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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2010 Mar 1;101(Suppl 1):S9–S15. doi: 10.1007/BF03403840

Paid Health and Family Leave: The Canadian Experience in the Global Context

S Jody Heymann 1,✉, Megan Gerecke 1, Martine Chaussard 1
PMCID: PMC6974079  PMID: 20629441

Abstract

Objectives

Two thirds of Canadian adults participate in the workforce. Their health and that of their families can be markedly affected by the availability of paid sick leave, paid leave to care for family members’ health and paid parental leave.

Methods

We gathered data from all Canadian provinces and territories on these essential leave policies and compared Canadian policies with data collected on 186 United Nations (UN) countries.

Results

While Canada pays sickness benefits for 15 weeks for serious illnesses, globally at least 90 countries provide benefits for at least 26 weeks or until recovery. Moreover, within Canada only Saskatchewan and Quebec guarantee job protection if sick leave lasts over 12 days.

Results

The federal government guarantees Canadian workers six weeks of paid leave to provide care or support to gravely ill family members. Only 39 countries guarantee such leave with pay. Most, but not all, provinces guarantee workers’ job protection during compassionate care leave.

Results

Eligibility for job protection during parental leave varies across the country from having no restrictions to requiring at least one year of service.

Conclusion

Compared with Canada, many countries offer a longer duration of paid sick leave for employees and replace a higher percentage of wages lost. Internationally, Canada performs well in having policies that guarantee paid leave to care for dependants with serious illnesses, but it lags behind in the provision of paid leave to address the health needs of children or family members’ with non-life-threatening conditions. Finally, while paid parental leave is of adequate duration, the wage replacement rate lowers its accessibility to families with limited means.

Key words: Sick leave, family leave, parental leave, public policy, comparative study, provincial government

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: We are indebted to Alison Earle and Jeff Hayes for their immense contributions to the development of the globally comparative data. This article also benefited greatly from the superb editorial and staff skills of Melanie Benard and Kristen McNeill.

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

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