Mary and Luke plan their maternity and parental leave

Mary and Luke’s story

Mary takes 2 weeks of maternity leave before her due date. When her maternity leave is over, she shares 40 weeks of standard parental benefits with Luke.

• Mary takes 15 weeks of maternity benefits and 13 weeks of standard parental benefits
• Luke takes 27 weeks of standard parental benefits

Mary plans her maternity leave

Mary uses the Employment Insurance Benefits Estimator to help plan her benefits. She plans to start her maternity leave 2 weeks before her due date.

Mary and Luke compare and share parental benefits

They compare the number of weeks and amounts between the Employment Insurance (EI) standard and extended parental benefits. They choose to share standard parental benefits.

Once the baby arrives, they take turns balancing work and caring for their newborn. Luke stays home for 2 weeks and returns to work. After a month, he goes back on parental leave for 25 weeks.

During that time, they spend 5 weeks together at home before Mary returns to work. After her 15 weeks of maternity benefits, Luke stays home to care for their child. Mary works for 8 weeks before starting her parental leave.

Conclusion

Mary uses her full maternity benefits, taking 2 weeks before her baby is born and 13 weeks after. She and Luke then share their parental benefits, choosing the standard option for a higher benefit amount. Luke takes 2 weeks right after the birth and they spend 5 weeks together at home during Mary’s last weeks of maternity leave. Once her leave ends, Mary returns to work for 8 weeks while Luke stays home with their newborn. Finally, Mary takes 13 weeks of parental leave, and Luke returns to work full-time. This plan allows them spend time with their new baby.

Smart tips

• If you live in Quebec, visit the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan for more information about maternity, paternity, parental and adoption benefits.

• When planning your leave, it's important to consider the waiting period for Employment Insurance (EI) maternity benefits. This one-week waiting period isn't included in the total number of weeks of benefits, so to receive the full 15 weeks, you'll need at least 16 weeks off work. You only need to serve one waiting period if you apply for both EI maternity and parental benefits.

  Exceptions for not having the waiting period:

  • If you receive paid sick leave from your employer after stopping work
  • If multiple people claim benefits for the same child, they can skip the waiting period at first. However, a waiting period applies if they switch to a different type of benefit later.
  • If benefits have been paid under a provincial plan, such as the Québec Parental Insurance Plan

  You can apply for EI maternity and parental benefits at the same time and each parent must choose the same option (standard or extended) and submit their own application. Parental benefits don't need to be taken consecutively, but they must be used within specific periods starting the week of your child's birth or placement for adoption.

  These periods are:

  • Standard parental: within 52 weeks (12 months)
  • Extended parental: within 78 weeks (18 months)

  Some of the items you will need to provide online are your:

  • Social Insurance Number and the SIN of the other parent
  • Banking information to sign up for direct deposit
  • Child's expected or actual date of birth

  You may need to mail or drop off hardcopies at a Service Canada Centre for your:

  • Paper record of employment if your employer doesn't issue electronic ones

  Find out more details on Employment Insurance (EI) maternity and parental benefits and on Employment Insurance (EI) waiting period (WP).

• You can use the Employment Insurance Benefits Estimator to determine which type of EI benefit might be right for you, and to get an estimate of the potential weekly benefit rate and maximum number of weeks. It will also suggest next steps to apply.