Personal and family responsibility leave

Basic rules

• Eligible employees can take time off work without risk of losing their job.
• Employers must grant personal and family responsibility leave to eligible employees and give them their same, or equivalent, job back when the employee returns to work.
• Employers are not required to pay wages or benefits during leave, unless stated in an employment contract or collective agreement.
• Employees on personal and family responsibility leave are considered to be continuously employed for the purposes of calculating years of service.

Employee eligibility

Employees are eligible for personal and family responsibility leave if they have been employed at least 90 days with the same employer.

Employees with less than 90 days of employment may still be granted leave. However, their employers are not required under employment standards legislation to grant them leave.

Leave must be considered necessary for:

• the health of the employee or,
• for the employee to meet his or her family responsibilities in relation to a family member

Family members

All of the following are considered family members:

• partner (spouse, adult interdependent or common-law)
• parents, foster parents, guardians
• children, foster children, wards, partner’s children
• siblings
• grandchildren
• grandparents
• any other person living with the employee as a member of their family

Length of leave

An employee can take up to 5 days of personal and family responsibility leave in each calendar year. Any leave days not used by an employee cannot be carried over into a new calendar year.

Giving notice

An employee must give an employer notice as soon as is reasonable before taking a leave. A medical certificate or other documentation is not required by legislation in order to take personal and family responsibility leave, however, employers can establish their own policies for documentation. Any leave days not used by an employee do not have to be paid out by the employer if employment terminates.

Termination of employment

An employer may not terminate the employment or lay off an employee while on personal and family responsibility leave. Any leave days not used by an employee do not have to be paid out by the employer if employment terminates.

An employee who feels they have been improperly terminated can file an employment standards complaint.

How the law applies

Part 2, Division 7.6 of the Employment Standards Code (Code) sets out the rules for personal and family responsibility leave. The legislation entitles eligible employees to a period of leave without pay, at the end of which they must be reinstated in their same, or an equivalent, job.

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