Compassionate care
Rights
- BC Employment Standards Act
- Amount of unpaid leave: up to 27 weeks to provide care or support to a family member (spouse, child, parent, guardian, sibling, grandchild or grandparent, and any person who lives with the employee as a member of the employee’s family), if a medical practitioner issues a medical certificate stating significant risk of death within 26 weeks.
- The leave must be taken in units of one or more weeks.
- Collective agreement
- Rights to compassionate leave; paid or unpaid will vary pursuant to local collective agreement language
- Employer may grant a compassionate leave beyond amount specified in collective agreement
- Contact the local for specific details.
- Employment Insurance Act
- Amount of leave: up to 26 weeks to provide care for a family member who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks (6 months).
Benefits
- BC Employment Standards Act
- Medical, extended health, dental, pension and group life insurance plans for the length of the leave in the ESA:
- if employer normally pays the full premium, the employer must continue to provide the benefit plan(s), including pension, at no cost to the employee;
- if employer normally pays a portion of the premium, and the employee elects to continue the benefit plan(s), including pension, then the employer will continue to pay its share and the employee her/his share.
- Employment Insurance (EI)
Qualification for EI benefits:
- a decrease in more than 40% of regular weekly earnings
- 120* hours of insurable employment in the last 52 weeks or since the start of your last EI claim (the qualifying period).
- must apply for benefits
- a medical certificate must be provided as proof that the ill family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks (six months), and requires the care or support of one or more family members
- can be shared with other family members who meet the eligibility criteria.
- Care or support means:
- providing psychological or emotional support; or
- arranging for care by a third party care provider; or
- directly providing or participating in the care.
- Benefits paid to care or support one of the following: your family member or the family member of your spouse or common-law partner, or someone who considers you a family member, such as a close friend or neighbour.
Duration of benefits:
- up to a maximum of 26 weeks of benefits within the period of the 26 weeks that start from the Sunday of the week stated on the doctor certificate indicating a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death.