How long are maternity leave and parental leave in quebec?
Short answer
In Quebec, the Act respecting labour standards provides for a maternity leave of not more than 18 continuous weeks, a paternity leave — or leave for the parent who did not give birth — of 5 weeks, and a parental leave of 65 weeks. These leaves are without pay; benefits, where applicable, come from the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP).
In detail
Two schemes overlap here, and it helps not to confuse them. The Act respecting labour standards protects the employment relationship and sets the length of the leaves. The QPIP pays the benefits, under its own eligibility rules and its own durations, with a basic plan and a special plan.
Maternity leave may begin at the earliest 16 weeks before the expected date of delivery. Parental leave is added to maternity leave or to paternity leave; for a biological parent, it may begin as early as the week of the birth and must end at the latest 78 weeks after the delivery.
Written notice to the employer is required, generally at least 3 weeks before the leave begins, stating the date of departure and the date of return. At the end of the leave, the employer must reinstate the person in their usual position, with the same benefits, including the wages they would have been entitled to if they had stayed at work.
What to document
The written notice of departure and return and the date you sent it, the medical certificate, the exchanges about the return date, the description of your position and your wage before the leave, and what you are offered on your return. The before/after comparison is what makes a change of position or of conditions visible.
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Official sources
- Act respecting labour standards (CQLR, c. N-1.1) — Légis Québec
- CNESST (MALNT) — Maternity leave
- CNESST (MALNT) — Parental leave
- Éducaloi — Maternity, paternity and parental leave
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.