Maternity And Parental Leave In Alberta

When an employee provides notice that they will be commencing a maternity or parental leave, many employers have questions regarding their obligations to that employee.

In Alberta, once an employee has been employed with an employer for 52 consecutive weeks, the employee is thereafter eligible to take a maternity and/or parental leave whenever the employee gives birth to, fathers or adopts a child throughout the employee's tenure with the employer.

A maternity leave, for birth mothers, can be up to 15 weeks in length. A parental leave, for birth mothers, fathers and adoptive parents, can be up to 37 weeks in length. The employer is not required to make any payments to the employee during a maternity or parental leave. However, in Alberta, employers must provide an employee on maternity or parental leave with job protection. As such, a maternity or parental leave is not a break in service, nor can an employee (except for in limited circumstances) be terminated once