Employment Insurance Parental Leave Benefits

What are Employment Insurance (EI) Parental Leave Benefits?

Parental benefits are payable either to parents who are caring for a newborn or newly adopted child or children, up to a maximum of 35 weeks for standard benefits or 61 weeks of extended benefits.

What are the eligibility criteria for EI Parental Leave Benefits?

To be entitled to maternity or parental benefits you must show that:

• you’re a parent caring for your newborn or newly adopted child when requesting parental
• your regular weekly earnings from work have decreased by more than 40% for at least 1
• you accumulated 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of your claim or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter.

What information do I need to apply for EI Parental Leave Benefits?

You must submit an application online at www.canada.ca.

You will need the following information when applying:

• the names and addresses of your employers in the past 52
• the dates you were employed with each employer and the reasons you’re no longer employed with
• your detailed explanation of the facts if you quit or were dismissed from any job in the past 52
• your full mailing address and your home address, if they are
• Record of Employment
• your social insurance number (SIN)
• the SIN of any other parent if you plan to share
• the last name at birth of 1 of your parents
• your banking information to sign up for direct deposit, including:
• your child’s expected or actual date of
• the date your child was placed with you for the purpose of adoption, and the full name and address of the agency handling the adoption.

If your child’s actual date of birth is different from the expected date of birth entered on your application, you must contact Service Canada as soon as possible.

How long can I receive EI Parental Leave Benefits?

When applying for parental benefits, you need to choose between two (2) options:

1. standard parental (up to 35 weeks)
2. extended parental (up to 61 weeks)

• Standard parental benefits can be paid for a maximum of 35 weeks and must be claimed within a 52- week period (12 months) after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption. The weekly benefit rate is 55% of the claimant’s average weekly insurable earnings up to a yearly The two parents can share up to 40 weeks of standard parental benefits.
• Extended parental benefits can be paid for a maximum of 61 weeks and must be claimed within a 78- week period (18 months) after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption. The benefit rate is 33% of the claimant’s average weekly insurable earnings up to the yearly The two parents can share up to 69 weeks of extended parental benefits.

If you are applying for parental benefits at the same time as maternity benefits, only one application is needed.

You can’t change between standard and extended parental benefit options once a week of parental benefits has been paid to you, or if a payment has been made to the other parent when benefits are shared.

Sharing Parental benefits

If sharing benefits, each parent must choose the same option, standard or extended. Each parent must submit their own application. If parents don’t choose the same option, the choice on the first application received is used to determine the parental benefit option for all parents.

When sharing, the maximum number of weeks available increases to:

• 40 weeks for standard parental
• 69 weeks for extended parental

*One parent can’t receive more than 35 weeks of standard or 61 weeks of extended parental benefits. The remaining 5 weeks of standard or 8 weeks of extended parental benefits are available on a use-it-or-lose-it basis; if taken, they can only be taken by the other parent(s).

Parents can receive their weeks of benefits at the same time or one after another.

What if my child is hospitalized after birth?

If your newborn or newly adopted child is hospitalized, you can choose to claim parental benefits immediately following the child’s birth/placement or when they come home from the hospital. In either case, you could

receive 35 weeks of parental benefits. You must provide a proof of the child’s hospitalization. For more information contact Service Canada.

However, it is important to note that you may be eligible for different EI benefits if your child is hospitalized (e.g. caregiving benefit). Please review eligibility details at EI caregiving benefits – Canada.ca

When will I start receiving my EI Parental Leave Benefits?

Parental benefits for parents and their partners are payable from the child’s birth date and for adoptive parents and their partners from the date the child is placed with you. Parental benefits are only available within the 52 weeks following the child’s birth, or from the date of placement in the case of adoption. If you have filed all of the necessary documentation, you will likely begin receiving EI Parental Leave Benefits approximately 28 days after filing your claim.

Do I need to serve a waiting period to receive EI Parental Leave Benefits?

Yes, you must serve a waiting period in order to receive benefits. The waiting period is one week.

*The waiting period can be waived, if you were in receipt of sickness or maternity benefits, or if the other parent has served the waiting period.

https://opseu.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EI-Fact-Sheet-4-EI-Parental-Benefits-2025.pdf

For additional information regarding Employment Insurance Parental Leave Benefits contact Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218 or online at www.servicecanada.ca