If you went off work before baby was due
CanadianGurl
member
If you went off work (not on vacation time) but on bed rest, did you have to claim that time as your mat leave? Or did you use disability/sick time/unpaid leave? Just curious what would happen if I ever had to go on bed rest if I would have to start my mat leave then or if it could just be sick time/disability.
If you went off work before the baby on mat leave, how early were you able to start the mat leave benefits before baby, and did you have to have a doctor's note? Also, did/will work make you come back 1 year from when you left or 1 year from when your baby was born?
With DS#1, I was in hospital only a few days before he was born (early) on sick leave then started my mat leave after his birth and came back right after his 1 year birthday. But this time, I'm not sure I'm going back to work, and I would like to start my mat leave at the beginning of Dec (due Dec 31) if it's an option, but not sure if I have to be "unable to work" by a doctor's note.
Re: If you went off work before baby was due
You can start your mat leave 12 weeks before your LO is due. My last day of work was September 11th and LO was due on October 2nd and was born on October 4th. I go back to work on September 13th.
So, if you want to start your mat leave at the beginning of December, you should be able to, as long as you give your employer 6 weeks written notice. And if you decide that you do want to go back, you would go back to work 12 months from the date that you left, not from when the baby is born.
I started mat leave 2 weeks before he was due...which ended up being 4 weeks before he was born. ::shakes fist at stubborn little boy::
My mat leave would have ended a year from when I went off NOT a year from when he was born.
You can go off at the start of Dec, it just means you have to go back at the start of Dec.
For everyone in Canada here is a break down of what you are entitled to when you are pregnant.
15 weeks of sick leave, 15 weeks of mat leave and 35 weeks of parental leave (which can split between both parents). Unless you have twins than you can get 2 years off thanks to a lovely couple in BC who fought the system, won and set a new precedent that EI has to uphold.
Take as much of your time as you can. Do not waste your mat leave on bed rest even if you can start it 12 weeks before you have your baby/ due date. Ask you doctor for a note. You doctor should offer a note if you are put off work on bedrest anyways.
With my first pregnancy I only took 4 weeks of sick leave and baby came two weeks early. This time I am going off on sick leave at 25 weeks. Becuase you are entitled to this and you can so why not?
Do you not actually have to be sick and have a doctors note? Why would you want to be off that early, unless you have a little one around. I was on bed rest from 21 weeks and it was HELL. And I was actually able to work from home to help pass the time. Having that much time off with nothing to do isn't actually that fun!
I can also buy a gun and shoot_shitt with it but I am not going to do that now am I?
Plus being pregnant for most people isn't an "illness" so why would you need to be off on sick leave. That is just ridiculous to take it just "because".
I really enjoy my work and like others have said, what would I do with my time? I would also fear ending up with a major illness in the future, having taken such a chunk out of my sick leave.
This is my last week of work and I am frantically trying to get as much as I can in order for my replacement. I'll be 38 wks when I finish, assuming nothing happens this week, which gives me a little break. My work also allows me to take 6 wks' sick leave post-partum which I will do, because I am never sick and have a lot of banked time. Plus that means 6 weeks at full pay rather than whatever crazy percentage EI gives you with the cap.
I have a 16 month old. By the time I pay for daycare and gas to travel to work and back my take home pay is less than what I get on mat leave. So why work and have someone else raise my kid and bring home less money?
You don't need to be *sick* but there has to be something wrong with you and you do need a doctors note. Something wrong with you can be as simple as back and/or hip pain if you have an office job or a job in which you stand most of the day.
I did the exact same thing, and my sick leave expired a week before DD was born. If you have a need to take the sick leave, do it. I highly recommend it.