Yes, you can be fired during maternity leave in Ontario, but your employer can’t fire you because you are pregnant or because you took protected maternity or parental leave.
A genuine termination for a reason completely unrelated to your leave can still happen, such as a real business closure or restructuring that would have eliminated your job even if you had been actively working.
If you are fired while on leave, don’t assume the termination is legal and don’t sign a severance package right away. The situation can involve maternity-leave protections, pregnancy discrimination, wrongful dismissal and substantial severance compensation.
On This Page:
- 1. Can You Be Fired?
- 2. When Is the Termination Illegal?
- 3. What If Your Job Is Gone?
- 4. Severance & Compensation
- 5. What Should You Do?
- 6. FAQs
Can You Be Fired During Maternity Leave in Ontario?
Yes, but only if the termination is genuinely unrelated to your pregnancy or protected leave.
Ontario’s Employment Standards Act protects employees from being dismissed, laid off, suspended, disciplined or otherwise penalized because they:
- Are eligible for pregnancy or parental leave
- Plan to take the leave
- Take the leave
An employer can still make a legitimate business decision that affects an employee who happens to be on leave.
Examples can include:
- The business permanently closes
- An entire department is eliminated
- A genuine restructuring eliminates several positions, including yours
- Your position would have disappeared even if you had never taken maternity leave
The key question is why your employment ended.
What if you are actually on parental leave?
The same basic protection applies. Ontario employees can’t be fired because they take protected parental leave.
Many birth parents use the phrase “maternity leave” for their entire absence even though their pregnancy leave has ended and they are legally on Parental Leave Ontario.
For the underlying pregnancy-leave rules, see Maternity Leave Ontario.
When Is Firing Someone on Maternity Leave Illegal?
A termination is illegal if pregnancy, maternity leave or parental leave played a prohibited role in the employer’s decision.
Ontario employees have protection under both employment standards and human rights law.
Examples of a potentially illegal termination
Warning signs include an employer:
- Firing you shortly after you announce your pregnancy or leave
- Saying your leave will be too disruptive
- Complaining about how long you will be away
- Assuming you won’t be committed to your career after having a child
- Keeping your maternity-leave replacement because it prefers them
- Eliminating only your position while leaving substantially identical jobs untouched
- Punishing you for asking about your return-to-work rights
The employer does not need to admit that maternity leave was the reason. The timing, documents, comments made by managers and treatment of other employees can all matter.
Is firing someone because they are pregnant discrimination?
Yes. Pregnancy discrimination is prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Maternity leave is closely connected to pregnancy. An employer can’t avoid human-rights obligations by saying it objected to the employee taking leave rather than to the pregnancy itself.
What If Your Job Is Gone When You Return From Maternity Leave?
Your employer must normally return you to your previous position or a comparable position when protected maternity or parental leave ends.
If your old job genuinely no longer exists, the ESA allows the employer to place you in a comparable position.
Your employer can’t simply tell you that your job disappeared because it hired someone else to cover your leave.
Can your maternity leave replacement keep your job?
Your employer can’t deny you reinstatement simply because it prefers your maternity-leave replacement.
Hiring temporary coverage while you are away is normal. Permanently giving that person your role and then refusing to return you to your previous or a comparable position can raise serious concerns.
What if your employer offers you a worse job?
You don’t have to assume a demotion, major pay cut or substantially worse position is acceptable.
A serious unwanted change can raise reinstatement, discrimination and constructive dismissal issues.
See our guide to returning to work after maternity leave if your job, pay, hours or responsibilities have changed.
Do You Get Severance If You Are Fired During Maternity Leave?
Yes. If your employer legally terminates you without cause during maternity leave, you are still entitled to the termination compensation you are legally owed.
For many non-unionized Ontario employees, that amount is much greater than the minimum required by the Employment Standards Act.
Your full severance can depend on factors such as:
- Your age
- Your position and responsibilities
- Your length of service
- The availability of similar employment
- The wording of your employment contract
Depending on those factors, severance for a non-unionized employee can reach as much as 24 months’ pay.
See Severance Pay Ontario for the difference between minimum ESA entitlements and full common-law compensation.
What if the severance offer is too low?
You can challenge an inadequate severance package.
An employer’s first offer does not determine your full legal entitlement. If you receive less notice or compensation than the law requires, the termination can amount to a wrongful dismissal in Ontario.
Can you receive additional compensation for discrimination?
Yes, when pregnancy or maternity leave played an unlawful role in the termination.
Human-rights remedies can be separate from ordinary severance and can include compensation for lost income and the harm caused by discrimination.
The amount depends on what happened and the losses caused by the employer’s conduct.
What Should You Do If You Are Fired During Maternity Leave?
Keep the termination documents, don’t sign a release and have both the reason for dismissal and your compensation reviewed.
Take these practical steps:
- Save written communications. Keep emails, texts and messages about your pregnancy, leave, replacement and return date.
- Ask for the termination explanation in writing. The employer’s stated business reason can become important.
- Keep your severance package. Don’t assume the amount offered is your full entitlement.
- Don’t sign a release. Signing can prevent you from pursuing additional compensation.
- Get advice promptly. Pregnancy discrimination, ESA reprisal and wrongful dismissal can involve different legal remedies and deadlines.
What if the employer says the decision was already planned?
That explanation should be tested against the evidence.
Documents showing when the decision was made, which jobs were affected and what happened to your maternity-leave replacement can help determine whether the stated reason is genuine.
What if you are fired shortly after returning?
A termination shortly after maternity or parental leave deserves the same careful review.
Returning to work does not give an employer permission to retaliate for the leave or act on stereotypes about your responsibilities as a new parent.
The closer the termination is to your pregnancy, leave or return, the more important it is to examine what actually led to the decision.
Fired During Maternity Leave Ontario FAQs
Can my employer fire me while I am on maternity leave?
Yes, for a genuine reason completely unrelated to your pregnancy or protected leave. Your employer can’t fire you because you are pregnant or because you took maternity or parental leave.
Can I be laid off during maternity leave?
You can’t be selected for layoff because you are on maternity or parental leave. A genuine unrelated business restructuring can affect an employee who happens to be away, but the leave can’t be a reason for the decision.
Can my employer eliminate my job while I am away?
A genuine restructuring can eliminate a position during maternity leave. Your employer can’t simply call your job “eliminated” to avoid its leave or reinstatement obligations.
Can my replacement permanently take my job?
Your employer can hire someone to cover your leave, but it can’t refuse to reinstate you simply because it prefers the replacement.
Do I get severance if I am fired on maternity leave?
Yes, if you are terminated without cause. Many non-unionized employees are entitled to significantly more than ESA minimums.
What if I am fired after maternity leave instead?
The same protections can still matter. A dismissal shortly after you return should be reviewed to determine whether pregnancy, leave or family-status considerations played a role.
Should I sign my severance package?
Not before it has been reviewed. Once you sign a release, you usually can’t go back and seek additional severance or other compensation.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-unionized Ontario employees who are fired during or after maternity or parental leave challenge wrongful terminations—and secure the full severance pay and compensation they are owed.