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Maternity, parental and pre-placement adoption leaves and leave allowances

Last updated on March 21, 2024

Leaves and leave allowances are available so you can focus on your new responsibilities as a parent.

If you're an auxiliary employee without leave benefits, your maternity and parental leaves are covered under the BC Employment Standards Act.

A new interactive Maternity, Parental Leave and Allowance Digital Application has been launched to improve your experience as you prepare for your maternity and/or parental leave.

  • Your information is pre-populated, resulting in quicker application time, fewer errors, and less manual effort
  • Features include a date picker and calculator to make it simpler to select the start date and length of leave
  • The application guides you through the process by providing relevant information for each of the sections
  • You can save it as a draft and return to it to make edits before you submit it for approval

Maternity leave

Birth parents who are expecting a baby are entitled to a maternity leave of up to 17 consecutive weeks. 

When combined with parental leave, the time off work can add up to 78 consecutive weeks.

Parental leave

Parents welcoming a new baby or adopting a child are entitled to parental leave of up to 63 consecutive weeks.

You may also qualify for the parental sharing benefit if you and your spouse are sharing parental leave.

Pre-placement adoption leave

This leave provides parents with up to seven weeks off (245 work hours) and the flexibility you need to complete the steps to adopt a child.