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August 12, 2020

Does the Canada Labour Code have a COVID-19 leave?

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  5. Does the Canada Labour Code have a COVID-19 leave?

I. COVID-19 Leave

The new COVID-19 leave introduced into the Canada Labour Code provides employees with up to 16 weeks, or such number of weeks that may be set by regulation, if they are unable or unavailable to work for reasons related to COVID-19.

An employee is required to give written notice to the employer as soon as possible with respect to the reasons for the leave and its intended length or any change in the length of the leave. An employer may also require the employee to provide a written declaration in support of the reason for the leave, or any change to the length of the leave.

During the leave, among other things:

  • Consistent with other leaves under the Code, a vacation may be interrupted to take the COVID-19 Leave.
  • the pension, health and disability benefits and the seniority of an employee continue to accumulate. If an employee normally pays premiums for their benefits coverage, they are required to continue to pay them within a reasonable time throughout the leave (and the employer is only required to continue paying the employer share) or else the benefits (and employer contributions) may cease; and
  • if the employee makes a written request, the employer must keep the employee informed in writing of every employment, promotion or training opportunity that arises during the leave of absence for which the employee is qualified.
  • The period in which a parental leave may be taken (78 weeks) may be extended by the COVID-19 Leave, and the number of weeks available for that leave (63) may be interrupted as a result of a COVID-19 Leave.

As with other leaves under the Code, an employer cannot dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline an employee because the employee intends to take a COVID-19 Leave, nor can the employer take that leave into account in any decision to promote or train the employee. However, if the employee is unable to perform their previous work as a result of the absence, the employer may reassign the employee to a different position with different terms and conditions.

The COVID-19 leave is in place until October 1, 2020, at which time it is currently scheduled to be removed from the Canada Labour Code.

II. Medical Leave to include Quarantine

The medical leave provision under the Canada Labour Code is amended effective October 1, 2020, to add quarantine as one of the reasons a 16-week medical leave can be taken.

In addition to these change, other amendments have been made to limit an employer’s ability to request doctors’ notes for other statutory leaves, such as Compassionate Care Leave, Leave for Critical Illness or Medical Leave. This provision will be repealed on September 30, 2020.

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Article by firstreference

Note: This page provided by First Reference is for employers needing more information on the impact, rules and best practices for addressing the global novel coronavirus pandemic also known as COVID-19. (Last updated July 20, 2020, at 11:55 p.m.). The first batch of questions discusses the broad issues related to COVID-19 and government responses. The second batch of questions are frequently asked questions by employers needing more information on the impact COVID-19 has on the application of their workplace practices and policies for addressing the global coronavirus pandemic.

The circumstances and potential consequences for employers in connection with COVID-19 continue to evolve each day. We recognize that change resulting from COVID-19 is happening in real-time. We will keep you up-to-date with measures put in place by Canadian governments to help with these issues as they are implemented as soon as we can and details are available, by updating this page. Also, when making hard decisions to protect your employees, customers and your business, we strongly recommend seeking the advice of a lawyer to avoid any liability.

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