Would a Canadian please explain to me

cameragirl21 wrote: how your maternity leave works? How long? How much of it is paid? Who pays it? Are companies required to let you out for that long? Does the law protect you to come back to your job afterward?
And anything else I may have left out, please give me all the nitty gritty details.
Thanks.

boyohboyohboy replied: my maternity leave was 3 months long..the first 8 weeks were paid, then the remainder was unpaid..but my position was held.
I was paid thru my short term disability after my vacation and sick time was used up.

boyohboyohboy replied: Jennifer! I just realized I am not canadian...well no, I didnt just realize I am not canadian..I just saw thats who you asked to answer this!

Hillbilly Housewife replied: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/special.shtml

I've quoted some highlights from the page.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
See above for quotes and a link.

how long - 50 weeks, plus a 2 week waiting period.. .so a whole year. Also, it can be extender to 104 weeks depending on circmstances.

Are companies required to let you out for that long - Absolutely, without a doubt. Some companies are big jerks and managers find other reasons to fire you... but if you can prove that, you've got a law suit.

Does the law protect you to come back to your job afterward - yes, 100%. The only time it does not, is if you are contracted.. and if your contract runs out while you are on mat leave, the company has the option of not renewing.. which means you're out of a job. They didn't "lay you off", your contract expired. They can't terminate your contract though.

cameragirl21 replied: Rocky, thanks for taking the time to explain all that, it is absolutely fascinating, seriously! That system sounds fantastic...if you guys had better climate I might be tempted to move, j/k, I love being an American but boy, could we stand to learn a few things from you guys.
Sounds like your EI is a bit like our Unemployment benefits if someone loses a job but it's much less than 55%, I think it's more like 20% and it's usually only good for about 6 months or so but it's only for if you lose your job, not if you're on mat leave. Interestingly, I was thinking earlier today that we should have unemployment benefits for moms who have to leave work after giving birth.
I am seriously wanting to start a movement to have something like that in the US...I think moms here go back to work WAY too soon and I think it may seriously contribute to postpartum depression and separation anxiety for both the moms and the babies. Very interesting system you guys have, I had no idea....

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
i'm only about 2 hours north of new york. Several of YOU have snow. i don't. The climate's fiiiiiinnnneeee...

cameragirl21 replied: haha, Rocky, I'm in Miami...it's 78 degrees here now and it was warmer earlier in the day...I'm sitting here in my bra and undies with the windows open and only recently turned the central AC off...my neighbors still run theirs, I'm just a freak who prefers the temperature in my home to be about 78-79 degrees so I no longer need AC.
So yeah, for me, Canada's climate is not quite what I'm used to but I used to visit Toronto all the time when I lived in Ohio and I loved the city, even though it was cold...but then again, so was Ohio.

moped replied: But keep in mind Jennifer, that you only get I think 55% of your salary, or less. So every 2 weeks I only recieved $748 which is the maximum amount to recieve if you make a million dollars or not.....so that is why I have gone back to work after 10 months.........

kimberley replied: i think it's actually 60 %... the good thing about it is that the parental benefits are transferable between spouses. so when dh only took 3 weeks of his available 6 weeks off, the rest went back to me.

as for having to hold your job... HA! you have no idea how many people are "downsized" while on mat leave. maybe if you have a well-paid professional job but if you work retail, bar or anything like that... kiss ur job goodbye. i was fired twice for being pg as a bartender. they put laid off on my separation papers but they forced me out.

moped replied:
Yes, I was just downsized a few weeks ago, and I have a professional job. They did package me out, but I still felt I had a case...........

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I had to go back to work when Zach was 2 1/2 months old, because my contract ran out. I've been lucky enough to have government contracts through 2 of my 3 pregnancies.. ony Naomie I was screwed from the get-go.

At least you were both still able to collect.. some is better than none.

kimberley replied: that sucks, Jen. fighting it would have taken months and a lot of money. you have something better now tho, right?

my first two pg i didn't qualify. not enough hours in one place even tho i worked and paid taxes since i was 14 and didn't get pg til 23. and 60% of $7/hr didn't amount to a hill of beans. they don't consider tips when calculating your income. i started working when K was 7wks old.

cameragirl21 replied: Well, I understand the system is not perfect but it is still better than ours. The thing is, when you take a year off, or even close, it becomes very easy for any company to realize that they can do just fine without you which is where the danger lies. Even three months here can put women in a precarious position. I remember at a job of mine the big boss was female and left for a 3 month maternity leave and the little boss, who was male, took over for 3 months and did a way better job than she did so when she got back, none of us wanted her back and it was sooooo obvious...no one would have realized how much better the little boss was had she not taken off for 3 months. There is a definite risk there and it sucks but it's reality.
In my case, as a photog, if I don't take pics I don't get paid, period. So I imagine I would take the first 4-6 weeks off completely and then start with a few jobs a week, totaling about 10 hours a week so it's not full blown mat leave but I could control my hours and schedule jobs when the baby sleeps or won't need to be nursed once there is a set schedule. I'm sure it won't be that easy, nor will it go smoothly but hopefully I can make it work. If you run a business you have some degree of control but if you work for someone, you really are at their mercy and that just sucks.
There has to be a better way....