Tool Type / Compassionate Care Leave Policy / Last Reviewed / 1/25/14
Geography / Canada / Source: / Original

Compassionate care leave policy

Purpose:

To provide direction on the process for managing compassionate care leave within the organization

Note that Compassionate Care Leave as an Employment Standard can vary depending on your jurisdiction.

COMPASSIONATE CARE LEAVE
Purpose and Policy Statement / We ______(name of organization) understand that there will be times when employees are required to be away from work to care for or support a gravely ill or dying family member.
As such we provide the opportunity for our employees who qualify to take an unpaid leave of absence for a maximum of X weeks (the number of weeks varies across jurisdictions, for example in Alberta 52 weeks of continuous employment are required, however in the Province’s of Ontario and British Columbia there is no continuous employment requirement while in Manitoba the requirement is 30 days).
Employees who qualify and submit a written request with supporting documentation will be granted unpaid Compassionate Care Leave (also called Family Medical Leave in Ontario).
Under the (name of Province) Employment Standards Act an employee is entitled to a leave of x weeks (8 weeks in all most all jurisdictions in Canada) during a period of 26 weeks, as identified by a qualified medical/health practitioner, to provide primary care for a gravely ill or dying family member who is at high risk of death within 26 weeks. In the event of a dispute between our policy and the Employment Insurance Act, the Act will apply.
Employment Insurance Benefits Eligibility / Under the Employment Insurance Act, “Compassionate Care Benefits“ employees may qualify to receive EI benefits for up to 8 weeks (2 week waiting period and 6 weeks of benefits) while providing care to a gravely ill or dying family member. For more information visit Services Canada Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits.
(name of company) will provide the employee with a copy of the ROE (record of employment) for the period of leave, which the employee can provide to Services Canada to apply for benefits.
Requirements for Qualifying / Employees who have been continuously employed by ______(company name) for a period of X (the ) weeks.
All employees including full-time, part-time, contract, regular and temporary employees who meet the criteria of X weeks of continuous employment.
(note weeks of eligibility may vary according to minimum requirements in your jurisdiction. Your own company policy can be no less than the requirements of your jurisdiction but they can be more).
More than one employee from (company name) may be eligible for Compassionate Care Leave to provide primary care for the same family member. If two or more employees request Compassionate Care Leave to support the same family member the total leave for all employees may not exceed X (8) weeks during the 26 week window.
Required Documents / A certificate from a qualified medical/health practitioner may be requested as supporting documentation. An example of a Medical Certificate is available on the Services Canada Website Medical Certificate For Employment Insurance for Compassionate Leave Care Benefits
The medical certificate is proof that an ill family member needs care or support and is at significant risk of death within 26 weeks. The certificate must be completed and signed by a medical doctor or another medical practitioner authorized to treat the gravely ill family member.
A written request for Compassionate Care Leave including the dates for which the request is being made must accompany the request.
Continuation of Benefits / During the period of Compassionate Care Leave, for up to X weeks, the employee is entitled to the continuation of all appropriate benefits (to which the employee is currently qualified to receive; which may vary depending on the employee’s terms of employment). These generally include health, dental, life insurance, short and long term disability and other benefits
Seniority and Accruals / During the period of Compassionate Care Leave, for up to X weeks, the employee continues to accrue or receive vacation entitlement and seniority.
Contributions to pension, stock and other benefits plans / During the period of Compassionate Care Leave, for up to X weeks, where applicable, the employee may continue to contribute to the ______(company name) pension plan and/or matching RRSP contributions or other plans. If appropriate and based on previous participation the company will continue to match contributions.
If applicable, the employee will continue to be eligible to purchase company stock options or participate in the company stock purchase program and, if applicable, continue to receive matching contributions from the company based on current contributions and eligibility
Leave Request Process / The employee requesting Compassionate Care Leave must advise the appropriate manager or supervisor in writing prior to taking leave. This request should be made 2 weeks prior to the period for which leave is to begin.
If it is imperative that an employee begins leave immediately the employer must advise his manager as soon as possible and the two week notification period may not be required (supporting documents may still be required).
Beginning of Leave Period / For the purposes of calculating leave a week is defined as seven (7) consecutive days beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday. The leave period indicated on a medical certificate and the leave request should indicate Sunday as the first day of the week leave is required/requested. If the certificate or the request identifies any day other then Sunday as the beginning of the period of leave, the period of leave will be calculated beginning the previous Sunday.
As an example, if a an employee requests leave to commence on a Tuesday, March 10, for the purposes of counting the Sunday, proceeding Tuesday, that would be Sunday March 8th, would be recorded as the beginning of the period of leave.
Ending of Leave Period / The last day in which the employee may remain on Compassionate Care Leave is represented by the following time frames:
The last day of the week in which the family member dies
The last day of the week in which the 26 week period ends (based on the first Sunday represented on the medical certificate).
We recognize that it is possible that the 26-week period may resolve before the death of the gravely ill family member. With presentation of appropriate documentation an employee may be eligible for another X week of Compassionate Care Leave.
Taking Leave / An employee need not take all X (8) weeks of leave continuously. However a minimum period of leave is one (1) week.
For example, an employee may request 1 week of leave and return to work. 4 weeks later the employee may request to take 4 weeks of leave for a total of X (8) weeks leave within a 26 week period.
Returning to Work after Leave / In the event an employee seeks to return to work prior to the previously agreed upon return to work date 48 hours notice must be provided to the employee’s manager/supervisor
Upon returning to work the employee will be returned to the same position, wage of pay and benefits as held prior to leave.
If the family member dies while the employee is on leave the employee is required to notify the direct manager/supervisor the same day as the family member dies.
Subsequent Leave / In the event that the gravely ill family member does not die within the 26-week window the employee may take another leave. A second medical certificate will be required and the same process as outlined for the initial leave remains in place.
Bereavement Leave / In the event that the gravely ill family member does die the employee may be eligible to take Bereavement Leave (refer to Bereavement Leave policy)

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