EI parental benefits flexibility

AI summary

Petitioners ask the government to change EI parental benefits and Canada Labour Code leave to let parents pause and resume leave within 18 months by mutual agreement, pursue education or training without losing benefits, and exempt limited paid caregiving from EI clawbacks. The government responds that current EI options and employer consent already allow flexibility.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: Whereas Canada's parental leave system should support families, not force them into rigid choices that do not reflect the realities of modern parenting, and allow them the flexibility to balance work, caregiving, and skills development during the early years of a child's life; Whereas the current parental leave system (outside Quebec) does not generally allow parents to pause and later resume parental leave, even where a temporary return to work would better suit the needs of the family and employer; Whereas parents should be able to pursue education or skills training while on parental leave without unnecessary loss of benefits; Whereas parents who provide occasional paid caregiving services to other families while caring for their own children should not face benefit clawbacks that discourage flexible work and the expansion of childcare options; Therefore, we the undersigned call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Establish more flexible parental leave policies, allowing parental leave benefits to be paused and resumed, within the existing maximum parental leave timeframe of 18 months, by mutual agreement between employer and employee; 2. Ensure parents can pursue education or skills training while on parental leave without losing access to their benefits; 3. Create a caregiving exception to EI parental benefit clawbacks so that parents may provide limited paid caregiving without penalty.

Government response

Response by the Secretary of State (Seniors) Signed by Annie Koutrakis The Government of Canada thanks the petitioners for sharing their views on the need to support families and notes their request to improve the flexibility of employment insurance parental benefits and the corresponding leave under the Canada Labour Code (Code). The Government of Canada recognizes the diverse challenges faced by working parents raising children. Balancing family, work and financial responsibilities is a challenging task for parents, and each family has its own needs. That is why the Government has made several important changes since 2017 to the employment insurance program that give working parents more flexibility in their use of employment insurance maternity and parental benefits, including an option to choose the parental benefit duration that best suits their family needs. Employment insurance parental benefits provide temporary income support to parents who are away from work to care for their newborn or their newly adopted child. Parents can choose between: Up to 40 weeks of standard parental benefits when shared, paid at 55% of average weekly earnings, to a maximum of $729 in 2026, over the 12-month period following the birth or placement for adoption of the child. No parent can access more than 35 weeks. Up to 69 weeks of extended parental benefits when shared, paid at 33% of average weekly earnings, to a maximum of $437 in 2026, over the 18-month period following the birth or placement for adoption of the child. No parents can access or more than 61 weeks. Parents have the flexibility to take parental benefits when it is best for them, including by blocks, provided they are paid within the timeframes above. For example, a mother who has already received 15 weeks of maternity benefits and is planning to take 20 weeks of standard parental benefits could decide to receive 10 weeks of parental benefits, go back to work for 15 weeks and resume the remaining 10 weeks of parental benefits, provided their employer has agreed to fraction their parental leave. The corresponding parental leave under Part III of the Code, which establishes employment conditions for employees under federal jurisdiction (e.g., banking, telecommunications, about six percent of workers), provides that an employee may access up to 63 weeks of unpaid parental leave to care for a newborn child or a child that has come into the employee’s care through adoption. This ensures that employees have access to job-protected leave while they avail themselves of employment insurance standard or extended parental benefits. Parental leave under the Code is normally taken in one uninterrupted period, and may only be interrupted in limited circumstances, such as when the employee becomes entitled to another statutory leave (e.g., medical leave, compassionate care leave) or when the child is hospitalized. The Code does not prevent an employee from requesting their employer to split up their leave, although, the employer has no legal obligation to grant such a request. For employees covered by provincial and territorial labour legislation (composing the remaining 94 percent of workers), parental leave in most jurisdictions must be taken in one uninterrupted block, except for Quebec, where an employee may return to work intermittently or on a part-time basis if the employer consents to it. In addition to the existing options available on employment insurance parental benefits, parents can also take training (e.g., technical training, part-time school) while in receipt of these benefits. As long as parental benefits claimants can demonstrate that they continue to care for their child, they can take training to support their skills development and eventual return to employment. Claimants in receipt of employment insurance parental benefits can also work while receiving benefits. The existing employment insurance rules on Working While on Claim apply to working parents too and enable employment insurance maternity and parental benefit claimants to keep 50 cents of their employment insurance benefits for every dollar they earn, up to 90% of the weekly earnings used to calculate their employment insurance benefit rate. More information on employment insurance benefits and parental leave under the Code may be found on the Government of Canada website Employment Insurance benefits - Canada.ca and Federal labour standards - Canada.ca. Claimants can contact Service Canada for advice on their specific situation. The Government of Canada is committed to simplifying and improving the employment insurance program to ensure that it meets the needs of the Canadian workforce of today. Once again, the Government wishes to thank the petitioners. Their views will be taken into consideration in our ongoing efforts to improve the employment insurance program and the leave provisions under the Code, including to ensure parents and families can rely on a strong social safety net as Canada builds the skilled workforce of tomorrow.