Termination and Maternity Leave
There are significant protections in employment law for employees who are on maternity leave. This includes protections for employees who have not yet commenced their maternity leave and also for employees after they return from maternity leave.
The Employment Standards Code makes it clear that termination during maternity leave is generally prohibited:
52(1) No employer may trade the employment of, or lay off,
- An employee who has started maternity or parental leave, or
- An employee because the employee is entitled to maternity or parental leave.
The Alberta Human Rights Act also provides protection against workplace discrimination due to maternity leave. This means that if an employer terminates your employment due to maternity leave, or if they make significant changes to your job due to maternity leave, that this is generally a violation of your workplace rights.
Note that there are exceptions to the above general rules when the termination of employment is due to a discontinuation of the business. For example, if your employer closes their business and dismisses all of its employees, then this would be a rare situation where you could lose your employment while on maternity leave.