On September 4, the Government of Canada extended the maximum
allowable length of leave related to COVID-19 from 24 weeks to 28
weeks to align with the recent increase to the maximum number of
weeks a worker is eligible to receive Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
payments. The CERB provides income support, while the leave
provides federally regulated employees with access to job-protected
time away from work.1
Now, employees working in federally regulated workplaces are
entitled to up to 28 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave if they
are unable or unavailable to work due, for example, to:
- Quarantine;
- Caring for family members due to COVID-19; or
- Being otherwise unable to work due to reasons related to COVID-19.
To take this leave employees must provide their employers with
written notice, as soon as possible, of the reason and length of
leave they intend to take and must notify their employers of any
changes to the length.
Moreover, this leave is temporary and not retroactive. The leave is
expected to be repealed on October 1, 2020, unless otherwise
indicated by the federal government. However, it should be noted
that employees who are legally entitled to this leave and go on it
prior to October 1, 2020, will normally be entitled to the complete
leave period (up to 28 weeks), even if the leave period goes beyond
October 1.
In addition, employers would be wise to recall that the Canada
Labour Code provides the minimum requirements for a
COVID-19-related leave. If a collective agreement, policy or other
arrangement provides better additional leave, which includes paid
leave for illness or care of family members, employees are entitled
to take that leave instead of or in addition to the COVID-19 leave.
The Code also provides for paid leave for personal
illness, or family-related health reasons, which can be taken in
addition to or instead of the COVID-19 leave.
The Government of Canada has said it "will continue to monitor
and respond to the wide-ranging impacts of COVID-19 and will take
additional action as needed to protect Canadian workers and
stabilize the economy."
We will keep you updated if further information is made available
to the public.
Footnotes
About Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world's preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have 3800 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
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Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.
For more information about Norton Rose Fulbright, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices.
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