When an employee tells you she’s pregnant, she may have spent weeks thinking about how to start the conversation. Employers often have questions of their own, but much of the information they find is written for employees applying for EI, so we’ve put this guide together to help with the employer’s side of maternity leave in Alberta. We’ve spent 26 years helping companies across Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan handle these leaves properly, and we’ve seen how gaps in planning, paperwork, and the return can lead to expensive mistakes.
How long is maternity leave in Alberta?
Eligible employees in Alberta can take up to 16 consecutive weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and birth or adoptive parents can take up to 62 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Employees qualify after 90 days with the same employer. The leave is job protected, so employees return to their same job or an equivalent one.
We start with the Government of Alberta’s maternity and parental leave rules when helping employers plan. We’ve summarized them below.
| Question | Alberta rule |
|---|---|
| Maternity leave | Up to 16 consecutive weeks, for birth mothers |
| Parental leave | Up to 62 weeks, for birth and adoptive parents, shareable between parents |
| Paid or unpaid | Unpaid, unless a contract or collective agreement provides pay |
| Eligibility | At least 90 days with the same employer |
| Earliest start | 13 weeks before the estimated due date, and no later than the date of birth |
| Parental leave deadline | Must be completed within 78 weeks of birth or placement |
| Notice to start leave | Written notice at least 6 weeks before the leave begins |
| Notice to return | Written notice at least 4 weeks before returning, or before not returning |
One detail we flag during planning: both leave lengths exceed the matching Employment Insurance benefit period by one week, in recognition of the EI waiting period. EI eligibility is federal and runs on its own rules, so an employee can qualify for Alberta’s job-protected leave without qualifying for EI. Your obligation is the leave and the job protection rather than the paycheque.
What the leave protects
Employees on maternity or parental leave are considered continuously employed for the purposes of calculating years of service, and they must get their same or an equivalent job back when they return. You’re not required to pay wages or benefits during the leave unless an employment contract or collective agreement says otherwise, though many employers keep benefits running as a retention decision.
An employer cannot terminate or lay off an employee who is entitled to or has started maternity or parental leave, unless the business itself is suspended or discontinued, and even then the employee must be reinstated if the business starts up again within 52 weeks after their leave ends. Employers also cannot discriminate against, lay off, terminate, or force the resignation of an employee because of pregnancy or childbirth, which also raises human rights concerns. A downturn doesn’t change any of this, as our guide to temporary layoffs in Alberta explains.
Notice, medical certificates, and the timing rules
The employee’s core obligation is written notice at least 6 weeks before starting maternity or parental leave. Employers can require a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy and the estimated due date, issued by a physician or nurse practitioner. Maternity leave can begin any time in the 13 weeks before the estimated due date and no later than the date of birth. Birth mothers must take at least 6 weeks off after the birth, unless the employer agrees to an earlier return and a medical certificate confirms it will not endanger her health.
We pay particular attention to a few timing rules. If pregnancy interferes with job performance during the 12 weeks before the due date, an employer can require the employee to start maternity leave early by notifying her in writing. We recommend treating that option as a last resort and getting advice first, because it can raise human rights concerns even where the Code allows the step. It’s also important to understand the exceptions when notice is missed: an employee who cannot give 6 weeks of notice for medical or birth-related reasons is still entitled to the leave, with notice to follow as soon as possible.
When planning the return, employees must give 4 weeks of written notice before returning to work, and the same 4 weeks applies if they decide not to return at all. A birth mother moving directly from maternity leave into parental leave does not need to give fresh notice unless she originally arranged to take only 16 weeks. Parents sharing parental leave must each notify their own employer. Where both parents work for you, combined parental leave maxes out at 62 weeks, and you need not grant both leaves at once.
Pregnancy loss and bereavement
When a pregnancy ends other than in a live birth within 16 weeks of the estimated due date, the employee remains entitled to maternity leave, which ends 16 weeks after it begins. Parental leave does not apply in that situation. The employee, and in many cases their partner, may also be entitled to time off under Alberta’s bereavement leave rules, and we cover who qualifies in our guide to bereavement leave in Alberta. We encourage employers to handle the paperwork with care and discretion, keeping the process as manageable as possible for someone who’s grieving.
Where employers get it wrong
Two patterns show up repeatedly in the 20 to 200 person companies we work with. The first involves a permanent backfill: an employer covers the leave with a permanent hire instead of a fixed-term contract, the replacement works out, and 14 months later there are two people and one job. The returning employee is legally entitled to her same or an equivalent position, and equivalent means genuinely equivalent in pay, responsibility, and standing. Giving the returning employee a lesser role to resolve the overlap creates a legal concern that careful backfill planning can help avoid.
The second involves decisions that leave the employee at a disadvantage while they’re away. Nobody terminates anyone, but the employee on leave gets skipped in the salary review, left out of the reorganization conversation, or restructured out entirely three weeks after announcing a pregnancy. The timing of these decisions matters when concerns are assessed under employment standards and human rights law. We encourage a consistent approach: run reviews, raises, and restructures as if the person on leave were sitting at their desk, and document that you did.
We also help employers plan for vacation: vacation earned before the leave must still be taken within 12 months of being earned. Where that window falls during the leave, the employee either takes the remaining vacation at the end of the leave or gets employer approval to take it later. It’s worth confirming the arrangement before the leave starts so everyone knows what to expect.
Frequently asked questions
Do employers have to pay employees on maternity leave in Alberta? No. Maternity and parental leave are unpaid unless an employment contract or collective agreement provides pay. Employees typically apply for federal EI maternity and parental benefits, which have their own eligibility rules separate from Alberta’s job-protected leave.
Who is eligible for maternity leave in Alberta? Employees who have been employed at least 90 days with the same employer. Employees with less service can still be granted leave voluntarily, though the employer is not required to grant it under employment standards legislation.
Can an employer terminate or lay off an employee on maternity leave? No, not while the employee is entitled to or on maternity or parental leave, unless the business is suspended or discontinued. If the business resumes within 52 weeks after the leave ends, the employee must be reinstated with no less than their previous pay and benefits.
What notice does an employee have to give? Written notice at least 6 weeks before starting leave, and at least 4 weeks before returning or deciding not to return. An employee who misses the starting notice for medical or birth-related reasons is still entitled to the leave.
Build the leave plan before you need it
A maternity or parental leave managed well runs on a checklist: confirm eligibility, collect the notice, set the backfill term, keep the person visible in reviews, and calendar the return. Daeco HR Consulting has spent 26+ years building those systems for employers across Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan from our Edmonton office. If your handbook has nothing to say about any of this, our outsourced HR services include leave policies, manager coaching, and HR support for small business owners who want the return to go as smoothly as the announcement.