How will these changes apply to lawyers who are currently on maternity or parental leave or who will be on leave when the tentative Collective Agreement comes into force?

Changes to parental leave will come into effect on the date the Collective Agreement is signed  (September 5th, 2019). Changes to existing and new compensation elements, including allowances, will come into effect within 180 days following the signature of the new Collective Agreement. This date has been set as November 18th, 2019.

The date that determines an employee's parental allowance is the date on which the employee starts parental leave, regardless of when a maternity or parental leave period was requested or approved. If an employee divides their parental leave in two periods, the employee will be subject to provisions of the collective agreement under which they first started their leave regardless of the timing of the second part of their leave.

If a lawyer has elected extended parental leave and their parental leave begins:

- before September 5th, 2019: The parental leave and allowance provisions in the previous Collective Agreement will apply to their parental leave. Lawyers opting for an extended parental leave will need to apply for leave without pay for or care of family (caregiving leave) for up to 24 weeks following the end of their parental leave, dipping into their five year entitlement. This type of leave is subject to operational requirements.

- on or after September 5th, 2019 but before November 18th, 2019: The parental leave provisions in the new Collective Agreement will apply to their parental leave. Lawyers will no longer need to apply for leave without pay for care of family (caregiving leave), which is subject to management discretion or operational requirements. Lawyers will be entitled to the parental allowance provisions in the previous Collective Agreement. The maximum combined shared maternity and standard parental allowance payable will be 52 weeks, and will top up lawyers to 93% of their weekly rate of pay.

- after the changes to parental allowance come into effect on November 18th, 2019: the parental leave and allowance provisions in the  new Collective Agreement will apply to their parental leave. Lawyers will no longer need to apply for leave without pay for care of family (caregiving leave), which is subject to management discretion or operational requirements. Lawyers will be entitled to the existing parental allowance provisions. The maximum combined shared maternity and standard parental allowance payable under the Collective Agreement is 86 weeks. Parental allowance would top-up lawyers to 55.8% of their weekly rate of pay.