., no MOU).

GROUPS THAT HAVE NOT YET SIGNED