Manitoba Extending Parental Leave and Introducing Critical Illness Leave

AuthorMarie-Yosie Saint-Cyr, First Reference Managing Editor
DateMarch 29, 2018

On March 20, 2018, the Manitoba government introduced legislation that would amend the Employment Standards Code to, among other things, extend provisions for parental leave and leave for individuals to care for a critically ill adult family member.

The changes to the Employment Standards Code include:

1. Statutory leaves:

The statutory leave amendments allow Manitobans to take advantage of recent changes to employment insurance benefits (extended parental EI benefits and family caregiver EI benefits) available under federal legislation.

  • Extending parental leave from 37 weeks to 63 weeks to care for a new child in the family.
  • Establishing critical illness leave that allows
    • An employee who has been employed by the same employer for at least 30 days to be entitled to an unpaid leave of absence from employment of up to 37 weeks to provide care or support to a critically ill child who is a family member of the employee.
    • An employee who has been employed by the same employer for at least 90 days to be entitled to an unpaid leave of absence from employment of up to 17 weeks to provide care or support to a critically ill adult who is a family member of the employee.

For an employee to be eligible for leave, a physician must issue a certificate:

  1. stating that the child or adult is a critically ill child or a critically ill adult and requires the care or support of the employee; and
  2. setting out the period during which the child or adult requires that care or support.

Unless the employee and employer agree otherwise, an employee may end a critical illness leave earlier than the expiry of 37 weeks in the case of a critically ill child, and 17 weeks in the case of a critically ill adult by giving the employer written notice at least one pay period before the employee wishes to end the leave. A leave must end no later than 52 weeks after the day the first period of leave began.

A critical illness leave may be taken in one or more periods, but no period may be less than one week’s duration.

If a child or adult in respect of whom an employee has taken critical illness leave remains critically ill after the 52-week period expires, the employee is entitled to take another leave and the requirements apply to the new leave.

2. Youth employment

Changes to youth employment is to bring the working age of young people in Manitoba, in line with the United Nations’ International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention 138, which came into force in Canada in June 2017...

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