Payroll and Benefits Guide Canada – Alberta

Annual Leave (vacation)

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave if they have worked for the same employer for at least 30 working days in the previous year; the number of days and payment is determined by provincial law.

In Alberta, employees are entitled to 2 consecutive weeks of vacation leave after the first year of employment and 3 consecutive weeks of leave after five years of employment.

Vacation Pay entitlement is calculated based on the workers salary, payroll frequency and length of service:

• For monthly paid workers, the employer must pay the employee’s regular rate of pay for the time of their vacation. Each week of vacation pay is calculated by dividing their monthly salary by 4.3333 (which is the average number of weeks in a month).
• For employees paid other than monthly, workers with less than 1 year service receive 4% of wages vacation pay, workers with 1-4 years of service receive 4% of yearly wages vacation pay and workers with 5 and above years service receive 6% of yearly wages as vacation pay.

PTO Carryover

Note:

• For Papaya Direct, this varies by province; it’s allowed if going above and beyond the minimums but the policy must be reviewed by HR. Employees cannot skip taking vacation time that is mandated by law. Vacation that’s over and above the minimum entitlements can be carried over as per client policy.
• For People2.0, there is no carryover.

Public Holidays

There are 10 General holidays. Some industries or collective agreements might mandate additional public holidays for eligible workers.

When certain public holidays fall on a weekend they will be moved to the following Monday in lieu (including New Year’s Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day).

Sick Days

Sick leave entitlement in Alberta depends on whether the employee falls under provincial or federal regulation, and whether they qualify for Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits.

• Regulated workers under the Alberta Employment Standard Code are entitled to 5 days of unpaid job protected Personal & Family Responsibility Leave per year. This can be taken if the worker is ill or for the employee to meet a need of family member. Employees must have completed 90 days of employment to be eligible. Unused days do not carryover into the next calendar year. An employee must give an employer notice as soon as is reasonable before taking this leave. More details and eligibility criteria can be found on the Government of Alberta website.
• Federally regulated workers are entitled under the Canada Labour Code to receive up to 10 days paid sick leave per year. These 10 days paid sick leave is accrued during the year after an initial 30-day qualifying period of continuous employment has been completed.  Following this qualifying period, workers earn the first 3 days of paid medical leave. Following this, workers earn 1 further day of paid sick leave at the start of each month after completing 1 month of continuous employment until a maximum of 10 days paid sick leave per year has been accrued. Any days of medical leave with pay that are not taken within the year will be carried over to the beginning of the new year up to a maximum of 10 days. More details and eligibility criteria can be found on the Government of Canada website.
• Regardless of jurisdiction, workers may also qualify for Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits, which are administered federally. These benefits are available to employees who are unable to work due to medical reasons and meet the eligibility criteria. EI sickness benefits provide 55% of average weekly earnings, up to 695 CAD per week, for a maximum of 26 weeks. To qualify, employees typically need 600 insured hours worked in the 52 weeks prior to illness and must submit a medical certificate. More information can be found on the Government of Canada website.

Maternity Leave

In Canada, Maternity and Parental leave rights are set out through the nationwide Employment Insurance (EI) program, which is applied across all provinces and entitles eligible mothers to take up to 15 weeks of maternity leave with income support. For Federally regulated employees and industries, up to 17 weeks maternity leave can be taken. During this period, eligible employees will receive maternity benefits equal to 55% of their earnings, up to a maximum of 695 CAD per week. To receive this benefit, workers must provide a certificate from a healthcare practitioner confirming the pregnancy. For further guidance and eligibility criteria, refer to the Government of Canada website.

In addition to EI, each individual province sets their own set of employment standards that determine the full available leave entitlements for parents.

In Alberta, mothers are entitled to take a maximum of 16 consecutive weeks maternity leave providing they have completed at least 90 days of employment before maternity leave begins. The earliest this leave can be taken is 13 weeks before the due date. There is no additional requirement for employers to provide pay during this leave unless specifically stated in the employment contract or Collective Agreement. Any other pay entitlement will be through the EI. Employees must give employers written notice at least 6 weeks before starting Maternity leave. More information and eligibility criteria can be found on the Alberta Government website.

Following the completion of the maternity benefits, mothers can go on to take Parental Leave.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave falls under the parental leave entitlement.

Parental Leave

In Canada, Parental leave benefits are available to parents of a newborn or newly adopted child through the nationwide Employment Insurance (EI) program, which is applied across all provinces. Parents can choose between 2 options:

1. Standard parental benefits – up to 40 weeks leave shared between parents, but one parent cannot take more than 35 weeks, with pay equal to 55% of their earnings, up to a maximum of 695 CAD per week. This leave must be used within 52 weeks of the birth.
2. Extended parental benefits – up to 69 weeks leave can be shared between parents, but one parent cannot take more than 61 weeks, with pay equal to 33% of their earnings, up to a maximum of 417 CAD per week. This leave must be used within 78 weeks of the birth.

The Parental leave period does not have to be taken consecutively but must be within the above mentioned timeframe. Further information and eligibility criteria can be found on the Government of Canada website.

In addition to EI, each individual province can set their own set of employment standards that determine the full available leave entitlements for parents. In Alberta, parents can take up to 62 weeks of unpaid parental leave (one week more than provided under EI). Leave can start any time after the birth or adoption of a child (or after the maternity leave period ends), but must be used within 78 weeks of the date the baby is born or placed with the parents. Employees must give employers written notice at least 6 weeks before starting maternity or parental leave. Employees must give their employer’s written notice at least 4 weeks before they return to work. Additional information can be found on the Alberta Government website.

Other Leave

Bereavement Leave

This leave is in place for workers whose family member has died. There are two support systems; the system that applies depends on if the worker falls under a federally regulated sector or under the provincial sector:

• Workers regulated under the Alberta Employment Standards Code are entitled to 3 days per year of unpaid job protected leave in the event of the death of a family member. To be eligible, workers must have at least 90 days of continuous service.
• Federally regulated workers under the Canada Labour Code are entitled to up to 10 days of job protected bereavement leave following the death of an immediate family member. This leave can be taken within 6 weeks of the death. The first 3 days of this leave will be paid if the worker has completed 3 months of continuous employment.

Compassionate Care Leave

This leave is in place for workers who need to care for gravely-ill family members, with significant risk of dying. There are two support systems in place which can both be applied to workers:

• Under Canada’s Federal Employment Insurance (EI), eligible employees who have at least 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of the claim or since the start of their last claim (whichever is shorter) is entitled to caregiving leave of up to 26 weeks. There might also be eligibility for income support equal to 55% of earnings, up to a maximum of 695 CAD per week.
• Under the Alberta Employments Standard Code, eligible employees who have been employed for at least 90 days can take up to 27 weeks of leave to care for gravely-ill family members (which exceeds the EI leave length by one week). Employees must give their employer a medical certificate for the ill family member and, where possible, must give written notice at least 2 weeks before the start date of their leave.  Notice must include the estimated date of the employee’s return to work. This leave is unpaid, but workers might still be eligible to receive income support under the EI.

Long-term Illness & Injury Leave

This leave is in place for workers who need to take time off for leave due to illness, injury or quarantine. There are two support systems in place which can both be applied to workers:

• Under the Alberta Employments Standard Code, eligible employees who have been employed for at least 90 days can take up to 16 weeks of job protected long-term illness or injury leave per year. Employees must give their employer a doctors note and provide written notice of leave as soon as is reasonable, which must include the estimated return to work date. Employees must provide at least 1 week’s written notice of the date they intend to return to work unless there is an agreement otherwise. This leave is unpaid, but workers might still be eligible to receive income support under the EI.
• Under Canada’s Federal Employment Insurance (EI), eligible employees who have at least 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of the claim or since the start of their last claim (whichever is shorter) is entitled to sickness leave of up to 26 weeks. There might also be eligibility for income support equal to 55% of earnings, up to a maximum of 695 CAD per week.

Additional Leave

Under the Canada Labour Code and Alberta Employments Standard Code other types of leave are also regulated including Reservist Leave, Jury Leave, Domestic Violence Leave and Death or Disappearance of a Child Leave.