# EI Maternity leave questions



## jazzman (Dec 15, 2014)

My question is related to EI Maternity aand Parental benefits. I have read the information on canada.ca and i seek clarity on a couple of points:

Situation:
My wife will start her maternity leave 10 weeks before the due date.

1) I have read the ligibility requirements for EI Maternity benefits and I am not sure what this requirement means: "Your normal weekly earnings are reduced by more than 40%"

Does this statement mean that my wife SHOULD be earning 40% less BEFORE starting her maternity leave?
OR
Does this statement mean that when my wife starts her maternity leave her income SHOULD be 40% less than what she was earning. 

2) When exactly should we submit our parental leave application? Are we expected to submit it ON the day the baby is born? or can we submit it a couple of days before the expected DUE DATE?

3) My understanding is that EI application requires that you submit your ROE for last 52 weeks. When should I request this from the employer? Does the employer send to Service Canada directly?

Thank you


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## Chica (Jan 19, 2016)

jazzman perhaps someone who's actually applied for maternity leave benefits will speak up. 

Your wife applies online for EI benefits after she's worked her last day at the company. Her employer submits her ROE electronically. Unless they're not computer literate then maybe someone hand writes it, and she has to go in to work to pick it up and submit it. She will be able to view her ROE online at the Service Canada website once the employer has submitted it. I'm not sure what the waiting period is for maternity leave but I'd say expect at least 3 weeks before a payment gets deposited to the bank account.

It used to be a person who got laid off from their job got more EI benefits that a maternity leave, because that's kind of an involuntary thing when you lose your job. As opposed to maternity leave because generally speaking the woman made a voluntary decision to become pregnant. It used to be 65% of your pay is what you got paid by EI benefits every 2 weeks when you got laid off. Maternity leave was 55% of your pay. A company I used to work at 2 pregnant women were going off on leave and both of them begged the HR department to lay them off so they'd get more money, but HR wouldn't budge. Probably a bad thing to lie to the government!

The normal earnings are reduced by more than 40% means the amount of money your wife currently makes, she'll receive EI benefits in 55% of that amount. It's like having her take home pay cut nearly in half.

The two of you should probably head into your nearest Service Canada office and ask for more information so you apply correctly. Also your wife's HR department has been down this road before so that would be a good place for her to ask questions.

Good luck with all of this and your new baby!


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

Applying online is fairly easy. The ROE will be submitted electronically by her employer once she confirms her leave with them.

Note that there is a 2 week 'deductible'. That is you don't get paid for the first 2 weeks of your leave. This only applies to the first person to apply for leave (maternity leave). If you apply for parental leave later (you should if you can), then you don't lose those 2 weeks when you apply.
From the time you apply to the time you get your first payment could be over 4-6 weeks. They'll pay you retro, but there is definitely a delay in the first payment.

Most people who would visit this site usually get the full EI amount, which is about 450$/week. They pay bi weekly.


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## adrienne (Mar 27, 2015)

Firstly, I have applied and received maternity and parental benefits 2x so I know a bit. Not everything but I can try to help. 

Basically, in order to be eligible for Maternity Benefits, her earnings need to have been decreased by more than 40% I worked as normal up to 37 weeks. She needs to work as much as she can to receive the maximum amount of money allocated for her. This may not matter to everyone but it was a big deal for me, as I didn't have a set schedule so the government actually calculated my best paid weeks and my payments were an average of those amounts if I'm correct. 

If I recall correctly, I couldn't work for the maternity leave portion which was the first 15 weeks of my leave, otherwise the money I made would have been deducted dollar for dollar. Once in the parental leave portion of the benefits, I believe I could have worked a bit, but the allowance prior to deductions was much reduced. I did not work while on either portion of my leave. I applied for maternity and parental benefits after the last day I worked for both pregnancies, which was 3 weeks before I was due both times. I waited 2 weeks to receive money for my first baby and received money quicker with the second baby. I think I waited a week or so. 

If she is the only parent taking both the maternity and parental leave, you do not have to submit anything to receive the parental leave, as once maternity leave is over (first 15 weeks), the parental leave portion begins automatically and she will receive parental benefits for the remainder of her leave. The only reason parental leave would have to be submitted separately would be if you, the father, wished to take a portion of the parental leave yourself rather than your wife. For example, my spouse and I played with the idea of him taking a week or two of parental leave benefits at the very end of my claim while I returned to work sooner. We didn't end up going that route but the initial plan was to call the government directly and receive guidance as to how and when to do that. 

Your wife simply requests for her ROE to be submitted to Service Canada. My company electronically submitted my ROE after my last day worked.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

1) it means that to be eligible, employment income needs to be reduced by more than 40% - so if your wife stops working, income is reduced by 100%, making her eligible.

2) you can apply at any reasonable time before the due date (you will then have to reconfirm the due date to re-activate the application), or right after. The EI can be back dated. From what I recall, the EI will start on the first Monday following the birth date. 

3) the ROE is automatically provided by the employer as soon as you confirm that date that you cease employment. To an employer, it is viewed as you leaving the company therefore the ROE is issued immediately. CRA will definitely receive a copy but not sure if it will be transmitted for EI purposes. In any case, you will obtain directions once your application is processed.

Congrats!


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