As of June 12, 2018 the length of leave to take care of a parent or a person with a serious illness or a serious accident increased from 12 weeks to 16 weeks over a 12-month period and from 24 months to 36 months for a minor child.

You can now also take up to 27 weeks over a 12-month period when your presence is required from a parent, other than your minor child, or from a person for whom you are acting as a caregiver, because of ‘a serious, potentially life-threatening illness.

These FAMILY OR PARENTAL LEAVE AND ABSENCES laws are found in the Quebec Labour Standards and apply to Quebec workers.

The Definition of “Relative” According to the Labour Standards

In addition to your spouse, child, father, mother, brother, sister and grandparents, and also includes your spouces grandparents as well as those persons’ spouses, their children and their children’s spouses. The following are also considered to be an employee’s relative for the purposes of sections 79.7 to 79.8.1:

1. A person having acted, or acting, as a foster family for the employee or the employee’s spouse;
2. A child for whom the employee or the employee’s spouse has acted, or is acting, as a foster family;
3. A tutor or curator of the employee or the employee’s spouse or a person under the tutorship or curatorship of the employee or the employee’s spouse;
4. An incapable person having designated the employee or the employee’s spouse as mandatary;
5. Any other person in respect of whom the employee is entitled to benefits under an Act for the assistance and care the employee provides owing to the person’s state of health.

Quebec Labour Standards (Act Respecting Labour Standards)

79.7. An employee may be absent from work for 10 days per year to fulfill obligations relating to the care, health or education of the employee’s child or the child of the employee’s spouse, or because of the state of health of a relative or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26).

Read More: Quebec Employees Are Entitled to 10 Days Per Year For Family Obligations – Two Days Are Remunerated

79.8. An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 16 weeks over a period of 12 months where he must stay with a relative or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26), because of a serious illness or a serious accident. Where the relative or person is a minor child, the period of absence is not more than 36 weeks over a period of 12 months.

However, if a minor child of the employee has a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate, the employee is entitled to an extension of the absence, which shall end at the latest 104 weeks after the beginning thereof.

79.8.1. An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 27 weeks over a period of 12 months where he must stay with a relative, other than his minor child, or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26), because of a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate.

Read More: As a caregiver, you can receive financial assistance of up to 55 per cent of your earnings, to help you take time off work

From Your National Collective Agreement (Contract)

APTS 24.11:  
Employees may take a leave of absence from work in accordance with the application of Sections 79.8 to 79.15 of the Act respecting labour standards by informing the Employer of the reasons for their absence as soon as possible and providing proof justifying the absence.

During this leave without pay, employees accumulate seniority and experience. They continue to participate in the basic health insurance plan by paying their share of the premiums. They can also continue to participate in optional insurance plans that are applicable to them by making a request at the start of the leave and by paying the full amount of the premiums.

When the leave without pay ends, the employees may return to their position or, where applicable, to a position that they obtained at their request in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement. If that position has been abolished or if the employees have been bumped, they are entitled to the benefits they would have enjoyed had they been at work.

Similarly, upon returning from the leave without pay, employees who do not hold a position return to the assignment they held when they went on leave, if that assignment is still in progress after the leave ends.

If the assignment has ended, the employees are entitled to any other assignment in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement.

MUHCEU 25.09:
An employee may take time off work under Sections 79.8 to 79.15 of the Act respecting labour standards by informing the employer of the reasons for their absence as soon as possible and providing proof justifying the absence.

During this leave without pay, an employee accumulates seniority and experience. They continue to participate in the basic health insurance plan, paying their share of premiums. They may also continue to participate in applicable optional insurance plans by requesting it at the start of the leave and paying the full cost of the premiums.

At the end of this leave without pay, the employee may return to their position or a position they have obtained at their request in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement, as the case may be. If the position has been abolished, or if they have been bumped, the employee is entitled to the benefits they would have had if they had been at work at the time.

Similarly, upon returning from leave without pay, an employee who does not hold a position returns to the assignment that they had when they went on leave if the assignment is still in progress after the end of the leave. If the assignment is finished, the employee is entitled to any other assignment in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement.

SPSICR-CUSM 27.08:
An employee may be absent from work through the application of sections 79.8 to 79.15 of an Act respecting labour standards by informing the Employer of the reasons for her absence as soon as possible and providing the proof justifying her absence.

During this leave without pay, an employee accumulates her seniority and her experience. She continues to participate in the basic drug insurance plan by paying her share of the premiums. She can also continue to partici­pate in the applicable extended insurance plans by making the request at the beginning of the leave and by paying all the premiums. 

At the end of this leave without pay, the employee may return to her pos­ition or, if applicable, a position that she obtained through a posting, in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement. In the event that the position has been abolished, or in the case of bumping, the employee is entitled to the benefits that she would have had if she had been at work.

The above is for information purposes only. For more information, questions and other leaves contact your local union office.