PARENTAL AND ADOPTION LEAVES

Work and Family Provisions in Canadian Collective Agreements

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B. PARENTAL AND ADOPTION LEAVES

Parental leave is designed to provide either or both parents with time to spend with their newborns. For the mother, parental leave provisions commonly stipulate that the leave be taken immediately after maternity leave, thereby extending the total leave period. For the father, parental leave provisions allow time off to help with the care of the newborn; sometimes collective agreement language that is gender-specific to the father is referred to as "paternity" leave.

Adoption leave is designed to allow adoptive parents time to care for their adopted child and to give both the family and the child an opportunity to adapt to each other. Adoption leave provisions are usually directly linked to parental leave clauses, which explains why the two are combined in this section. Where there are separate clauses in a collective agreement pertaining, respectively, to parental and adoption leaves, their stipulations usually mirror each other. Nonetheless, some provisions relating specifically to adoption leave will be highlighted.

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Eligibility and Notification

It is common for eligibility and notification provisions for parental/adoption leave to be included within, or to mimic, those for maternity leave. Parental and adoption leaves are often grouped together in the same clause, thus providing exactly the same eligibility and notification periods. The following is one such example:

(04326)

Every employee who has been in the employ of the Company for 12 months and (a) who, in the case of the female employee, becomes the natural mother of a child. in the case of the male employee, becomes the natural father of a child or assumes actual care and custody of his new-born child, or. adopts a child under the law of the province; and who submits to the Company an application in writing for parental leave where possible at least four (4) weeks before the day specified in the application as the day on which the employee intends to commence the leave; is entitled to and shall be granted parental leave, consisting of a continuous period of up to seventeen (17) weeks.

In some collective agreement language, the term "child care" leave is used as a synonym for "parental" leave. The following provision, like the aforementioned example, groups "child care" and adoption leave together in terms of notification and eligibility requirements:

(04028)

Any employee who has completed six (6) consecutive months of continuous employment with the Company shall be granted child care or adoption leave, without pay, under the conditions of eligibility set forth in the applicable Company practices currently in effect, or as amended from time to time following consultation with the Association.

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Start/End Date

Because of the link between maternity and parental leaves for the mother, there are often parameters set stipulating a window of time within which a parental leave must be taken. Usually, contract clauses include defined start dates that are related to the time elapsed from the actual birth of the child or the adoption date, reflecting legislated standards.

(00914)	The leave must be taken: (i) in the case of the mother, immediately after her maternity leave is completed, unless she and her Manufacturer have agreed to a different arrangement; (ii) in the case of the father, parental leave can be taken at the same time, a different time, or overlap the mother’s parental leave. Parental leave must be started within fifty two (52) weeks of the child’s birth or the date the child comes into custody.
(04499)	When an employee takes Parental Leave in addition to Maternity Leave the employee must commence the Parental Leave immediately on expiry of the Maternity Leave without a return to work unless otherwise approved by the Commission. Parental leave must commence no later than the first anniversary date of the birth or adoption of the child or the date on which the child comes into the actual care and custody of the employees.
(05295)	Parental leave may begin no more than thirty-five weeks after the day the child is born or comes into the custody, care and control of a parent for the first time. The parental leave of an employee who takes a maternity/ adoption leave must begin when the maternity/adoption ends unless the child has not yet come into the custody, care and control of a parent for the first time.

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Length of Parental and Adoption Leave

It is common for parental/adoption leave provisions to simply conform to legislated standards.

The following chart shows the percentage of major collective agreements containing adoption provisions and indicates the amount of leave granted. The main finding is that the presence of clauses pertaining to adoption leave increased a great deal over the past 10 years, with a majority of agreements now including such provisions. The most significant changes occurred in the first five years after 1988. This would lead one to infer that adoption leave provisions gained more prominence at the bargaining table during the late 1980s and early 1990s, coinciding with new EI parental benefits that came into force on January 1, 1990, but have remained somewhat dormant during more recent years.

Note that data on the percentage of agreements with parental leave provisions is not available. As indicated previously, adoption and parental leave provisions nevertheless generally tend to be identical in terms of duration.

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Seniority Retention and Accrual

The following chart shows the percentage of collective agreements that provide seniority retention and/or accrual during an adoption leave. The results reveal that the incidence of provisions containing full/partial seniority accrual and retention during adoption leave experienced a spike from 1988 to 1993, but levelled off over the following five years.

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Parental Benefits (SUB Plans)

As for maternity leave, supplementary unemployment benefit (SUB) plans apply to parental/adoption leave³.

The following clauses provide standard examples of the language employed in provisions for SUB plans in relation to parental/adoption leave:

(05254)

Parental Leave with Supplement Benefits: for the first two (2) weeks the member shall receive 100% of her/his nominal salary if the member has not taken Pregnancy Leave; and for the next ten (10) weeks of the Parental Leave, or such portion thereof as the member applies to take pursuant to the relevant government regulations, the member shall receive an amount equal to the difference between the EI benefits received and 95% of the member’s nominal salary.

(04760)

Where the Teacher is granted Parental or Adoption Leave, he/she shall be granted the following: a Parental or Adoption Leave for a period of up to thirty-five (35) weeks where Pregnancy Leave has not been taken. However, the Board shall only be required to make the Board’s contributions for benefit plans during the first eighteen (18) weeks of such a leave. a two-week waiting period benefit payable by the Board equal to 95% of the Teacher’s normal weekly earnings as received by the Teacher prior to the commencement of leave a Teacher on Parental or Adoption Leave who applies for and is in receipt of E.I. benefits will be eligible, under the terms of the SUB plan, to receive $75.00 per week for the next fifteen (15) weeks. excluding Teachers eligible for SUB plan payments under iii) above, a Teacher on Parental or Adoption Leave who applies for and is in receipt of E.I. benefits will be eligible, under the terms of the SUB plan, to receive $75.00 per week for the next ten (10) weeks. In the event that more than one parent is employed by the Board, only one parent will be entitled to the two-week waiting period benefit or to SUB plan payments as provided for in this article.

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Paternity Leave

Long-term paternity leave

Paternity leave, by international definition/norm, applies to the father of the newborn or adopted child. Such leave is family-friendly insofar as: 1) it allows the father time off to spend with his child; and 2) it helps remove the traditional onus of child rearing/care from the mother, and encourages a more equal sharing of household responsibilities among parents.

In Canada, the term "paternity leave" is often used as a synonym for "parental" leave. To clarify, many collective agreements contain "paternity" leave provisions, but the leave can be taken by either the mother or the father. Thus, the "paternity" leave is actually a "parental" leave by definition. The following example is a case in point:

(04059)

Paternity Leave Without Pay: An employee who has completed six (6) months of continuous employment shall be granted a leave of absence without pay of up to twenty-six (26) weeks where the employee has or will have the actual care and custody of a new-born child. This leave without pay shall commence and end within the fifty-two (52) week period beginning on the day on which the child is born or the day on which the child comes into the employee’s care.

Paid paternity leave is extremely rare in Canadian collective agreements. Moreover, Employment Insurance parental benefits cannot be paid to both parents simultaneously. Thus, in a dual-earner home, the financial losses incurred should both parents take time off following the birth or adoption of a child are quite large. Because men, on average, still earn more than their wives/partners, the father is less likely to be a child’s "primary care-giver." Some contract language nonetheless does exist allowing for an enhanced involvement of male employees in the early stages of child rearing. The following example is one of the few male-specific paid "paternity" leave provisions. It can be followed by an 18-week parental leave.

(05295)

A male employee shall: a) be granted paternity leave with full salary and benefits for a period of up to four (4) weeks, to be taken at the discretion of the employee during the period(s) immediately preceding and/or following: the birth of the child; or the coming of the child into custody, care and control of a parent for the first time. (...) The parental leave of an employee who takes a paternity leave must begin when the paternity leave ends unless the child has not yet come into the custody, care and control of a parent for the first time.

(05243)

In order to allow professors to combine family life and a university career, and recognizing the role of the father and mother in the birth and education of the child, the following benefits shall be offered to parents... A professor whose spouse is giving birth shall be entitled, on request, to paternity leave in accordance with the conditions set out in the clauses below. Paternity leave shall be for a maximum of one week. Such leave shall be taken in the three months preceding or following the actual or expected date of birth.

Leave for attendance at birth/adoption

A much more common type of paternity leave involves time off for the day(s) surrounding the birth or adoption of a child. This is sometimes referred to as a "celebration" leave. The purpose of such leave is to allow fathers to provide assistance at the time of delivery and to make necessary arrangements at home, including caring for other children and dependents. This paternity leave is for a very short-term duration, often only one day, as illustrated by the example below.

(04059)

On the occasion of the birth of a son or daughter, a male employee shall be granted special leave with pay up to a maximum of one (1) day during the period of confinement of his wife.

However, a number of provisions allow for longer periods of leave, and may offer a measure of flexibility to an employee in determining when to take time off.

(09925)	Upon reasonable notice a male employee who has completed one (1) year of continuous service with the Company will be granted a leave of absence of up to three (3) days with pay at the time of the birth or adoption of a child or children of less than six (6) years of age.
(05254)	Post-natal leave for non-birth parent: On the occasion of the birth or adoption of her or his child, the member shall be entitled to a leave with full salary and benefits of up to five (5) days, to be taken at the discretion of the member within fifteen (15) days after the child arrives at the residence. A member taking such leave shall so advise the Dean/Director.
(05228)	When a Member has become a father, he may arrange, with the approval of the Chairperson, Head, Director, Chief Librarian or Dean concerned, for leave from some or all of his duties and responsibilities assigned under Article 11, Article 12, Article 13 or Article 20 as appropriate. Such leaves shall not be unreasonably denied, and shall be with full salary and benefits for a period reasonable in the circumstances, but in any case not less than five days if the Member so requests. Further unpaid leave shall not be unreasonably denied.

The following charts show the percentage of collective agreements that provide time off for paternity and adoption "celebration." Although a majority of major collective agreements in Canada do not contain such short-term paternity/adoption leave clauses, it is important to again note that these figures do not include tacit agreements between the employer and employee or employment practices that are the result of comity.

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¹ This is quite common in European Union countries. resume
² The federal government and many provinces, including British Columbia, have changed their respective labour legislation to increase the length of parental leave to 35 weeks, for a total of one year when combined with maternity leave. The changes will be in effect as of December 31, 2000. resume
³ Please see the maternity leave section of this chapter for an explanation and definition of SUB plans. resume
⁴ See Box 2.5 "Employment Insurance: Maternity Benefits" for more information concerning eligibility requirements and the level of benefits. resume