Bereavement Leave
Our Collective Agreement does not have a leave explicitly for Bereavement. Should there be a death in the family, there are two options for accessing time away from work.
Bucket Days (A 1.0FTE teacher has a maximum of 5 days per school year):
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Your bucket days, include one day per occasion for a funeral day.
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Your bucket days include up to 5 days for Family Illness (assuming no other days have been used)
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Personal Illness days:
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If due to the death of your family member you are unfit to attend work, you can use your personal illness days. Normal protocol would be followed and a doctor's note may be required depending on the number of days of absence. Please review the Personal Illness page and as always, contact the D16 office if you need support.
Bucket Days
As per our Collective Agreement, full-time teachers have 5 "Bucket" Days to use for a variety of reasons. Unused days do not carry forward to future school years.
There are a MAXIMUM of 5 days for full-time teachers and the number of days are pro-rated for part-time teachers.
View the Collective Agreement or this graphic
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Compassionate Care or Family Care Leave
There are two different options for leaves for taking care of ill members of the family. You need to decide based on the criteria for what will meet all of the needs for your situation:
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1. Family Caregiver leave
A Family Caregiver Leave is an unpaid, job protected leave of up to 8 weeks per calendar year for each individual, to provide care or support to a specified family member where a qualified health practitioner has issued a certificate stating that the individual has a serious medical condition. Provide your Principal/Manager a written plans or include in the comments, the scheduled leave dates if not consecutive. For the purpose of this leave, ‘weeks’ means a period of 7 days beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday. Therefore, the 8 weeks are counted from the Sunday of the first week off to the Saturday of the last week off.
Required: Certificate/note from qualified health practitioner
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A Compassionate Care Leave is an unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 28 weeks within a 52 week period. A Compassionate Care Leave may be taken to provide care and support to a specified family member for whom a qualified health practitioner has issued a certificate/note indicating that the family member has a serious medical condition and there is a significant risk of death within a specified 26 week period. This is a Legislative Leave covered by the Employment Standards Act.
Required: Certificate/note from qualified health practitioner.
Family members that qualify are:
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the employee's spouse (including same-sex spouse)
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a parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee or the employee's spouse
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a child, step-child or foster child of the employee or the employee's spouse
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a brother, step-brother, sister, or step-sister of the employee
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a grandparent or step-grandparent of the employee or of the employee's spouse
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a grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or of the employee's spouse
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a brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law of the employee
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a son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the employee or of the employee's spouse
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an uncle or aunt of the employee or of the employee's spouse
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a nephew or niece of the employee or of the employee's spouse
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the spouse of the employee's grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece
Care or support includes, but is not limited to providing psychological or emotional support; arranging for care by a third-party provider; or directly providing or participating in the care of the family member.
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These are unpaid leaves, meaning you are not using your sick leave, but they are statutory, meaning you can get EI while you are off work and use the SEB (supplemental employee benefit) to top up the leave for up to 8 weeks. The names are not exactly the same, but the benefits apply.
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Employment Insurance (EI)
The Maximum EI payment is $650 per week (as of Jan 2023)
For more information on eligibility and waiting periods, please contact your EI office at www.servicecanada.gc.ca or call 1-800-206-7218 and press “0” to speak with an attendant.
Supplemental Employment Benefit (SEB) plan
The SEB plan covers 8 weeks of top-up of your EI to full salary for the leave. It is a reimbursement plan that is made by direct deposit into your account.
The lump sum payment is made up of the following:
• Providing the one-week waiting period is served for Compassionate Care or Critical Illness benefits, the employee will be paid 100% of their salary.
• For the following seven weeks the employee’s E.I. benefits will be supplemented up to 100% of their regular earnings.
Details from the collective agreement are in C8.1 Family Medical Leave or Critical Illness Leave
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To Apply:
On the BWW you would access the e-form by going to:
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employee self-serve
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e-forms
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long term leave request
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New request
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choose leave type from the drop down menu
Pregnancy / Maternity Leave
The package of information available below is intended to assist members in preparing for a maternity, parental or adoptive leave by providing an overview of the rules and procedures that govern these leaves. The material has been organized according to topics to make it easier for you to find the specific information you may require.
Please check with the District 16 T/OT Office regarding any questions you may have. Federal and Provincial legislation, the terms of our collective agreement (CA) and YRDSB policies may have changed since this document was produced, so please make sure you verify the information prior to making any decisions. Updated legislation is also available through government websites.
It is strongly advised that you keep a complete record of arrangements made and documents submitted, including proof of the date submitted. Every effort should be made to obtain written confirmation.
OSSTF District 16 T/OT Maternity, Parental, & Adoption Leave Guide
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Pregnancy / Maternity Leave​
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ESA - Government of Ontario (Pregnancy Leave)
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The Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides eligible employees who are pregnant with the right to access pregnancy leave of up to 17 weeks of unpaid time off work.
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In order to qualify for a Pregnancy Leave you must have at least 13 weeks of employment with YRDSB before the expected date of birth. ESA Pregnancy Leave
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EI Benefits - Government of Canada (Maternity Leave)
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Employment Insurance maternity benefits provide financial assistance to people who are away from work because they're pregnant or have recently given birth.
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During this time EI benefits provide the birth mother up to a maximum of $668 a week or 55% of their wages if the birth mother has worked for 600 hours over the last 12 months.
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Since a teachers’ work day is officially 8 hours in length for full-time employees, working for 75 days would qualify. EI Benefits Maternity Leave
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SEB (Supplemental Employment Benefit) Plan
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The object of this SEB Plan is to supplement the employment insurance (E.I.) benefits received by members as per the Collective Agreement. SEB Plan OSSTF Pregnancy Parental
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A member who is eligible for such leave shall receive 100% salary for a period of eight (8) weeks immediately following the birth of her child but with no deduction from sick leave.
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The SEB Plan pay will be the difference between the gross amount the teacher receives from E.I. and their regular gross pay.
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To be eligible for the SEB plan, you must qualify for pregnancy leave under the Ontario Employment Standards Act. Prior to payment being made you must apply for and be in receipt of Employment Insurance (E.I.) maternity or parental benefits from Service Canada.
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The SEB plan shall apply to all eligible OSSTF members and will be applicable throughout the calendar year.
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If the member is not eligible for EI, YRDSB is responsible for 8 weeks’ salary at 100%.
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The SEB plan is a reimbursement plan that is made by direct deposit into your account. The lump sum payment is made up of the following:
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Birth Mother Only:
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​Providing the one-week waiting period is served for maternity benefits, the employee will be paid 100% of their salary.
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For the following seven weeks, the employee’s E.I. maternity benefits will be supplemented up to 100% of their regular earnings.
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Use of Sick Leave
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With medical documentation, you are entitled to use sick leave for any illness before commencing your pregnancy/maternity leave.
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If it is less than 20 working days before your due date or scheduled beginning of the pregnancy/maternity leave, a standard medical note is the only thing required and can be found on the YRDSB website. This note is to be handed into your principal only.
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If it is more than 20 working days before your due date or scheduled pregnancy/maternity leave a Functional Abilities Report (FAR) is required and can be obtained by emailing disability.management@yrdsb.ca. That is filled out by the medical professional and submitted back to Disability Management.
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If you do not have any sick leave or have run out of sick leave, you may be eligible for up to 15 weeks Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits.
Returning early or extending your Pregnancy/Maternity Leave
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If you need to either extend your leave or return to work earlier than scheduled, the Employment Standards Act requires 4 weeks' notice to YRDSB to process.
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Remember Pregnancy/Maternity Leave cannot extend beyond 17 weeks (see parental leave for further information)
Other Pertinent Information
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A pregnancy/maternity leave is a statutory leave that must be applied to through the YRDSB website by going to employee self serve → long term leave of absence request → pregnancy/parental (from drop down menu on eform)
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Once you have started a pregnancy leave, the leave must be taken all at once. You cannot use up part of the 17 weeks, return to work and then go back on pregnancy leave for the unused portion.
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if an employee has a miscarriage or stillbirth within the 17-week period preceding the due date, they are still eligible for pregnancy leave. The latest date for commencing the leave in that case is the date of the miscarriage or stillbirth.
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An employee must give their employer at least two weeks’ written notice before beginning a pregnancy leave. Also, if the employer requests it, the employee must provide a certificate from a medical practitioner (which may include a medical doctor, a midwife or a nurse practitioner) stating the baby’s due date.
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You have a right to return to your school and department that you left at the end of your pregnancy/maternity leave
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During your pregnancy/maternity leave you have the right to continue to earn credit for length of employment, length of service, and seniority.
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You will still get your benefits during your pregnancy/maternity leave through OTIP
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Once you go on leave, YRDSB will notify OTIP that your status has changed from FTE to Pregnancy/Maternity leave. You will also receive an email in which you will be given the option to maintain or suspend your LTD. It is highly recommended that you maintain your LTD for the duration of your leave.
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You can choose to pay into your pension during this time and we advise that you contact OTPP to discuss
Other Related Websites
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OT's Pregnancy and Parental Leave information can be found here (Sharepoint).
Parental Leave
The package of information available below is intended to assist members in preparing for a maternity, parental or adoptive leave by providing an overview of the rules and procedures that govern these leaves. The material has been organized according to topics to make it easier for you to find the specific information you may require.
Please check with the District 16 T/OT Office regarding any questions you may have. Federal and Provincial legislation, the terms of our collective agreement (CA) and YRDSB policies may have changed since this document was produced, so please make sure you verify the information prior to making any decisions. Updated legislation is also available through government websites.
It is strongly advised that you keep a complete record of arrangements made and documents submitted, including proof of the date submitted. Every effort should be made to obtain written confirmation.
OSSTF District 16 T/OT Maternity, Parental, & Adoption Leave Guide
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Parental Leave
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ESA - Government of Ontario (Parental Leave)
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The Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides eligible employees who are new parents with the right to take parental leave – unpaid time off work when a baby or child is born or first comes into their care (such as through adoption). ESA Parental Leave
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From the Employment Standards Act a "parent" includes:
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a birth parent;
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an adoptive parent (whether or not the adoption has been legally finalized); or
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a person who is in a relationship of some permanence with a parent of the child and who plans on treating the child as their own. This includes same-sex couples.
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Birth mothers who take pregnancy leave are entitled to up to 61 weeks’ leave. Birth mothers who do not take pregnancy leave and all other new parents are entitled to up to 63 weeks’ parental leave.
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Parental leave is not part of pregnancy leave; a birth mother may take both pregnancy and parental leave. In addition, the right to a parental leave is separate from the right to pregnancy leave. For example, a birth father could be on parental leave at the same time the birth mother is on either pregnancy leave or parental leave.
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Non-birth parents must begin their parental leave no later than 78 weeks after:
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the date their baby is born;
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the date their child first came into their care, custody and control.
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You cannot use up part of the leave, return to work and then go back on parental leave for the unused portion.
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EI Benefits - Government of Canada (Parental Leave)
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The conditions for applying to parental EI benefits are set out in Federal Employment Insurance legislation. EI Benefits Parental Leave
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Both parents can apply for EI Parental Benefits, but they have to share them. Furthermore, both parents are required to choose the same parental benefit option, either Standard or Extended. The option chosen by the first claimant who completes the EI application will be considered as the option chosen by the second claimant.
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To be eligible for parental EI benefits, you must have worked 600 hours in the last 52 weeks or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter. This is called the qualifying period.
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Effective January 1, 2024 the maximum weekly benefit is $668 if your salary is $63500 or higher.
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SEB (Supplemental Employment Benefit) Plan
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The Supplemental Employment Benefit is a collective agreement entitlement and the object of this SEB Plan is to supplement the employment insurance (E.I.) benefits received by teachers covered by the collective agreement
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A teacher who has been granted Parental Leave and who has applied for, and is in receipt of, EI parental leave benefits can apply for Supplemental Employment Benefit by following instructions found here: SEB Plan OSSTF Pregnancy Parental
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In order to qualify for the SEB plan, proof of the baby's birth date, or statement from an adoption agency, is required for the non-birth parent to receive EI benefits.
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The teacher will receive 100% of the teacher’s full salary during the two-week waiting period before E.I. benefits commence. For the following three (3) weeks the teacher’s E.I. benefits will be supplemented to 100% of the teacher’s full salary. During this five (5) week period there will be no deduction to the teacher’s sick leave. The application of the SEB Plan as outlined in L.C.10.0 shall apply to all eligible teachers throughout the calendar year.
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The teacher shall sign an agreement with the Board indicating:
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That the teacher will return to work (prior to submitting any resignation) and remain in the services of the Board for a period of one year after returning from the teacher’s Parental Leave or Adoption Leave (and any subsequent additional leave granted by the Board under this agreement); and
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That should the teacher not comply with (a) above the teacher shall reimburse to the Board any monies paid to the teacher under this SEB Plan.
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Returning from Parental Leave Early
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The Employment Standards Act requires a teacher to advise the employer in writing with four weeks’ notice that they intend to return to work early after a Parental leave.
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If you elect to return from your Parental leave early please consult with Service Canada to understand how this will affect your EI payments Returning from Parental leave early.
Other Pertinent Information
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A parental leave is a statutory leaves that must be applied to through the YRDSB website by going to employee self serve → long term leave of absence request → parental/adoption (from drop down menu on eform)
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Application for Parental leave must be submitted via eform no later than two weeks before the leave is to begin but ideally six weeks if possible for processing.
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Parental Leaves may be claimed by one or both parents and may be taken at the same time or consecutively.
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You continue to earn credits toward length of employment, length of service, and seniority during parental leaves.
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You need to decide whether you wish to continue paying your pension while on leave or pay back your pension when you return to work. Contact OTPP; they will outline what you owe and your options for payments.
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Once you go on leave, YRDSB will notify OTIP that your status has changed from FTE to Parental leave. You will also receive an email in which you will be given the option to maintain or suspend your LTD. It is highly recommended that you maintain your LTD for the duration of your leave.
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Use of Birth Of Employees Child Bucket Days
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There is a clause in the collective agreement that allows members that are NOT using parental leave to have access to up to 5 bucket days paid for the Birth of Employees Child.
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If you choose to do this, the Star Codes are as follows:
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Birth of Employee's Child (6)
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Birth of Employee's Child 1 Class (61)
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Birth of Employee's Child 2 Class (62)
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***You cannot do both the parental leave and use bucket days and we always recommend using parental leave***
Other Related Websites
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OT's Pregnancy and Parental Leave information can be found here (Sharepoint).
Deferred Salary Plan
(DSP) Leave
Applications are to be reviewed and signed by the Principal/Manager and Superintendent and received by Human Resource Services no later than January 31 of the school year prior to the year in which the applicant wishes to begin the salary deferral.
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Other Unpaid Leaves
More information coming