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Employees are entitled to time off work in certain circumstances. Some time-off is with pay and other time-off is not. There are also other conditions that need to be met for most leaves.
You are entitled to at least 3 weeks paid vacation every year, after you have worked for your employer for at least 1 year. If you work for the same employer for 10 years, you are entitled to at least 4 weeks paid vacation a year.
Your employer must allow you to take all your vacation at one time, if that is what you want to do. You can ask to break it up into shorter periods.
Your vacation time should be decided between you and your employer. Your employer must let you take your vacation within a year of earning it. If you and your employer cannot agree or you do not schedule any vacation time, your employer can schedule your vacation. You must be told at least 4 weeks in advance when your vacation will start.
If you do not take the vacation you are entitled to you will get vacation pay instead. For example, if you are entitled to 3 weeks of vacation and you do not take it, you will get 3 extra weeks of pay that year.
In Saskatchewan there are 10 public holidays a year...
If the holiday falls on a Sunday and the workplace is not normally open on Sunday, the following Monday will be considered the public holiday for that workplace. In a week that has a public holiday, overtime pay is required if an employee works more than 32 hours during the normal working days for that week.
If you do work on a public holiday you get premium pay. You get your regular amount of pay plus 1.5 times your hourly wage for every hour worked. Otherwise you generally get the day off with pay.
There are different rules for full-time workers in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, hotels and restaurants. If these employees work on a public holiday they will be paid 1.5 premium pay for any hours they work and receive either holiday pay or another day off. There are also different rules for some industries, such as well-drilling and hog farming.
You may have to be away from work for a number of reasons including if...
Employers do not have to pay you when you are away for these reasons but they cannot fire you for not being at work. However, in most cases, you must have worked for your employer for at least 13 weeks before you can take these leaves and know that your job will be there when you get back. In the case of sick leave you do not have to have worked for your employer for 13 weeks. In the case of longer leaves employers may only be obligated to give you a comparable job. In these cases you are entitled to the same wage and benefits as you had before you went on leave.
You are entitled to unpaid leave if you have been directed to isolate by…
You are entitled to this leave for the duration of your isolation. You may also be eligible for this unpaid leave if you are required to stay home to care for children or other family members.
You are not required to provide notice to your employer, but open communication can benefit both you and your employer. Unlike other leaves, you do not need to have worked for your employer for a designated number of weeks.
See additional information regarding the public health emergency leave from the Government of Saskatchewan.
Special Vaccination Leave is similar to provisions allowing residents to vote during a general election. The special vaccination leave requires that during the pandemic:
For every kind of leave there are a maximum number of days that can be taken.
If you are on leave because you are called to activity duty in the army you can take as many days as you required to be on active duty. If you take a leave to run for public office or because you are elected you can take as many days as needed.
There are a number of other rules that apply to leaves. Notice must be given before some types of leaves can be taken. Generally 4 weeks’ written notice is required for leaves of more than 60 days except for leaves that cannot be anticipated such as bereavement or compassionate care leave. There are also rules about who is considered a family member.
It is against employment standards to end someone’s employment because they have applied for or taken an authorized leave. Employers also cannot let someone go because they are pregnant or disabled because of pregnancy. Workers who are disabled, including those temporarily disabled by pregnancy, cannot be fired for asking for modifications or changes to their duties because of their disability.
For some unpaid leaves you may be eligible for Employment Insurance.
Workers who are away from work because of illness or injury may be entitled to the sickness benefit.
Parents who take maternity, adoption or parental leave are eligible for maternal and parental benefits. Maternity leave benefits covering 55% of the mother’s salary are paid for a maximum of 15 weeks. Parental leave benefits are paid for a maximum of 40 weeks at 55% of the parent’s salary but one parent can only take 35 of these weeks. Parents can choose to take up to 69 weeks and be paid at 33% of their salary. One parent can only take 61 of these weeks.
A family member who is caring for a critically ill or injured child is eligible for the family caregiver benefit. Depending on the person’s wages they could receive up to $562 for a limited number of weeks.
A family member who takes leave to care for a gravely ill family member who has a significant risk of dying is eligible for compassionate care benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks.
If you, your child or someone that you are a caregiver for (even if you do not live together) have experienced interpersonal violence you are entitled to up to 10 days of leave in a year. You can take these days as one block or break them up over the year. Five of these days are with pay. You must have worked for your employer for at least 13 weeks to take this type of leave.
You are entitled to this leave if you have experienced sexual violence or the person who was violent towards you is...
Employers must keep any information disclosed to them by an employee who is taking interpersonal violence leave confidential.
You can use this leave to...
PLEA can provide you with information to help you understand many legal matters you, a family member or friend may be facing.