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New Parents

What parents are eligible for leaves?

Under the Collective Agreement, you are regarded as a 'parent' and therefore eligible for a leave if you or your partner:

  • give birth to a child,
  • adopt a child, or
  • come into care, custody, and control of a child of less than 12 years of age.

Women and men in YUFA are both eligible for leaves. Same-sex couples have the same entitlements as heterosexual couples.

Every parenting situation is unique. This FAQ covers your basic Collective Agreement entitlements and illustrates (in green italics) some of the ways in which employees who are new parents have worked with the Employer to tailor these entitlements to their situations. Our thanks to members who shared their parenting stories.

 

What are the categories new parents fall into that determine the leaves they can take?

In the Collective Agreement, there are three:

  1. birth mothers,
  2. primary caregivers: a YUFA member (of either sex) who is not the birth mother and who has the principal responsibility for the care of a child,
  3. any other new parent.

 

What can I get if I'm a birth mother?

First, you get a 'pregnancy leave', a 17-week leave with full pay and benefits. The Collective Agreement specifies that you can take this leave at your discretion in the period 'immediately preceding and / or following' the birth. 

After this, you can take up to 35 weeks of 'parental leave'. Four (4) of these weeks will be at full pay, so long as you apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefit. If you're eligible for EI, it will comprise part of that full pay. If you're ineligible for EI, the Employer still requires you to do the paperwork. (For more about EI, consult Human Resources & Skills Development Canada and York Human Resources.)

Your YUFA health, vision, and dental benefits continue. If you choose to continue making your pension contributions, the Employer will also continue making theirs.

I was a CLA and had a one-year contract extended to three, and then became pregnant. I thought I’d leave and that would be the end, but the University Librarian offered a year of pregnancy and parental leave. A colleague also encouraged and advocated for that.

 

I gave birth in May when I hadn’t officially started at York yet. They let me take a leave from July 1 to June 30 with whatever a full-time employee would have gotten, so the pregnancy leave and the parental leave together covered the first year. (I wasn’t eligible for EI though.) My advisors said, 'Hurrah for Canada, you wouldn’t get that here!'

I started a pregnancy leave on November 1 of the year I started my tenure-stream appointment. Because I had negotiated a half-course teaching reduction for my first year, my Chair argued that I'd be on leave for two half courses of my teaching in Winter, leaving a half course for Fall – but, since I was leaving halfway through Fall, I didn't need to teach at all that academic year. The Dean agreed.

 

What leaves are available for primary caregivers?

If you're a new parent who is a primary caregiver but not a birth mother, first you get a 'primary caregiver leave', a 17-week leave with full pay and benefits. The Collective Agreement specifies that you can take this leave at your discretion in the period 'immediately preceding and / or following' the birth of the child or the coming of the child into your custody, care, and control for the first time.

After this, you can take up to 35 weeks of 'parental leave'. Four (4) of these weeks will be at full pay, so long as you apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefit. If you're eligible for EI, it will comprise part of that full pay. If you're ineligible for EI, the Employer still requires you to do the paperwork. (For more about EI, consult Human Resources & Skills Development Canada and York Human Resources.)

Your YUFA health, vision, and dental benefits continue. If you choose to continue making your pension contributions, the Employer will also continue making theirs.

My niece came to us in August. What was decided was that instead of taking 17 weeks leave in Fall, I would have a half reduction of my load over the 34 weeks of Fall and Winter. I was released from my teaching and kept up with the other roles. The Dean was fantastic about it. I was happy with that resolution: I believe I worked more than half time, but I was able to be at home afternoons when school let out, and that was probably better for my niece. I didn't realize how huge an adjustment process it would be, and in retrospect the resolution was fantastic.

 

What leaves are available for other new parents?

New parents who are neither birth mothers nor primary caregivers first get a 4-week 'paid parental leave' with full pay and benefits. The Collective Agreement specifies that you can take this leave at your discretion in the period 'immediately preceding and / or following' the birth of the child or the coming of the child into your custody, care, and control for the first time.

After this, you may choose to take up to 35 weeks of unpaid 'parental leave'. You may qualify for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits; for more about EI, consult Human Resources & Skills Development Canada and York Human Resources.

Your YUFA health, vision, and dental benefits continue. If you choose to continue making your pension contributions, the Employer will also continue making theirs.

I was not teaching any courses the Fall the baby was born, and thus could coordinate my advising / supervisory teaching load – important at FES – to free up this time in the middle of the term.

We couldn't re-enter Canada with our adopted daughter for over a month, so there wasn't much choice in what we did. A colleague covered my fourth year final class by having students give presentations, which he taped and sent along to me with the written assignments for grading. I think a graduate student covered my other class.

 

With whom should I arrange my leave(s) and when?

As early as possible in advance, apply in writing to your Dean / Principal / University Librarian, with a copy to your Chair. Include an outline of when you plan to take your leave(s) and which leave(s) you plan to take. If you adopt a child, it won't always be possible to arrange your leave in advance, but that won't affect your entitlements.

Keep in mind that Deans and Chairs aren't always up on the details of these leave(s) and your entitlements. It's a good idea to refer to clauses 19.08-19.12 in your letter.

If you later decide to take advantage of an additional leave entitlement, you may revise your arrangement with management.

The baby was a couple weeks late so I took a couple weeks vacation from my library position when I was waiting.

 

Are there other provisions in the Collective Agreement that could ease my parenting transition?

There are several clauses that you might find helpful.

  • You could explore release-time opportunities, such as Release-Time Teaching Fellowships and external grants, or reschedule a sabbatical to fall immediately after your leave(s).
  • If your partner is also at York, you can split the total paid leaves to which you're both entitled.
  • If you're willing to take a pay cut and are under 55, you can apply to your Dean / Principal / University Librarian to go on reduced load. You must specify the period and amount of reduction, which can be no more than 1/3 of your normal workload. If your application is approved, your salary, pension contributions, years of service toward tenure, pension, and sabbatical will normally be reduced proportionally. You can, however, choose to top-up your pension contributions and LTD premiums.
  • Finally, you can apply to take a leave of absence without pay.

Here are some examples:

One of my colleagues was very, very supportive about changing my schedule so I could come in a little later, and about telling me reduced load was an option if I needed it.

 

The second year, I took a leave of absence without pay. I asked the Dean for any amount of time and he thought it wouldn’t make sense, given that I normally teach full-year courses, for me to start back in Winter, so a year is what we negotiated.

 

Because I earn more than my partner, we couldn’t afford for me to take the parental leave – it would’ve been really tight. So I planned a four-month leave, and then had scheduled one course for the Fall – my way of saying ‘if I have to teach now, let it be only one’ – and three courses for Winter. But then I was very fortunate to get a Release-Time Fellowship and on top of that a fellowship to go to the Library of Congress. My husband took a leave through his work and EI in combination, and we moved the family to Washington for the Fall.

 

What if I become a parent in the middle of a term when I'm teaching?

Above all, this does not change your entitlements. Furthermore, if you're on leave for over one month, the Employer must arrange for a substitute or compensate colleagues who cover your duties. If you take up to a month's leave, your colleagues will normally be expected to assume your duties without additional compensation.

We were on the waiting list for adoption for about a year. Our daughter was born in the middle of a term. We got the call telling us about her when she was eight days old and quickly arranged to travel to get her two days later. Prior to that call, we had no notice. I forget exactly how the remaining two weeks were covered, but it happened, doubtless thanks to friends and colleagues.

 

What if my leave will overlap with a sabbatical?

You should request that your sabbatical plans be modified. Normally, your sabbatical would be postponed or suspended for the duration of your leave(s).

My child was born while I was on sabbatical, so I asked that my sabbatical leave be extended for my pregnancy leave - there was no problem getting that.

 

Can I stop the 'tenure clock' while on leave?

Yes, but only if you take a pregnancy or primary caregiver leave. You may stop the tenure clock for a year upon request to your Dean / Principal / University Librarian. The request should be made before your Adjudicating Committee votes.

 

What if I have a childcare emergency?

The Collective Agreement provides for up to one month of 'short-term' emergency leave for several life events, including circumstances requiring extraordinary childcare. For information about leaves, click here.

My partner ended up back in hospital and wasn't in good shape when she returned, so I added on a week or two of 'short-term' leave to the paid parental leave.

 

What should I watch out for?

What follows are some of the worst scenarios that parents in YUFA told us about. Some can be avoided or dealt with by knowing your rights and contacting YUFA if you experience obstacles.

For one leave, Human Resources had forgotten the paperwork and got my return date wrong, so I didn’t get paid the first month I was back. I had to remind them I was back to work!

The experience of negotiating my reduced load was incredibly emotional. I was told that my request was unorthodox and inappropriate. I totally regret having gone to that meeting with management alone, without a YUFA rep or a colleague.

Human Resources gave me the wrong advice about when to apply for Employment Insurance (EI) and didn't provide my Record of Employment on time, so I was denied 4 weeks of coverage.

At first, my Dean thought my leave would be unpaid.

I was made to teach a double load the year I returned from leave to 'make up for teaching I had missed'. I didn't get back the reduced teaching load to which I'd been entitled until my daughter was four years old.

Human Resources told me inaccurately I didn't qualify for a leave because I wasn't actually adopting my niece.

 

What can I do if my colleagues give me a hard time?

Colleagues are often supportive of new parents in their midst. For example, one member told us, 'The support when I came back was wonderful. It was great that there were other people in the department who'd had kids.'

But, over the years we've heard of exceptions. Nobody should criticise you for exercising entitlements that were collectively bargained for the quality of life of all members and their children.

It's management's responsibility to ensure that the workplace is free from 'discrimination, harassment, interference, restriction or coercion' based on, among other things, family relationship and number of dependants.

If colleagues are discontented because the Chair asks them to make up for your absence, or if your Chair him / herself is unsupportive, note that the Collective Agreement requires that a replacement be hired for any employee on leave for more than one month.

Contact YUFA if you believe management is not living up to its responsibilities.

I did attend meetings while on leave both before and after my baby was born. I felt pressured to 'prove' I was still committed to the department after my Chair made remarks about how hard everyone else was working during and after the strike.

As recently as a decade ago, some scientists were rather macho types who looked down on people taking paternity leave. That’s why I didn’t request a leave, other than for the birth of our fourth child. We’d made arrangements for my mother to help our family when the baby would be due in February. Unfortunately she had a severe heart attack in October. I then went to my Chair and explained I would need to take a few weeks off in February. I offered to Xerox my notes for the classes I was to teach and said I’d remain in daily phone contact with my graduate students. The Chair said he didn’t think I was entitled to any leave and that I wouldn’t be allowed to be in contact with my graduate students if I took any leave. I contacted someone at that time, I believe it was YUFA, and the Chair backed down. I strongly suspect the situation in my department today is vastly different than what I experienced.

Management has never used the reduction in my salary to hire a replacement, and that leads to resentments and comments like 'you're not pulling your weight.'

 

More info?

Version: August 2010