Dec. 12: New leaves take effect

As of today, Dec. 12, 2025, federally regulated employees have new protections around pregnancy loss and the death of a child, and employers face sharper compliance obligations and penalties if they fail to deliver them.

Key amendments to Part III of the Canada Labour Code are now in effect, and the changes significantly expand leave entitlements while raising the stakes for non‑compliance through new administrative monetary penalties.

Also of note to employers: new record-keeping obligations are taking effect.

Pregnancy loss leave takes effect

The most high‑profile change is a new leave related to pregnancy loss, now available to employees in federally regulated workplaces. As set out in the Canada Gazette, workers can take a leave of absence if:

• their own pregnancy does not result in a live birth
• the pregnancy of their spouse or common‑law partner does not result in a live birth
• they intended to be the legal parent of a child carried by another person, such as a surrogate.

The length of the leave depends on the type of loss. For stillbirths — defined as “the complete expulsion or extraction of a foetus from a person on or after the 20th week of pregnancy or after the foetus has attained at least 500 g, without any breathing, beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or movement of voluntary muscle from the foetus after the expulsion or extraction” — employees can now take up to eight weeks of leave.

In other pregnancy loss situations, the entitlement is up to three days.

The first three days of pregnancy loss leave are paid for employees who have at least three consecutive months of employment, reflecting the amendments now in force.

Employers may request “a certificate from a health care practitioner to confirm the need for leave,” says a post from MLT Aikins, tying into related regulatory changes that replace “medical certificate” with “certificate from a health care practitioner” in the Canada Labour Standards Regulations.

The leave can be used once per pregnancy, with no annual cap. ESDC underlines the policy intent in its backgrounder: “Dealing with pregnancy loss can be extremely challenging, and individuals who experience it often need time away from work to support their recovery.”

Bereavement leave for death of child

Bereavement leave has also been reshaped, particularly where a child dies. Until now, the Canada Labour Code provided up to 10 days of bereavement leave on the death of an immediate family member, with three paid days for employees with at least three months’ service.

Effective today, the rules are different for the death of a child. The Gazette explains that amendments first introduced under An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (formerly Bill C‑3), and then expanded through FESIA 2023, now allow employees to take up to eight weeks of unpaid bereavement leave when their child dies, or when their spouse or common‑law partner’s child dies.

This leave “may be taken from the date of death until 12 weeks after the latest of the days on which any funeral, burial, or memorial service occurs,” says a post from Hicks Morley.

Same characteristics as other leaves

The Canada Gazette says these changes give bereavement leave many of the same characteristics as other long‑term leaves under the Code. Employees now have the right to receive notice of employment opportunities while on leave, to return to the same or a comparable position and to maintain benefits during their absence.

The Gazette also confirms that employers are barred from considering an employee’s leave in promotion or training decisions.

Hicks Morley adds that employees will continue to accumulate pension, health, disability and seniority benefits during the extended bereavement leave and that new procedural rules require written notice of the reasons for the leave and any changes to its length. The firm notes that employers can postpone a return to work where an employee on more than four weeks of leave fails to give at least four weeks’ notice of an earlier return.

Leave for child placement still coming

A third major piece — a new unpaid leave for the placement of a child through adoption or surrogacy — is not yet in force but is moving in parallel. The Canada Gazette describes this leave for placement of child as a job‑protected absence of up to 16 weeks to allow employees to manage responsibilities connected to a child being placed in their care.

ESDC’s backgrounder frames the new placement leave as a way to ensure that workers accessing a forthcoming Employment Insurance (EI) benefit for adoptive parents can do so “without fear of losing their jobs.”

The Gazette explains that these provisions were drafted to align with amendments to the Employment Insurance Act that create a new wage‑replacement benefit for adoptive and intended parents.

This leave is expected to come into force via a separate Order in Council, projected for 2026, at the same time as the EI amendments.

MLT Aikins notes that once implemented, employees who take the placement leave will be entitled to return to the same or a comparable job, mirroring existing job‑protection rules for other long‑term leaves.

New record‑keeping obligations

For employers, the legislative changes come with extensive back‑end obligations. MLT Aikins points out that federally regulated employers must now comply with updated administrative obligations that apply to all federal leaves. These include:

• keeping supporting documentation for leave requests
• ensuring paid leave amounts are excluded from certain wage‑based calculations such as overtime
• revising internal policies and notices to reflect the new leave categories and terminology.

Hicks Morley highlights that amendments to the Canada Labour Standards Regulations, which also take effect today, tighten record‑keeping expectations. Employers must maintain records of sums paid to employees during pregnancy loss leave, any changes to the length of bereavement leave and copies of related written notices from employees.

Both firms emphasize the need to update posted labour standards notices in workplaces to reference pregnancy loss leave.

The Canada Gazette adds that minor regulatory amendments will clarify how wages are determined when employees work overtime, work during a general holiday, await a decision on job modification or reassignment, or take leave to attend a Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) proceeding.

The regulations will also substitute “medical leave” for “sick leave” and remove an outdated requirement to post sexual harassment policies, which was rendered redundant after Part III of the Code was amended in 2018.

Complaints, enforcement under new rules

Ottawa is pairing the new rights with stronger enforcement tools. The Canada Gazette reiterates that employees in federally regulated workplaces who believe their Part III rights have been violated can file a complaint with the Labour Program within six months of an alleged contravention.

Labour Affairs Officers can issue compliance orders, payment orders for unpaid wages and administrative monetary penalties (AMPs), especially for serious or repeat violations.

The Gazette notes that AMPs and orders are subject to review and appeal, with the CIRB empowered to confirm, vary or rescind orders and to correct penalty amounts. In unjust dismissal or reprisal cases, the board can require employers to pay compensation, reinstate employees, permit them to resume their duties or take other steps to redress the effects of the dismissal or reprisal.

Hicks Morley says that failing to pay employees for pregnancy loss leave or to maintain benefit contributions during bereavement leave can trigger penalties between $2,000 and $10,000 for individuals and between $10,000 and $50,000 for corporations.

Denying an employee their entitlement to pregnancy loss or bereavement leave, or taking reprisals for using those leaves, can lead to penalties from $5,000 to $25,000 for individuals and from $25,000 to $100,000 for corporations.