Staff

Pregnancy leave - 17 weeks (unpaid).

Must have 13 weeks of continuous service to the expected date of delivery of the baby.

Pregnancy leave can commence as early as 17 weeks before the expected date of delivery of the baby.

Available to pregnant women.

Parental leave (unpaid)

Birth mothers who have taken Pregnancy Leave - up to 61 weeks.

Birth mothers who have not taken Pregnancy Leave and all other new parents – 63 weeks.

Must have 13 weeks of continuous service to the date of commencing the leave.

Available to new parents when a child is born or is adopted.

Begins no earlier than date of birth or custody and no later than 78 weeks after the date of birth or custody.

To apply: No application necessary for above benefits if you qualify. Please provide Western with at least three months' notice of your intent to take leave. See box at top of page "Important Step to Determine Eligibility".

Provided by: Employment Insurance (EI)

Maternity benefits - paid for a maximum of 15 weeks to a birth mother.

Weekly benefit rate is 55% of your average insurable earnings up to a maximum payment of $573 per week (in 2020).

You must have worked for 600 hours in the last 52 weeks or since your last EI claim.

Must be within 12 weeks of due date.

Parental benefits - paid to either biological or adoptive parents while they are caring for a newborn or a newly adopted child, up to a maximum of 69 weeks, neither parent can receive more than 61 weeks of extended benefits. 

When applying for EI parental benefits you will have to select under which option you choose to claim EI parental benefits: standard or extended

Standard parental benefits can be paid for a maximum 40 weeks. Neither parent can access more than 35 weeks in total and must generally be claimed within a 52-week period (12 months) after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption.

Weekly benefit rate is 55% of your average insurable earnings up to a maximum payment of $573 per week (in 2020).

Extended parental benefits can be paid for a maximum of 69 weeks, neither parent can access more than 61 weeks in total and must generally be claimed within a 78-week period (18 months) after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption. 

Weekly benefit rate is 33% of your average insurable earnings up to a maximum payment of $343 per week (in 2020).

To qualify, you must have worked for 600 hours in the last 52 weeks or since your last EI claim.

To apply: Online application is available from the Government of Canada website. You must have stopped work before submitting your application. Please provide Western with at least three months' notice of your intent to take leave. See box at top of the page "Important Step to Determine Eligibility".

Provided by:

Supplemental Employment Insurance Benefits (SEIB) - a “top up” to EI. 

To confirm your eligibility including the benefit level you can expect to receive please complete the Pregnancy/Parental Leave Information Request Form. See box at top of page “Important Step to Determine Eligibility”.

Eligibility for SEIB is based on conditions outlined in your employee agreement.  For full details please refer to the current collective agreement or employee policy that applies to your employee group.   

Must be in receipt of maternity or parental EI benefits.

Must return to work at the University after your leave for at least six months or you must reimburse the University in full for all SEIB payments made.

NOTE: If both parents are employees of Western, the weeks of SEIB payments may be taken by one parent or shared between the two parents.

Western extended health and benefits continue
NOTE: While you are receiving the SEIB from Western, all group insurance benefits will be continued and the group insurance premiums and pension contributions will automatically be deducted from your SEIB. If you do not receive SEIB, or when your SEIB payments end, you will receive notification from Human Resources requesting your share of the cost of group benefits, including your employee pension contribution. At your discretion, and provided you arrange for payment of the employee share of the costs, those group benefits and pension contributions paid by you will be continued. 

Please note:  Sessional employees are not entitled to collect SEIB during periods when they would not be working at Western (i.e. on layoff).

To apply: As early as possible, but at least three months before your anticipated leave date, please complete "Pregnancy/Parental Leave Information Request" form.  See box at top of page "Important Step to Determine Eligibility" below.