Ontario Family caregiver leave

[Donna Brennan]

#94368

Forum: Private

Hi,

For Ontario Family Caregiver leave we have an employee that needs to care for her mom. Her mom is ill and in India and the medical practitioner is in India. Does this unpaid protected leave apply to family outside of Canada? Also the leave is 8 weeks per calendar year. Could they take the remainder of 2024 and then continue the leave in January 2025 for 8 weeks if the family member is still ill? Thank you.

[Haley O’Halloran]

#94393

Ontario’s Family Caregiver Leave under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) allows employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a family member who has a serious medical condition. This employee fulfills the key factors for eligibility (the family member being their parent, this family member having a serious medical condition assumingly confirmed by the medical practitioner, and the length of the leave they will be taking.)

Ontario family caregiver leave is up to 8 weeks per calendar year. In terms of your question about taking leave across two calendar years, the employee can take the 8 weeks in 2024 and then continue the leave into 2025. However, the leave entitlement resets at the start of each new calendar year. This means the employee would have up to 8 weeks of leave in both 2024 and 2025.

Thus, the employee could potentially take up to 8 weeks in 2024, and then, once January 2025 begins, they can take another 8 weeks of Family Caregiver Leave, assuming the medical condition continues to require their care and the necessary documentation is provided.

Hope this helps!

-HRInsider Staff

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