An employee who has worked for the same employer for at least 90 days and is the parent of a critically ill child is entitled to take up to 36 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care or support to the child.

If more than one employee is entitled to this leave for the same child, the employer is not required to grant the leave to more than one employee at a time.

The employee can take critical illness of child leave, which starts on the date of the first medical certificate issued for any of the critically ill children.

The leave ends on the earliest of the following:

• the last day of the work week in which the last critically ill child dies,

• 36 weeks after the leave began,

• the end date specified on the medical certificates, or

• the last day of the work week in which the employee stops providing care or support to the last critically ill child.

To take this leave, the employee must provide the employer with a medical certificate stating that:

• the child is critically ill, the

• start and end dates of the period during which the child requires care or support, and

• the date the leave began (if applicable).

The employee must provide a copy of the medical certificate before commencing the leave, unless unable to do so, in which case the certificate must be provided as soon as is reasonable and practicable.

The employee must also provide at least two weeks’ written notice to the employer if they wish to take critical illness of child leave unless a shorter notice period is necessary in the circumstances.

• The employee must also inform the employer of any changes in the estimated return-to-work date.

Critical illness of child leave may be taken in one or more periods, but no period may be less than one week in duration. If an employee has started critical illness of child leave, the employer may not terminate their employment or lay them off, except in certain circumstances such as suspending or discontinuing the business or undertaking in which the employee is employed.

If the employer suspends or discontinues the business or undertaking during the employee’s leave and does not resume operations when the leave ends, the employer must reinstate the employee in the position occupied at the time the leave started at not less than the earnings and other benefits that had accrued to the employee, or provide the employee with alternative work in accordance with an established seniority system or practice of the employer in force at the time the employee’s leave started, with no loss of seniority or other benefits accrued to the employee.

AB ESC s.53.96