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Parents - Working parents

Your return to work following maternity leave

While you were away on maternity leave, your boss decided it was time to change your job description. He assigned you new responsibilities...and cut your salary! You wonder what your rights are in this situation.

In this Infosheet, Éducaloi explains the minimum rights to which women are entitled when returning from maternity leave.

What will happen if I fail to show up at work on the day I am scheduled to return from maternity leave?

If you fail to return to work on the date indicated in your written notice provided prior to taking maternity leave, your employer can presume that you have resigned.

If you wish to extend your leave past the indicated date of return, but within the time allowed by law for maternity leave (18 weeks), you must give two weeks advance written notice to your employer. You also can take a parental leave that lasts another 52 weeks.

My employer requires me to provide a medical certificate because I returned to work two weeks after giving birth. Is this legal?

Yes. It is perfectly legal for your employer to demand a medical certificate confirming that you are able to return to work only two weeks after giving birth.

Upon my return to work, my employer tells me that I cannot assume my former position because he replaced me. Can he do that?

No. When your maternity leave is over, your employer must reinstate you to your former position. He must give you the same salary and the same benefits that you had before you left on maternity leave.

While I was on maternity leave, the other employees in my company received a raise. Will I receive this raise upon my return?

Yes. You have a right to this wage increase. Your employer must increase your salary starting on the first day you return to work.

During my maternity leave, my employer eliminated my position. But the person who replaced me has been called back to the workplace and now occupies a position similar to the one I held. Is this legal?

No. If your position was eliminated during your maternity leave, the employer must treat you as if you had been working at the time it happened.

If anyone is to be called back, it must be you. The fact that your employer didn’t call you back to work could be considered illegal, because you could argue that if you hadn’t been pregnant at the time the post was eliminated, you are the one who would have been called back.

Can a person lose her job or be demoted for taking materniy leave?

An employer may not fire or demote a person for taking maternity leave. If this happens to you, there are legal options you can choose from. For more information, you can contact the Commission des normes du travail  (http://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.asp) and the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse  (http://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/en/home.asp?noeud1=0&noeud2=0&cle=0).

Useful Links :

1. Website of the Commission des normes du travail  [http://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca]