# 2024-072 Pay and Benefits, Maternal/Parental Leave

Case summary

F&R Date: 2024-11-22

The grievor, a Class B Reserve service member residing in Quebec, challenged the Canadian Armed Forces' decision to deny his request to take his paternity and parental leave in two separate periods, which he claimed was based on a misinterpretation of policy. The grievor explained that, when he submitted his leave requests, he was not informed that he would not be able to split his leave, and he was unaware that he had to indicate his intention regarding the number of weeks chosen at the outset of the process. 

The Initial Authority (IA) refused to grant redress to the grievor, explaining that there is no distinction between parental leave and paternity leave for Class B Reserve service members, and that it is a single continuous period of leave. The IA explained that the only reason for which parental leave could be interrupted is in the event of a return to duty for imperative military requirements, which does not correspond to the grievor's situation.

Following a thorough review of the information in the file and applicable policies, the Committee noted that the grievor may have received bad advice, believing that the initial five weeks of leave he requested were paternity leave because he lived in Quebec. However, the grievor had an obligation to familiarize himself with the applicable provisions and to communicate his intentions early in the process in order to receive the appropriate advice. Since the grievor had entered the parental leave period and was not returning to duty for imperative military requirements, the Committee determined that he had not been aggrieved.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority not grant the redress requested.