Here you go.
I would have to say, in these circumstances, there is no obligation to the employee past the end of their fixed term contract, June 30 of this year.
There are two seemingly contradictory provisions of the BC employment standards:
- Sub-section 54(2), which says an employee can’t be terminated or have a change in the conditions of employment imposed because of a leave.
- Sub-section 54(3), which says an employee, at the end of a maternity leave, must be returned to their position or a comparable one.
The general rule is that a maternity leave doesn’t create additional benefits for an employee. If they had a fixed term contract of employment, the leave by itself doesn’t change that. The employee can’t be returned to their position, since presumably the maternity and any parental leave would extend past July 1. Any position, which had an undefined termination date, would not be “comparable” to the fixed term employment, so I don’t think sub-section 54(3) can be made to apply.
The only thing the employer might want to consider is to offer 2 months employment, for the months between the start of the leave and the end of the fixed term, to be performed after the person is able to return from any leaves. That at least would adhere to the spirit of the fixed term contract.
Alan R. McEwen
Alan McEwen & Associates
250-228-5280 In the Pacific time zone
https://alanrmcewen.com
