When something comes up in your life unexpectedly, whether it be an illness or injury for yourself or a loved one, it can be difficult to know what leave is available to you. However a more important issue that is often missed is that there is a high chance your leave will be protected. Even though certain leaves have been in place for a long time, others are more recent, and you may not have needed them in the past or referred to them before. You should not be scared of asking your manager for time off, and it is always best to go in prepared so you have a leg to stand on.
The 11 Core Leaves You Need to Know
1. Pregnancy leave
If you have been employed for at least 13 weeks you are entitled to up to 17 weeks of unpaid pregnancy leave. The leave can start as early as 17 weeks before the due date. It does not need to be taken all at once, but it does all need to be taken around the birth event.
2. Parental leave
Parental leave is available to any parent - birth mothers, biological fathers, same-sex partners, adoptive parents - as long as they have worked for the employer for at least 13 weeks before the child arrives. A birth parent who took pregnancy leave gets up to 61 weeks of parental leave. All other parents, including adoptive parents who had no pregnancy leave, get up to 63 weeks. Both parents are eligible to take it, regardless of the order.
3. Sick leave
3 days unpaid per calendar year for personal illness, injury, or medical emergency. A key factor here is that you do not need a medical note for the leave itself.
4. Long-term illness leave
A key leave that most employees do not know about. Employees are eligible for up to 27 weeks of unpaid and job-protected leave if they can provide a note that states a serious medical condition. It must state a serious medical condition.
5. Family responsibility leave
3 days unpaid per year for illness, injury, or medical emergency of a family member, or for urgent matters relating to the education of a child under 18. Family is defined broadly under the ESA - it includes a spouse or same-sex partner, a parent, step-parent or foster parent, a child, step-child or foster child, a grandparent or grandchild, and a spouse's parent. You do not need to be the primary caregiver to qualify.
6. Bereavement leave
2 days unpaid upon the death of a family member, using the same broad definition of family as above. The leave can be taken any time within the week of the death or within the week of the funeral, burial, or memorial service. It does not need to be taken on consecutive days.
7. Domestic or sexual violence leave
Up to 10 days per year for employees who have experienced domestic or sexual violence, or whose child has. The first 5 days are paid after 13 weeks of employment - the remaining 5 are unpaid. The leave can be used for medical attention, counselling, safety planning, legal proceedings, or relocating to a safer situation. Employers are required to keep all information about this leave strictly confidential.
8. Family caregiver leave
Up to 8 weeks unpaid per calendar year per family member who has a serious medical condition confirmed by a qualified health practitioner. If more than one family member is seriously ill in the same year, the employee is entitled to a separate 8 weeks for each person. The same broad definition of family applies. The leave does not need to be taken in one continuous period.
9. Critical illness leave
This leave covers two distinct situations. Up to 37 weeks unpaid to care for a critically ill child under 18, or up to 17 weeks unpaid to care for a critically ill adult family member. A qualified health practitioner must confirm that the family member's baseline state of health has significantly changed and their life is at risk as a result. The leave can be taken in separate periods within a 52-week window.
10. Child death leave
Up to 104 weeks - two full years - of unpaid job-protected leave if a child under 18 dies for any reason. The employee must have been employed for at least 6 consecutive months before the leave begins. This is one of the most significant and least known protections in the ESA. No employer should be asking an employee in this situation to return to work before they are ready, and the law backs that up entirely.
11. Crime-related child disappearance leave
Up to 104 weeks unpaid if a child under 18 disappears and it is probable - given the circumstances - that the disappearance is the result of a crime. As with child death leave, the employee must have 6 consecutive months of employment. The leave ends if the child is found alive, but can resume if the child subsequently dies as a result of the crime.
Sick Leave - What Most People Get Wrong
One of the most commonly misunderstood leaves on this list is sick leave, and it is worth spending a moment on it specifically. Every employee in Ontario is entitled to 3 days of unpaid sick leave per calendar year for personal illness, injury, or medical emergency. That entitlement resets on January 1 every year regardless of when you were hired or how long you have been with your employer.
The most important thing to know: your employer cannot require you to provide a doctor's note as a condition of taking the leave. The ESA does not give employers the right to demand medical documentation simply because you took a sick day. If your workplace has a separate sick pay policy that provides paid sick days, that policy may have its own documentation requirements - but those requirements apply to the pay, not to the leave itself. The leave is yours regardless.
If you are off for an extended period beyond the 3 days and your situation qualifies as a serious medical condition, you may be entitled to long-term illness leave as outlined above. That is a separate entitlement and does have a documentation requirement - a note from a qualified health practitioner confirming the serious medical condition.
What Job-Protected Actually Means
The phrase job-protected appears throughout this article, and it is worth being clear about what it actually means - because it is not the same as being paid.
Job-protected means your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, change your working conditions, or threaten you in any way because you took a legislated leave. It means your position - or a comparable one - must be available to you when you return. It means the leave cannot be held against you in a performance review, a restructuring decision, or any other employment decision.
What it does not mean is that you will be paid during the leave. The majority of the leaves listed in this article are unpaid under the ESA. You may be eligible for Employment Insurance benefits during certain leaves - pregnancy and parental leave being the most common - but the ESA itself does not require your employer to top up your pay.
The distinction matters because many employees stay silent about needing a leave because they assume asking will cost them their job. It cannot - not legally. If an employer retaliates against you for taking a leave you were entitled to, that is a reprisal under the ESA. It is illegal, it is actionable, and it is exactly the kind of situation the Ministry of Labour exists to address.
What to Do if Your Employer Ignores These Rights
If an employer ignores these rights, file through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. It is no cost to file, and has a two-year lookback period. You may be able to recover wages you deserved, file a reprisal complaint, or even a human rights complaint.
The Employment Standards Act exists to ensure all employees in Ontario are treated in a fair and safe manner. Each provision in the legislation was put in place because it was deemed something every employee is entitled to, and should feel safe pursuing. The Act may look intimidating, however once the legal jargon is broken down, it is a straightforward process that can help you or your family recover during a difficult time.
You can explore the full text of every ESA leave provision - in plain English, with employer and employee views side by side - in the partnHR ESA Interactive Index.
Legislation Referenced
- Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 - Part XIV: Leaves of Absence
- Ontario ESA, s. 45.1: Sick Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 45.2: Long-term Illness and Injury Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 48: Family Responsibility Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 49.1: Bereavement Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 49.7: Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 49.3: Family Caregiver Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 49.4: Critical Illness Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 49.5: Child Death Leave
- Ontario ESA, s. 49.6: Crime-Related Child Disappearance Leave
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified Ontario employment lawyer. Nothing on partnHR constitutes legal advice - all content is educational and informational only.