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2. Employment Standards >
3. Federal Labour Standards >
4. Leave

Maternity-related Reassignment and Leave

If you are a federally regulated employee who is pregnant or nursing, you can ask your employer to modify your job or reassign you if continuing to do your present work poses a risk to your health, the health of your unborn child, or the health of your baby. This request must be accompanied by a medical certificate indicating how long the risk will likely last and what activities/conditions you should avoid.

Your employer must:

• Allow you to stop performing your job while you obtain the required medical certificate if you feel you, your unborn child or your baby are at risk.
• Examine the request in consultation with you.
• Where practicable, modify your job or reassign you.
• Give you paid leave while considering your request and until your job is modified, you are reassigned, or you are informed that these changes cannot reasonably be made.

When a job modification or reassignment is not reasonably practicable, you have the right to take unpaid leave for the duration of the risk indicated in the medical certificate. You are entitled to an unpaid leave of absence during the period from the beginning of your pregnancy to the end of the 24th week following the birth of your child, but you must provide a medical certificate indicating how long you will be unable to work because of your pregnancy or nursing responsibilities.

Importantly, your employer cannot dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline you because you are pregnant, have applied for, or intend to apply for, maternity-related reassignment or leave. Nor can your employer take this into account in any decision to promote or train you.

For further details, see Pamphlet #5 - Maternity-related Reassignment and Leave, Maternity Leave and Parental Leave, as well as Pamphlet 5, Pregnant and Nursing Employees in the Occupational Health and Safety series and Division VII of Part III of the Canada Labour Code.

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Date Modified:

2012-02-15