Frequently Asked Questions - Pregnancy / Parental Leave

Birth mothers must begin their maternity leave no later than the expected delivery date of the baby or actual birth date of the baby, whichever is earliest. Your leave may begin as early as 17 weeks before your expected delivery date. Parental leave must immediately follow maternity leave for birth mothers.

Other parents must begin their leave no later than 52 weeks (for employees taking the standard leave) or 78 weeks (for employees taking the extended leave) after the day the child is born or comes into the employee’s custody, care and control for the first time.

Submit an absence request on Workday, select Pregnancy/Parental/Adoption or Parental time off plan>in the Type field and attach a certificate (note) from a medical practitioner (which may include a medical doctor, a midwife, or a nurse practitioner) stating the baby’s due date or a copy of the birth certificate. Please submit this request two weeks before the start date of your leave. Two months notice is preferred, to facilitate planning in the employee’s unit.

Union employees only: Complete a Pregnancy/Parental Leave Request form (PDF) and attach a certificate (note) from a medical practitioner (which may include a medical doctor, a midwife, or a nurse practitioner) stating the baby’s due date or a copy of the birth certificate and submit to your manager for approval. Your Manager is required to forward your approved leave request to Human Resources a minimum of two weeks before the start date of your leave. Two months notice is preferred.

*Birth mothers taking pregnancy and parental leave only need to submit one leave request.

There is lots to think about when considering a pregnancy or parental leave. A Pregnancy and Parental Leaves (including adoption) Checklist has been created to make the transition as smooth as possible and to help both the employee and manager plan ahead. As some of these activities require actions from both parties, you should meet as early as possible to review each step and allow time to plan accordingly. If you require additional assistance, please contact Human Resources at extension 45935 or via email at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca.

An employee on pregnancy or parental leave may return to work earlier than planned by providing written notice to their manager and human resources at least four weeks prior to the new return date.

A birth mother who wishes to return to work earlier than six weeks following the birth of her child must have the written approval of her physician.

Human Resources will adjust your leave dates in Workday; review your absence dates are correct.

Apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits online or in person at your nearest Service Canada location once you have stopped working. Service Canada requires a Record of Employment (ROE) to process your EI application (issued electronically directly to Service Canada by the Human Resources department within 5 business days from your last day worked). Employees can begin their EI application before their ROE is issued but Service Canada will not process their claim and begin their benefits until the ROE is received.

Your EI benefits will then be assessed by Service Canada based on your individual situation. The maximum coverage provided is 52 weeks for the standard leave option of 78 weeks for the extended leave option.

Working while receiving EI benefits may have an impact on the payments you’re eligible to receive. Information about working while receiving EI benefits can be accessed through the Service Canada website.

Please refer to Government of Canada's website - Employment Insurance maternity and parental benefits for information on how a parental leave can be shared.

As of March 17, 2019, the Government of Canada announced a new Parental Sharing Benefit. Parents can receive extra weeks of Employment Insurance (EI) parental benefits so that they can share the joy and work of raising their children more equally.

Yes. Any earnings from the University for work performed while on leave will reduce your top-up benefits accordingly.

Employees who have not reached five years of employment and voluntarily terminate their employment with the University may be required to repay some or all of their supplemental parental benefits. The repayment amount depends on the difference or shortfall between the expected years of employment utilized for supplemental benefit period determination and the actual period of employment at the time of voluntary employment termination. Please refer to Policy 14 (Table A-1) for more information.

If you do not intend to return to work after your leave please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or extension 45935 for guidance.

All employees in a regular ongoing role (no contract end date) or employees in a temporary role (must have completed the minimum waiting period of 12 months, prior to the commencement of their leave), who are working a minimum of 33% full-time equivalency (e.g., FT position is regularly 35 hours per week, but the employee is PT and works 12 hours per week, which is equal to 33% full-time equivalency). Students and Casual employees are not eligible.

Partial years of service will count towards determining years of service. The time worked is cumulative as stated in Policy 14: “ In determining the total period of employment for the eligibility category, separate periods of employment will be added together provided the appointment intensities were all at least 33% and the time between employment periods was less than 26 weeks.” The policy further states “Leaves of absence (e.g., sick leave, long-term disability, an unpaid leave of absence or any legislated leave of absence) occurring during a period of employment are counted as part of that single period of employment.” For more information, please consult Policy 14. Periods of employment as a student or casual employee are excluded from the years of service calculation.

Typically, Waterloo supplemental maternity and parental benefits are centrally funded so the ongoing salary budget for the position is maintained. For employees, such as Researchers, who are funded outside the operating budget, their department would need to discuss with the Office of Research and determine where to charge the supplemental benefits to, if it's not allowed to be charged to the research grant their salary is paid from.

Eligible birth mothers can receive up to 35 weeks of University of Waterloo Supplemental benefits. This period includes: 15 weeks of UW supplemental maternity benefits (first 8 weeks at 100% top-up and the remaining 7 at 95%) and up to 20 weeks of UW supplemental parental benefits.

Eligible non-birth parents can receive up to 20 weeks of UW supplemental parental benefits (95% top-up).

Eligible birth mothers can receive up to 35 weeks of University of Waterloo Supplemental benefits. This period includes: 15 weeks of UW supplemental maternity benefits (first 8 weeks at 100% top-up and the remaining 7 at 95%) and up to 20 weeks of UW supplemental parental benefits.

Eligible non-birth parents can receive up to 20 weeks of UW supplemental parental benefits (95% top-up).