Parental leave and allowance for BC Public Service employees

Parental leave provides BC Public Service employees with time away from work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. This leave can be taken by either parent and can be shared between them.

Overview

There are two types of parental leave available:

• Standard parental leave: Up to 37 consecutive weeks
• Extended parental leave: Up to 63 consecutive weeks

You may be eligible for:

• Employment Insurance (EI) parental benefits through the Government of Canada
• Parental leave allowance (commonly referred to as a “top-up”) through the BC Public Service

Eligibility

Check your BC Public Service employment terms and conditions and agreements to confirm what maternity benefits are offered:

• BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU)
• BC's Professional Employees Association (PEA)
• BC Nurses' Union (BCNU)
• King's Printer/Unifor
• Crown Counsel Association
• Excluded Employees and Appointees

If you're an auxiliary employee without leave benefits, your maternity leave follows the Employment Standards Act.

Birthing parent

If you are the birthing parent and have taken maternity leave, you may take up to 61 consecutive weeks of parental leave immediately following your maternity leave.

First you (may) serve a two-week waiting period, then take 15 weeks maternity leave and afterward take 35 (standard) to 61 (extended) weeks parental leave.

Non-birthing parent

If you are a non-birthing parent, you may take up to 63 consecutive weeks of parental leave, which must begin within 78 weeks of your child’s birth or adoption. This includes adoptive parents and same-sex partners.

First you (may) serve a two-week waiting period, then take 35 (standard) to 61 (extended) weeks parental leave.

Sharing parental leave

If both parents are sharing parental leave, the two of you can share your leave by splitting it up with one another. Often, one parent will take the maximum amount of leave (standard or extended) and the other parent will take five or eight weeks of parental leave.

Steps to apply

The simplest way to apply for maternity leave and allowance is to use the digital journey guided application. 

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

If you cannot access the digital journey guided application, you will need to fill out and submit a form

Things to consider

• There may be a waiting period before EI benefits begin if you have not already served a waiting period. If you chose to take the allowance, you will be paid 85% of your basic pay for the waiting period
• You must apply for EI separately, and receive your first payment, before receiving parental allowance
• Benefits coverage continues during your leave, but you can make changes to your coverage within 60 days from the birth of your child as it’s considered an eligible life event.
• Your supervisor may need to submit allowance-related documents on your behalf
• You must return to work for six months, or the length of your leave (whichever is longer) to avoid repaying the allowance