When you return to work after protected maternity or parental leave in Canada, your employer must return you to your previous job or a comparable position.
Your employer can’t demote you, cut your pay, reduce your hours or give away your job because you took maternity leave. Depending on the law that applies where you work, you can also be entitled to wage increases and other employment rights you would have received if you had remained at work.
If your employer tells you that your old job is gone, your replacement is staying or you have to accept a worse position, don’t resign or agree to the change before getting advice. A return-to-work problem can involve maternity-leave protections, human rights, constructive dismissal and severance.
On This Page:
- 1. Do You Get Your Job Back?
- 2. Can Your Employer Change Your Job?
- 3. Pay, Raises & Benefits
- 4. Returning Early or Changing Your Return Date
- 5. Accommodation After Maternity Leave
- 6. What If You’re Fired or Your Job Is Gone?
Do You Get Your Job Back After Maternity Leave?
Yes. Employees returning from protected maternity or parental leave arenentitled to return to the position they held before the leave or to a comparable position if that job genuinely no longer exists.
A comparable position should not simply be whatever job the employer happens to have available.
Important parts of the job include:
- Pay
- Job duties and responsibilities
- Title and status
- Hours of work
- Benefits
- Work location
- Reporting relationships
The precise reinstatement rules vary by province and for federally regulated employees, but the basic protection is consistent: taking maternity or parental leave should not cost you your position or leave you worse off simply because you were away.
For the broader leave rules, see our guide to maternity leave in Canada.
Can your employer keep your maternity leave replacement?
Your employer can keep the person who covered your leave, but it can’t refuse to reinstate you simply because it prefers your replacement.
Employers are free to hire temporary or permanent staff while an employee is away. That staffing decision does not erase the returning employee’s legal reinstatement rights.
If your old position still exists and someone else is doing it, being told that there is now “no job for you” deserves immediate review.
Can Your Employer Change Your Job After Maternity Leave?
Your employer can’t impose a negative change because you took maternity or parental leave.
Warning signs include returning to:
- A lower title
- Less responsibility
- Reduced salary or commission
- Fewer hours
- An inferior work location
- A substantially different schedule
- A role with significantly less status or opportunity
A genuine company-wide change can still happen while you are away. For example, a restructuring that affects an entire department is not automatically illegal merely because you happened to be on maternity leave at the time.
The key question is what would have happened to your employment if you had remained at work.
Can your employer demote you after maternity leave?
Your employer can’t demote you because you took maternity leave.
If your previous job genuinely no longer exists, a comparable position can be offered. But calling a substantially lower-level job “comparable” does not make it so.
A significant demotion can also amount to constructive dismissal.
Can your employer cut your hours?
Your employer can’t substantially reduce your hours because you took leave.
If you left a full-time role and are told that only part-time hours are available when you return, do not assume you must accept the reduction.
A significant loss of hours and income can violate your return-to-work rights and can also create constructive dismissal issues.
What Happens to Your Pay, Raises & Benefits?
Returning from maternity leave should not put you behind simply because you were away on protected leave.
In jurisdictions such as Ontario, BC and the federal sector, employees returning from protected leave are entitled to wage increases they would have received if they had remained at work.
For example, if everyone in your position received a five-per-cent salary increase while you were on maternity leave, your employer should not return you at your old rate simply because you were absent when the raise took effect.
Does maternity leave count toward your service?
Protected maternity and parental leave does not normally break your employment relationship or reset your service to zero.
Rules governing seniority, vacation, pension contributions and benefit plans vary by jurisdiction and workplace plan, but an employer should not treat you as a brand-new employee when you return.
What happens to your health benefits?
Benefit continuation during maternity and parental leave depends on the law and benefit plan that apply to you.
For example, Ontario employees can continue participating in specified benefit plans during pregnancy and parental leave, with the employer continuing its normal contributions if the employee continues any required employee contributions.
Federally regulated employees also have benefit-continuation protections during most protected leaves if they make the contributions they would normally be required to pay.
Can You Return to Work Early After Maternity Leave?
Yes, but you need to follow the notice rules that apply where you work.
The required notice differs between provinces and the federal sector.
For example, Ontario employees who want to move an already scheduled return date earlier normally need to provide at least four weeks’ written notice.
Don’t assume that your EI benefit schedule controls your return-to-work rights. EI benefits and job-protected leave are separate systems.
If you took maternity leave followed by parental leave, make sure you are changing the correct leave and complying with the employment-law notice requirements—not just notifying Service Canada.
Can your employer make you return early?
Your employer can’t simply require you to end protected maternity or parental leave early because it needs you back at work.
If you are entitled to the leave and have properly taken it, staffing difficulties do not cancel your legal entitlement.
What if you decide not to return?
Check the resignation rules and any maternity top-up agreement before telling your employer you won’t return.
Some jurisdictions require advance notice if you resign while on maternity or parental leave. An employer top-up plan can also contain a repayment clause if you do not return for a required period.
If the reason you don’t want to return is that your employer has changed your job, pay or hours, don’t resign first. Determine whether the change amounts to constructive dismissal.
Can You Ask for Accommodation When You Return From Maternity Leave?
Yes. Returning from maternity leave does not end your employer’s human rights obligations.
Accommodation can become relevant because of pregnancy or childbirth-related medical restrictions, breastfeeding needs, disability or protected family-care obligations.
What if you have medical restrictions after childbirth?
If a medical condition affects your ability to perform your regular job when leave ends, tell your employer about your restrictions and request accommodation.
Accommodation can include:
- A gradual return to work
- Temporary modified duties
- Adjusted hours
- Temporary restrictions on particular tasks
- Other reasonable workplace changes
Your employer has a duty to accommodate protected needs to the point of undue hardship.
Does your employer have to give you your preferred schedule for childcare?
Not automatically. Wanting a particular schedule is different from having a legally protected accommodation need.
If childcare obligations create a genuine human-rights issue, explain the problem and participate in the accommodation process. Your employer does not necessarily have to provide the exact arrangement you prefer if another reasonable accommodation addresses the need.
Can You Be Fired When You Return From Maternity Leave?
Your employer can’t fire you because you took maternity or parental leave.
That does not make you immune from every legitimate termination. A genuine closure, restructuring or other decision completely unrelated to your pregnancy or leave can still affect your employment.
But timing matters. A dismissal immediately before your return or shortly afterward deserves careful review—especially if your employer:
- Says your replacement is keeping your job
- Complained about the length of your leave
- Pressured you to return early
- Offered you a significantly worse role
- Reduced your hours or pay
- Suddenly raised performance concerns after your return
What if your old position no longer exists?
Your employer should not simply tell you “your job is gone” and end the discussion.
Return-to-work legislation commonly requires a comparable position when the original position genuinely no longer exists.
If there truly is no comparable job because of a legitimate restructuring or business closure, any termination still needs to be lawful and your full severance rights must be assessed.
What compensation can you get if you’re fired?
A dismissal connected to maternity leave can involve more than an ordinary severance claim.
Depending on what happened, your rights can involve:
- Reinstatement or other employment-standards remedies
- Human rights compensation if pregnancy, sex or family-status discrimination was involved
- Wrongful dismissal compensation
- Full severance pay when your employment ends
If you are terminated, don’t sign a release before having your full severance package reviewed—you may be owed as much as 24 months’ pay.
Return-to-Work Rights by Province
The basic right to job protection is similar across Canada, but the detailed leave and reinstatement rules depend on where you work.
- Maternity Leave Ontario — Ontario employees are normally entitled to their previous position or a comparable position, with protected wage increases.
- Maternity Leave Alberta — eligible employees must be returned to the same or an equivalent job.
- Maternity Leave BC – follows the same rules as Ontario.
- Canada Labour Code — federally regulated employees must normally be reinstated to their former or a comparable position with the same location, wages and benefits.
Return to Work After Maternity Leave FAQs
Does your employer have to give you the exact same job?
Your previous position should normally be restored if it still exists. If it genuinely no longer exists, the employer can provide a comparable position that meets the applicable legal standard.
Can your employer give your job to your replacement?
Your employer can’t refuse to reinstate you simply because it prefers the person who covered your leave. If your original job still exists, the employer must comply with the reinstatement rules that protect your return.
Can you return part-time after maternity leave?
You can ask, but you don’t automatically have the right to convert a full-time position into part-time employment. A part-time arrangement can be required where it is a reasonable disability or human-rights accommodation, but that depends on the specific need and available accommodations.
Can your employer make you reapply for your own job?
You should not normally have to compete for the job you are legally entitled to return to. A genuine restructuring can change the analysis, but an employer should not use a new hiring process to avoid maternity-leave reinstatement rights.
What should you do before returning?
Confirm your return date in writing and ask about your position, schedule and any workplace changes that occurred while you were away.
Keep your original job description, employment contract, maternity-leave correspondence and any messages about your return. If the employer proposes a major change, ask for the new terms in writing before agreeing to them.
Get Help With a Maternity Leave Return-to-Work Problem
Returning from maternity leave should not mean returning to a worse job.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-unionized employees deal with denied reinstatement, demotions, reduced pay or hours, maternity-leave discrimination, accommodation problems and termination after leave.
If your job has changed or ended while you were on maternity leave, our employment lawyers can protect your workplace rights and secure the full severance pay and compensation you are legally entitled to receive.