Parental Leave

PREGNANCY LEAVE 

PAR-BC Contract

Parental Leave is addressed in Article 10 in the PAR-BC Agreement. In summary:

Biological mothers are allowed 52 weeks of leave (17 weeks maternity + 35 weeks parental) and may begin leave any time after eleven weeks prior to the week of predicted delivery. During maternity leave you have access to Supplemental Employment Benefits (SEB) which is most commonly known as “top-up”. Your employer will top up:

• Your first two weeks to 85% of your normal salary (during the Employment Insurance (EI) “two week wait” in which there is no EI paid) and
• During weeks 3 – 17, will top up your EI to 85% of your normal salary.After 17 weeks you are considered to be on parental leave. There is no top up during this period however you will continue to receive EI if you qualify: (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/special.shtml) The amount of EI you receive is set by the government.
• Fathers and adoptive parents may take 37 weeks parental leave within their child’s first year. As above, parental leave is not supplemented by the employer however you may receive EI if you qualify (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/special.shtml). Parents “share” these weeks; you can’t both claim for 37 weeks.
• Biological father residents are currently allowed one day’s paid paternity leave according to the PAR-BC Collective Agreement to attend the birth of their child although this is “subject to the operational requirements of the Hospital”. Resident fathers may be able to negotiate a little more time around the birth of their child by booking vacation time (possibly with a flexible start date). This should be discussed in advance with your program director.

It is important to understand that the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the current collective agreement requires that any time taken off for your residency training must be made up. The rumored “three months grace”, or forgiveness period, no longer exists.

If your child has health concerns, there are provisions in EI and the PAR-BC Collective Agreement for extending leave and benefits. See the collective agreement below and Service Canada (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/special.shtml#Maternity4 ) for further details.

EI and Beyond

 

Before Birth

1. Talk to your program administrator once you have announced your pregnancy; they should let you know what steps you need to take. In general, payroll services need to know your Expected Date of Delivery so they can plan for your maternity benefits. You will want to update them once you officially start your leave as the EDD is rarely the birth date, as we all well know.
2. Set up an account at My Service Canada: (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/online/mysca.shtml).They mail you a time-sensitive password for the log-on for this site so do this early. This online account is a single site that lets you “view and update your information with Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS).” You can view your Record of Employment (ROE) on this site once you are done working and it has been submitted by the employer.ROEs must be submitted by your employer whenever there is an interruption of earnings. See the Service Canada website for more information: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/employers/roe_guide.shtml 
3. Submit an EI Application online: http://www100.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ae-ei/dem-app/english/home2.htmlin person: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/cgi-bin/hr-search.cgi?app=hme&ln=eng#100You will need to have your SIN # (if your SIN starts with a 9, you also need to supply proof of your immigration status and work permit), postal code, Mother’s maiden name, and DOB to fill this out. You DO NOT need your ROE to start this process.

   Apply early rather than waiting until you stop working. The process takes awhile and you’ll be busy with a newborn! Note that delaying in filing your EI benefits past 4 weeks from the start of your leave may cause a loss of benefits.

 

After Birth

1. In BC we can use the Newborn Registration Service to take care of several things at once: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sin/apply/newborn.shtml- Complete the registration of your baby’s birth- apply for their birth certificate and- apply for a SIN# for your baby

   - register them for MSP coverage (https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/exforms/msp/baby_enrolment.html).

   A CareCard will be mailed out once they are registered with MSP

2. You will also need to let the extended benefits plan know of your new baby so they can be covered as well. This can come in handy early on if your child is admitted for neonatal jaundice or other health concerns. Private rooms are wonderful and affordable thanks to our benefits plan!
3. There are also several benefits some residents will be eligible for and you should research them further to see if you qualify:- Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/goc/cctb.shtml- Universal Child Care Benefit program http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/goc/universal_child_care.shtml

   - Child Disability Benefit http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/goc/cdb.shtml

   - For other please see: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/audiences/families/index.shtml http://www.canadabenefits.gc.ca/[email protected]?lang=eng

4. Finally, there are financial savings plans to register for as well. Don’t put this off as the government will match or top up your contributions in some of the programs, depending on your income level. Here are the excerpts from the Service Canada site:- “The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) (http://www.canlearn.ca/eng/saving/clb/index.shtml) program contributes a $500 bond to Registered Education Savings Plansopened by families receiving the National Child Benefit Supplement under the Canada Revenue Agency’s Canada Child Tax Benefit program.”- “The Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) (http://www.canlearn.ca/eng/saving/resp/index.shtml) allows savings for education to grow tax free in a special savings planregistered by the Government of Canada until a child named in the RESP enrols in a post-secondary education program.”- The Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) (http://www.canlearn.ca/eng/saving/cesg/index.shtml) provides grants to Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) contributors until the beneficiaries reach the age of 17.

What to do while on Leave

Regardless of the amount of time you take, maternity or parental leave can be an enriching time. It may also include: getting peed on, spit up upon, poo’d on, (or even all three at once), nights more sleepless than the worst night on VGH CTU, or seemingly endless crying at 3am. But, you will have time to get to know your child and fall madly in love with them. Parenting is much more than just taking care of basics so take time to get connected to your community; you will likely meet other parents in your area that you wouldn’t otherwise crossed paths with. Whether you are experiencing parenthood for the first or the umpteenth time, there are things in the community (much of it free!) to do:

• Parent & babe weigh-ins and drop-in discussion groups – run through the Public Health Units / local community centres
• Community centre classes – sing-song, baby sign language, arts & crafts (for older kids), drop-in gym time (bouncy castles! Climbing toys! Ride on toys!)
• Local library story & singsong times
• Participate in research: Women’s Hospital often has studies ongoing for new parents; UBC has an infant cognition lab that studies infant development
• Fitness activities: Postnatal Fitness/Yoga classes, Parent hikes/snowshoeing, swimming lessons, other parks and recreation programs
• Social outings: Stars & Strollers, Movies 4 Mommies
• There are many online parent networks & email list serves- Yoyomama sends an email on Thursday with family-friendly events for the upcoming week. It covers cities and towns within about a 5 hour radius of the lower mainland.- Meetup.com – local parent groups are searchable here
• If you have a general license, you may want to look into moonlighting or working at a walk-in
• You may also want to stay connected to your program while on leave by attending half-days, resident retreats, or conferences
• Some residents used the time for professional development by working on research projects
• Volunteer, Travel, or whatever suits your fancy – you’re FREE (from your pager)!!

There are often access programs for low income families. These provide free (or reduced fee) access to swimming, skating, and other events. If you’re recently graduated from medical school you may just seem poor enough.

More information here: http://vancouver.ca/Parks/rec/lac/index.htm

When to Return to Work

There no right answer to the question, “When should I go back to work?”. It is a personal decision that you should make with your family. Remember that becoming a parent is a life changing event but you are still you and you know yourself best. Factors that you should consider when planning the length of your leave might include if you want to split your parental leave with a partner, your financial situation, child care availability and where you are in your residency training.

Once on parental leave you may decide that you need to shorten or lengthen your leave. Keep in mind, that until you meet your child you will not know how easy it will be to return to work. Some babies are easy going and good sleepers some are not (but still adorable!). Be willing to change your plan based on the temperament of your child because sleep is important to your function at work.

The PAR- BC Collective Agreement states:

“An employee shall make every effort to give at least four (4) weeks notice prior to the commencement of maternity leave of absence, and at least fourteen (14) days notice of her intention to return to work prior to the termination of the leave of absence.”

Ideally, your program will appreciate more than two weeks notice regarding your return but it is important to know your rights.

Returning to work can be a stressful and guilt-inducing time – or, you may be dancing with excitement to return to your clinical work. Whatever your situation, remember the choices you made were right for you and your family, and that is all that is important. Talk to other colleges that have taken maternity leave and find out what worked for them.