Time Off

Your employer must give you at least 3 weeks of paid vacation every year after you have worked for them for 1 year. If you work for the same employer for 10 years, they must give you at least 4 weeks of 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 that 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:

• New Year’s Day
• Family Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Saskatchewan Day
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

If a holiday falls on a Sunday and the workplace is not normally open on Sunday, the next Monday is considered the public holiday.

If you 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.

You may have to be away from work for several reasons including if:

• you are sick or injured or a dependent family member is seriously ill or injured
• a family member has passed away
• you are supporting your child or a family member who is critically ill
• you are a new parent, including by adopting a child
• you are caring for a family member who is very ill and could die
• your child dies or is missing because of a crime-related incident
• you are donating an organ
• you are a new Canadian and you are attending your citizenship ceremony
• you are running for or elected to a public office, including a band council
• you are in the army reserves and are called to active duty

Employers do not have to pay you when you are away for these reasons, but they cannot fire you for taking a valid leave. You must have worked for your employer for at least 13 weeks before you can take this type of leave without the risk of losing your job. When you return to work, you are entitled to the same wage and benefits as you had before you went on leave. If your leave lasts longer than 60 weeks, you may get a comparable job instead of your previous job.

For every kind of leave there are a maximum number of days that can be taken…

• You can be away from work for up to 12 days a year because you are sick or injured. If you are seriously ill or injured, you can be away for up to 12 weeks. If you are receiving workers’ compensation for an injury, you can be away for up to 26 weeks. You do not have to be paid for these days, but you cannot be fired for taking them. Many employers pay employees for sick days.
• Pregnant women and an adoptive parent who will be the primary caregiver can take up to 19 weeks of unpaid maternity or adoption leave. They can also take up to 59 weeks of unpaid parental leave. The other parent can have up to 71 weeks of unpaid parental leave.
• If an immediate family member dies, you can take up to 5 working days of unpaid.
• If your child is critically ill or injured, you can take up to 37 weeks of unpaid leave to look after them.
• If an adult family member is critically ill, you can take up to 17 weeks of unpaid leave to look after them.
• You can take up to 28 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a very sick family member who may die.
• You can take up to a year off if your child dies or is missing because of crime-related incident.
• You can take the day of your citizenship ceremony off.
• If you are on leave because you are called to activity duty in the army, you can take as many days as you are required to be on active duty.
• If you take 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 taking leave. Notice must be given before some types of leave can be taken. You must usually give 4 weeks’ written notice for leaves of more than 60 days. You can give less notice if the leave cannot be anticipated such as for bereavement or compassionate care leave. There are also different rules about who is considered a family member in different situations.

It is against employment standards to end someone’s employment because of an authorized leave. Employers also cannot let someone go because they are pregnant or disabled because of pregnancy. Workers who are disabled cannot be fired for asking for changes to their duties because of their disability. This includes workers who are temporarily disabled because of pregnancy.

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 sickness benefits.

Parents who take maternity, adoption or parental leave are eligible for maternity 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. They can receive 55% of their salary for a limited number of weeks depending on the situation.

If you take a leave to care for a family member who has a significant risk of dying, you are eligible for compassionate care benefits for up to 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:

• part of your family
• your spouse
• in an intimate relationship with you
• someone you are dating
• a parent of your child
• in an ongoing care-giving relationship with you

You can use this leave to:

• seek medical attention needed because of the interpersonal violence
• obtain services from a victim services agency
• go for professional counselling
• seek legal or law enforcement assistance
• participate in a criminal or civil legal proceeding concerning the interpersonal violence
• relocate temporarily or permanently

Employers must give employees who are eligible to vote paid time off to do so. This only applies if your hours of work do not allow you 3 consecutive hours to vote while the polls are open. For example, if you work until 7 p.m. and the polls are open until 9 p.m., your employer may decide to let you leave one hour early with pay. Your employer gets to decide when you should have this time off while the polls are open. This applies to both federal and provincial elections, but not to municipal or other elections.