New Benefit – 18 Month Parental Leave

New Benefit Alert! – 18 Month Parental Leave.

The Federal Government has introduced a plan to extend the parental leave benefit to 18 months.

1. Expecting parents will have the option of taking:

• 18 months of leave at a benefits rate of 33% of average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount or;
• 12 months of leave at a benefits rate of 55% of average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount.

2. The proposed plan will also allow expectant mothers to claim maternity benefits up to 12 weeks before their due date, an increase from 8 weeks.
These anticipated changes may not come into effect until January 2018 as the government is required to pass legislation to amend the Employment Insurance Act and make updates to both the federal and provincial labour codes. More information to follow as it becomes available.

Stay tuned!