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ARTICLE · 26 APRIL 2018

Bill 6: British Columbia Employment Standards Amendment Act, 2018

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On April 12, 2018, Bill 6, Employment Standards Amendment Act 2018 passed third reading in the BC Legislature and will come into force on royal assent.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Jonathan J. Lam
Jonathan J. Lam
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On April 12, 2018, Bill 6, Employment Standards Amendment Act 2018 passed third reading in the BC Legislature and will come into force on royal assent. The bill contains amendments to the BC Employment Standards Act ("ESA"), including the introduction of new and extended statutorily-protected leaves of absence. This bulletin will provide an overview of these key changes.

Pregnancy Leave - Section 50 of the ESA

The main amendment to section 50 of the ESA governing pregnancy leaves will allow expecting mothers to commence pregnancy leave as early as 13 weeks prior to the expected birth date, two weeks earlier than before the amendment. In addition, the amendment increases the maternity leave entitlement for an employee who requests leave after giving birth to a child from 6 weeks to 17 weeks.

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