Maternity Leave Canada Benefits?

[KatVM]

To any ladies living in Alberta, Canada. Or I think anywhere is Canada but I do not know if it changes on province.

I went into the Canada Service building today to ask about maternity leave and they said as long as I have 600 hours from the time I apply for benefits in August of this year to that day last year that I will qualify for full benefits. My questions is how does it get decided how much I get? I know it is suppose to be 55% of my weekly earnings however I worked october to december a total of about 215 insurable hours and then took off work till march 9th when i started my new job. How do i figure out how much I will receive if I did not work constantly throughout the last 52 weeks leading up to the start of my leave?

 

[Liesje]

It depends on a lot of things, so there is no available online calculator.

The max you'll get is $485/week (before tax)... One thing I've heard though is not to spend it like it's yours because at tax time, they'll rake it all back in... Most people I know who are now coming back from mat leave are all owing thousands now.

 

[AlwaysPraying]

It's nearly impossible to figure out. I had to wait until they had my forms from my employer and they told me what I could expect. The best thing you can do is see how much you made over the last 52 weeks and take 55% of it as a guess. It's a giant pain!

 

[magnolius]

It depends on a lot of things, so there is no available online calculator.

The max you'll get is $485/week (before tax)... One thing I've heard though is not to spend it like it's yours because at tax time, they'll rake it all back in... Most people I know who are now coming back from mat leave are all owing thousands now.

You mean they don't tax it when they issue it? That'll be a drag to put money aside.

 

[AlwaysPraying]

I'm sure it happens but it never haD

 

[Liesje]

It depends on a lot of things, so there is no available online calculator.

The max you'll get is $485/week (before tax)... One thing I've heard though is not to spend it like it's yours because at tax time, they'll rake it all back in... Most people I know who are now coming back from mat leave are all owing thousands now.

You mean they don't tax it when they issue it? That'll be a drag to put money aside.

Yup... For me it's better that way, my baby was born in April so by the time I have to pay tax on it, I'll be back at work and able to pay... I need all the money I can get for now so I don't have to use credit cards.

 

[tasha41]

55% of your average earnings over the last 26 weeks (I think**).

I didn't have to pay extra taxes the year I was on mat leave (Mar-Dec 2009) but also got a tiny return (under $100).

I'm currently on EI medical leave and they are literally taking $3/week off me in taxes so I HOPE I overpay the rest of the year...

 

[AlwaysPraying]

My return was under $100 as well. I was on mat leave from sept - sept and worked part time sept - dec.

 

[Liesje]

55% of your average earnings over the last 26 weeks (I think**).

Yup, but 55% to a maximum of $45,900... So even if you made $100,000 a year, you're still only getting $426/week ($485 before taxes)

 

[KatVM]

Thank you ladies for all your responses, unfortunately I can not collect at all due to having to quit because of pregnancy problems.

 

[AlwaysPraying]

What? Really? What happened? Can you go and explain what happened and have them amend your record of employment. You should have been written off sick then still qualified.

Thinking again I'm sure you should qualify. They take what you earned in the 26 weeks before baby was born and take 55% of that. Even if you didn't work for months that gets added in. Ex. You worked 100 hours in the last 26 months you get 55% of that. It doesn't matter when they were worked.

Call service Canada they've always been great with me. Make sure to try to get something. It'd really be too bad if you missed out on something.

Make sure to apply for the provincial child credit and federal. One is 100 a month and the other is based on your salary and can be up to 100 a month or more I think. You'll get those for sure.

 

[KatVM]

I was working fast food an was having dizzy spells almost everyday and pains in my rib cage every time I bent over, the doctor could not get me a note for this due to it being normal pregnancy symptoms. Unfortunately I only have 250 hours in total from the last year of E.I insurable hours and my last job put down that I quit.

 

[Liesje]

Is your due date later than mid August? If so, you still have lots of time to work 600 hours and be eligible for EI benefits.

You could also have the baby's father apply.

 

[AlwaysPraying]

That's too bad. It's not right they didn't write you off sick. Think you'll look for another job?

 

[AlwaysPraying]

The hours still count even if you quite. I'm pretty sure.

 

[tasha41]

Hours still count even if you quit... but if you were put on sick leave I don't think you'd make it to the 600 to qualify for maternity/parental benefits anyway

I think, even if it's "normal pregnancy" stuff - if it was too much for you to handle, they should have signed you off sick.. I worked in fast food until 37+2 and was completely fine so clearly you weren't having an easy go

 

[KatVM]

I had to just quit, but I am looking for another job now. It is hard to find another place to hire me when I am as far along as i am now, and only 17. Hopefully I find something soon or I will just have to find work once baby is here. Thank you for all the help ladies!

 

[tasha41]

Have you applied for assistance? Not sure what your living arrangements are but you should be able to benefit from that unless you're living with a boyfriend etc who's working

 

[KatVM]

I am currently living with my mom, but she is on income assistance herself and is claiming me on it. OH who i plan to move in with when the baby is born is currently unemployed and just waiting for his job to start in the next 2-3 weeks. So I do not qualify for anything until my mom can be working full time again and does not need assistance, and with OH working soon we will have hopefully enough money to be able to afford everything without assistance.

 

[JessPape]

Even if you quiet, you still paid in to EI insurable hours, so depending on how long you worked at the fast food place, you may still have 600 hours..