AMURE

Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE)

Maternity, Paternity, and Parental Leave


Quebec Protected Leave and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP)

According to Quebec law, you are entitled to protected leave after the birth of your child. The length of leave differs slightly for birthing and non-birthing parents. If you are the birthing parent, you are entitled to 18 weeks of maternity leave and 65 weeks of parental leave. If you are the non-birthing parent, you are entitled to 5 weeks of paternity leave and 65 weeks of parental leave.

If you meet certain eligibility criteria, you may also be entitled to benefits during portions of your leave in the form of paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave. The number of benefit weeks you are entitled to and the amount you receive depend on whether you choose the basic plan or the special plan. The benefits you receive are disbursed by the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), which all Quebec taxpayers (and their employers) pay into via premiums applied to their paychecks.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you are entitled to the following QPIP benefits:

Maternity and Paternity Leave

The birthing parent is entitled to maternity leave benefits, while the non-birthing parent is entitled to paternity leave benefits. Maternity benefits can begin as soon as 16 weeks before the week of your expected due date and must end at the latest 20 weeks after the week your child is born. Paternity benefits can begin as soon as the week your child is born and must end no later than 78 weeks after your child is born.

  • If you are on the basic plan:
    You are entitled to 18 weeks of maternity benefits, or 5 weeks of paternity benefits. QPIP will pay you 70% of your salary for the entire duration of this leave (up to a maximum weekly gross amount of $1,319 in 2025). Amounts paid are determined based on your income from the 1 year prior to the start of your leave.
  • If you are on the special plan:
    You are entitled to 15 weeks of maternity benefits, or 3 weeks of paternity benefits. QPIP will pay you 75% of your salary for the entire duration of this leave (up to a maximum weekly gross amount of $1,413 in 2025). Amounts paid are determined based on your income from the 1 year prior to the start of your leave.

You can use the benefits simulator to estimate the gross weekly amount you can expect to receive under each plan.

Parental Leave for Both Parents

Each parent is entitled to 65 weeks of protected parental leave. This leave must end no later than 85 weeks after your child’s birth.

  • If you are on the basic plan:
    • You are entitled to 32 shareable weeks of parental benefits. That means that the birthing parent can choose to take all 32 paid weeks, the non-birthing parent can take all 32 paid weeks, or you can split the 32 paid weeks among each other. If each parent takes at least 8 weeks of parental leave, QPIP provides an additional 4 shareable benefit weeks.
    • For the 32 (or 36) shareable benefit weeks, QPIP will pay you 70% of your salary for the first 7 weeks, and 55% of your salary for the remaining 25 (or 29) weeks. Amounts paid are determined based on your income from the 1 year prior to the start of your leave.
    • The 32 (or 36) shareable weeks of parental benefits must be taken within 78 weeks of your child’s birth.
    • The remaining 94 (or 98) weeks of combined parental leave that 2 parents are entitled to are unpaid.
  • If you are on the special plan:
    • You are entitled to 25 shareable weeks of parental benefits. That means that the birthing parent can choose to take all 25 paid weeks, the non-birthing parent can take all 25 paid weeks, or you can split the 25 paid weeks among each other. If each parent takes at least 6 weeks of parental leave, QPIP provides an additional 3 shareable benefit weeks.
    • For the 25 (or 28) shareable benefit weeks, QPIP will pay you 75% of your salary. Amounts paid are determined based on your income from the 1 year prior to the start of your leave.
    • The 25 (or 28) shareable weeks of parental benefits must be taken within 78 weeks of your child’s birth.
    • The remaining 102 (or 105) weeks of combined parental leave that 2 parents are entitled to are unpaid.

You can use the benefits simulator to estimate the gross weekly amount you can expect to receive under each plan.

McGill Benefits

McGill Maternity Leave for the Birthing Parent

The following applies to the first 20 weeks of your leave (i.e. 18 weeks of maternity leave and first 2 weeks of parental if you are on the basic plan; or 15 weeks of maternity leave and first 5 weeks of parental if you are on the special plan):

  • If you are eligible for QPIP benefits, McGill will provide a top-up so that your combined QPIP and McGill benefits reach 95% of your McGill salary. This includes any pay raises that occur during these 20 weeks in accordance with the AMURE collective agreement.
  • If you are not eligible for QPIP benefits, McGill will provide you with 100% of your salary for the first 10 weeks of your leave.
  • Your maternity leave can begin as early as 16 weeks prior to your expected due date, and as late as the week of your expected due date.
  • Both you and McGill continue to pay regular payroll deductions (e.g. pension contributions, health and dental insurance, etc.). These are deducted from the top-up McGill provides.
  • You continue to accrue vacation time.

McGill Paternity Leave for the Non-Birthing Parent

  • McGill provides a paid leave of absence of 5 working days which must be taken between the date of the child’s birth and the 15th day following the child and mother’s return home. This is separate from the 5 weeks of paternity leave that you are entitled to by Quebec law.
  • McGill does not provide a top-up to the 5 QPIP paternity benefit weeks.
  • Both you and McGill continue to pay regular payroll deductions (e.g. pension contributions, health and dental insurance, etc.) during your paternity leave.
  • You continue to accrue vacation time during your paternity leave.

McGill Parental Leave for Either Parent

For the 65 weeks of protected parental leave:

  • You do not receive a top-up from McGill.
  • You can choose whether to keep your benefits (pension contributions, health and dental insurance). You must inform McGill in writing if you choose to continue your enrolment in the University’s benefit plans during this time.
    • The cost of the benefits is withdrawn from your bank account.
    • McGill continues to pay the employer’s contributions to these benefits for the 65 weeks of parental leave, but not for any extended parental leave beyond that.
  • You do not accrue vacation time.
  • You may work part-time during this leave. Consult the AMURE collective agreement for details (pages 54-55). Keep in mind that any income earned during QPIP benefit weeks must be declared to QPIP and may reduce the amount of benefits that you receive.

McGill Extended Parent Leave for Either Parent

McGill offers new parents extended parental leave, beyond the 65 weeks of parental leave that are protected by Quebec law.

  • Extended parental leave must end no later than 104 weeks (2 years) after the child’s birth.
  • This leave is unpaid.
  • You can choose whether to keep your benefits (pension contributions, health and dental insurance) during this leave, but you are responsible for paying both McGill’s and your contributions to these benefits.
  • You do not accrue vacation time during this leave.
  • You may work part-time during this leave. Consult the AMURE collective agreement for details (pages 54-55).

Steps to Follow While Preparing for Your Leave

  1. Inform your supervisor and McGill HR in writing of the date you plan to go on maternity leave and how long your leave will last. This must be done a minimum of 2 weeks before your planned maternity leave.
  2. Submit a request in Workday a minimum of 2 weeks before your planned maternity leave. You must submit, as part of this request, a letter from your legally qualified healthcare professional attesting to your pregnancy and your expected due date.
  3. Create a Service Canada account to access your record of employment (ROE) in case you need it after going on leave. Note that McGill will not generate your ROE until after your maternity leave has begun and you have received your last paycheck.
  4. Create a QPIP account and prepare your application for benefits beforehand (your application will be stored for 120 days). Do not submit until your maternity leave has begun.
  5. Once your maternity leave begins (whether on a planned date or when baby is delivered), submit your QPIP application. QPIP benefits are paid biweekly and benefit weeks always begin on a Sunday. So, in your QPIP application, you need to specify the Sunday on which you would like your benefits to begin. If your child is born mid-week on a Wednesday, for example, you can either (1) choose for your benefits to begin on the Sunday before the birth and will then have to declare your earnings for the Monday and Tuesday (which could reduce the amount of benefits you get for that week), or (2) you can choose for your benefits to begin the Sunday after the birth, which means you will not earn benefits or income for the Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
  6. QPIP will obtain your ROE themselves via communication with Service Canada. If they are unable to obtain it (for example, if McGill has not generated it), you will need to notify McGill and access it yourself through your Service Canada account once it becomes available and send it to QPIP.
  7. Once QPIP approves your application, they will provide you with a letter that includes information on how much you will be paid. Forward this letter to McGill HR. They will need this to determine how much McGill will pay you in top-up/indemnities.
  8. If you earn any income during your leave, you must declare this income to QPIP as it may reduce the amount of benefits that you receive. This can include vacation pay that you receive from McGill during your QPIP benefit period. It is therefore recommended to schedule vacation days for after your QPIP benefit periods have ended.
  9. If you will be taking parental leave (following the first 20 weeks of maternity leave or 5 weeks of paternity leave), you must inform your supervisor and HR in writing at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the parental leave. If you plan to work part-time during your parental leave, your request must be made at least 30 days in advance. You must also inform HR if you wish to continue to be enrolled in the University’s benefit plans during this time and which benefits you would like to continue to be enrolled in (pension contributions, health and dental insurance, etc.).
  10. In the 4th week prior to the end of your maternity leave, McGill will communicate with you in writing to inform you of the upcoming date of end of leave. You must respond to them a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the end of your leave to inform them that you intend to return to work (or plan to extend your leave). If you do not respond and do not show up for work at the expiry of your leave, you will be granted 4 weeks of unpaid leave. If you still do not show up for work after those 4 weeks, McGill will consider you to have resigned from your job.
  11. In the 4th week prior to the end of your parental or extended parental leave, McGill will communicate with you in writing to inform you of the upcoming date of end of leave. You must respond to them a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the end of your leave to inform them that you intend to return to work. If you do not provide notice or fail to show up for work at the expiry of your leave, McGill will consider you to have resigned from your job.
  12. If you wish to return to work before the end of your parental or extended parental leave, you must inform your supervisor in writing at least 30 days (or 2 weeks?) before the date you intend to return to work.

IMPORTANT

Quebec and McGill leaves and benefits may be different in the following cases:

  • Adoption
  • Surrogacy
  • Twins
  • Single parent

Consult government sources and AMURE’s collective agreement with McGill for information on what you are entitled to in those situations.

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