# 2021-065 Pay and Benefits, Maternity and Parental Allowance

Case summary

F&R Date: 2021-11-30

The grievor argued that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) policies regarding parental leave and allowances are not in line with the changes brought to the Employment Insurance Act (EIA) in 2017. He explained that this caused unnecessary hardship to his family since his civilian spouse, who is entitled to the updated EIA benefits, needed to break her parental leave into two periods in order for him to take his full entitlement prior to the 52-week deadline set by the Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces. The grievor indicated that it would have been more beneficial for his spouse's recovery if she had been able to use her full parental leave immediately following her maternity leave; however this would have caused the grievor to miss a significant amount of time at home with his newborn due to outdated CAF policies. As redress, the grievor requested to receive a parental leave top up in line with the changes to the EIA and that the CAF policies be updated to reflect these changes.

There is no Initial Authority (IA) decision or synopsis on file as the grievor requested his file be forwarded to the Final Authority (FA) once the time limit for the IA to render a decision had passed.

The Committee found that the grievor's eligibility for parental leave and benefits stemmed from the policies in place at the time of his child's birth. The grievor's eligibility for parental leave and allowances was established at 35 weeks within a 52-week window of birth. As such, the Committee found that the grievor had been treated fairly and in accordance with the policies in place at the time of his child's birth. The Committee also noted that as of 13 May 2021, changes in Compensation and Benefit Instructions 205.461 - Maternity and Parental Allowance came into effect to reflect updates to the EIA.

The Committee recommended that the FA not afford the grievor redress.