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Sick Leave (includes medical/dental appointments)
Maternity, Adoption and Parental Leave
General Leave
Jury or Court Witness Duty Leave
Bereavement Leave
Compassionate Care Leave
Note: These are brief descriptions of the leaves available. For the full text of the provisions for Sick Leave and Leaves of Absence, please consult the Technician and Research Assistant handbook you received with your Letter of Offer.
Leave with pay due to illness or injury, up to the number of days in the employee’s sick leave reserve. A full-time employee accumulates sick leave at 1.25 days per month for each month during which they work at least 11 days, to a maximum of 152 days. Part-time employees’ sick leave is pro-rated based on their percentage of employment.
Paid absence of a half-day per month for medical and dental appointments are not deducted from an employee’s sick leave bank.
If you have exhausted your sick leave reserve and have not satisfied the six-month qualifying period for income replacement plan benefits, you should apply for an unpaid medical leave of absence and learn about your options to maintain benefits during your unpaid leave.
If you have been approved for a paid medical leave, please note that your current benefits will continue uninterrupted and the cost-sharing of benefits will be the same as if you were actively at work.
Birth mothers are entitled to up to 17 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Further unpaid maternity leave of up to six consecutive weeks may be granted where the birth mother is unable to return to work for reasons related to the birth or the termination of the pregnancy, as certified by a medical practitioner.
Birth mothers may be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI benefits) from Human Resources Development Canada during their unpaid maternity leave. For the purposes of EI maternity benefits, up to 15 weeks of EI benefits may be claimed by the birth mother after a two-week waiting period is served. The mother can start collecting maternity benefits either up to eight weeks before she is expected to give birth or at the week she gives birth. Maternity benefits can be collected within 17 weeks of the actual or expected week of birth, whichever is later.
If eligible, UBC’s Supplemental Employment Benefits (SEB) Program pays the difference between the EI benefit received from Human Resources Development Canada and 95% of salary. SEB benefits are payable for a maximum of 17 weeks (the two-week EI waiting period where it pays 95% of salary, plus 15 weeks of topping up EI to 95%. The remaining 5% is paid to the employee after they have returned to work for at least six months).
For more information, please refer to the step-by-step guide on Preparing for a Maternity, Parental and Adoption Leave.
Birth mothers are entitled to up to 35 weeks of unpaid parental leave in addition to maternity leave following the birth of a child. The maximum length of unpaid leave for a birth mother is 52 weeks (17 weeks maternity + 35 weeks parental). If a birth mother does not take unpaid maternity leave, she is entitled to 37 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Birth fathers are entitled to up to 37 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Further unpaid parental leave up of to five additional weeks may be granted where the child is certified by a medical practitioner to be suffering from a physical, psychological or emotional condition.
Birth mothers and birth fathers may be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI benefits) from Human Resources Development Canada during their unpaid parental leave. For the purposes of EI parental benefits, up to 35 weeks of EI benefits may be claimed by the birth mother, birth father, or shared between the birth mother and birth father. If EI parental benefits are claimed by the birth mother or shared between the birth mother and birth father, the two-week waiting period is not required if previously satisfied by the birth mother (when claiming EI maternity benefits). Birth fathers claiming all EI parental benefits must serve a two-week waiting period.
UBC’s Supplementary Employment Benefits (SEB) Program is not available during unpaid parental leaves.
For more information, please refer to the step-by-step guide on Preparing for a Maternity, Parental and Adoption Leave.
Adopting parents are entitled to up to 37 weeks of unpaid adoption leave. Further unpaid adoption leave up of to five additional weeks may be granted where the child is certified by a medical practitioner to be suffering from a physical, psychological or emotional condition.
Adopting parents may be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI benefits) from Human Resources Development Canada during their unpaid adoption leave. For the purposes of EI adoption benefits, up to 35 weeks of EI benefits may be claimed by the adopting parent or shared between adopting parents after a two-week waiting period is served.
UBC’s Supplementary Employment Benefits (SEB) Program is not available during unpaid adoption leaves.
For more information, please refer to the step-by-step guide on Preparing for a Maternity, Parental and Adoption Leave.
Employees may have up to six months leave of absence without pay and benefits for personal reasons, upon written application.
Employees are eligible for a paid leave of absence when they are required by law to serve as jurors or witnesses in any court. In cases where the employee must appear as a plaintiff or defendant in a civil or criminal action, the employee will be granted a leave of absence without pay.
If there is a death in your family notify your supervisor as soon as possible. You will be entitled to five (5) days of paid leave of absence upon notification of the death of your parent, wife, husband, common-law spouse, same sex spouse, or child.
You will be entitled to three (3) days of paid leave of absence upon notification of the death of a brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild.
In special circumstances, you may be granted further leave without loss of pay or benefits. If special circumstances do not exist, additional time off may be granted as leave without pay or vacation time if available.
Compassionate Care Leave Employment Insurance Benefits were introduced in January 2004 by the Canadian Government. On April 27, 2006, the BC Government amended the Employment Standards Act to provide for an entitlement to job-protected leave for Compassionate Care. Therefore, there are two parts to compassionate care leave as described below, the unpaid portion that is an entitlement under the BC Employment Standards Act and the Employment Insurance (EI) benefits that is subject to certain eligibility requirements as determined by HRSDC.
Compassionate Care Leave provides up eight weeks of unpaid leave for an employee to care or support a family member* if a medical practitioner issues a certificate stating that the family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.
*A definition of “family member” as per Employment Standards may be found in Section 52 of the BC Employment Standards Act.
The Compassionate Care Benefit is a type of Employment Insurance (EI) benefit from Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Up to six weeks of EI Compassionate Care benefits may be available to those on Compassionate Care leave, after a two-week waiting period is served. A definition of “family member” for EI purposes may be found by clicking here.
If you wish to take additional leave after the expiry of your Compassionate Care leave, please refer to General Leave.
