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Helpful tips for those planning a Pregnancy/Parental/Adoption Leave

Planning your leave

• Please provide at least three months notice of your intent to take a pregnancy/ parental/ adoption leave.  This notice will allow your faculty or department to plan for coverage of your leave.
  
  
• For optimal coordination with Employment Insurance benefits, you should begin your leave on a Saturday.  In all cases, a leave begins the very next calendar day after your last day worked.  Therefore, if your last day is a Friday, your leave must begin Saturday.
  
  
• Your vacation will accrue during your leave as it would if you were working. Many people choose to add some or all of their earned vacation to the end of their leave.  Please consider whether this option is good for you and discuss vacation timing with your department administrator/supervisor in advance of your leave.  All vacation is subject to normal approval processes.
  
  
• It is important to know that to receive the Supplemental Employment Insurance Benefits (a top up to EI) from Western you must be receiving EI.  This means that as soon as you begin receiving EI, you must provide proof of receipt of EI to Western Human Resources. If you are sharing the EI parental leave benefits with your partner, ensure enough EI weeks are available for you to claim in order to receive the SEIB from Western.
  
  
• While you are receiving the Supplemental Employment Insurance Benefit (SEIB) from Western, all group insurance benefits will be continued and the group insurance premiums and pension contributions will automatically be deducted from your SEIB.  If you do not receive SEIB, or when your SEIB payments end, you will receive notification from Human Resources requesting your share of the cost of group benefits, including your employee pension contribution.  At your discretion, and provided you arrange for payment of the employee share of the costs, those group benefits and pension contributions paid by you will be continued.
  
  
• Seniority will accrue during a pregnancy/parental leave.
  
  
• You may wish to contact the Parking department to return your pass and stop parking payments while you are on leave. 
  
  
• If you have purchased a computer from the Computer Store and are making payments through payroll deduction, please contact Financial Services, Accounts Receivable to make arrangements for payments while you are on leave.

When your leave begins

• Please apply for Employment Insurance (EI) as soon as possible after your leave begins.  You may apply for EI online at: www.servicecanada.gc.ca. You can also apply in person. The Service Canada Centre is at 457 Richmond Street, London, at Queens Ave. For EI information call 1-800-206-7218.
  
  
• Based on the form submitted by your department (Leave/Irregular Workweek Form) outlining the timing of your leave, any pay owed to you up to your last day worked will be settled.  When your final pay is settled, Western’s Human Resources department will electronically file a Record of Employment (ROE) with Service Canada. When Service Canada has received both your application and the ROE, they will be able to process your application.  If you access your Service Canada account online, you will be able to view your ROE. You may apply for EI online at: www.servicecanada.gc.ca. You can also apply in person.
  
  
• Employment Insurance has a two-week waiting period.  During that two-week period Western’s SEIB payments to you will be higher so that your income is at or close to your pre-leave income.
  
  
• It is essential that you provide Western with proof you are receiving EI, or your Supplemental Employment Insurance Benefits may be discontinued. As soon as you begin receiving EI, please forward proof of receipt of EI to Western Human Resources.

To provide proof, go to the Service Canada website page called My Service Canada Account.  Choose “logon to My Service Canada account” and print a copy of your “My Current Claim” page. Fax proof to 519-661-4104 or mail to Human Resources, SSB Room 5100, London ON N6A 3K7.

• The income tax you owe annually is based on your total income from all sources within the tax year.  Each source of income (ex. Western, Service Canada) will be deducting taxes from your payment as though that is your only source of income. Most people find that the taxes withheld are not sufficient to meet their true tax obligation.  Based on your personal tax situation, you may wish to request additional income tax withholding.  You may consider:

  • Increasing the amount of tax withheld from your regular pay (in advance, or following your return)
  • Increasing the amount withheld from SEIB benefits paid by Western
  • Increasing the amount withheld from your EI benefits paid by Service Canada.
    
    
• To change the taxes withheld by Western, log into your myHuman Resources account. You can request additional tax under Payroll and Compensation/Personal Tax Credit Information.

When the baby is born/adopted

• If your baby arrives earlier than the day your leave is to start, please email your department and Human Resources (hr-communication@uwo.ca), as your leave and benefit dates will need to be changed.
  
  
• As soon as possible (within 31 days) following the baby’s birth/adoption, please add the baby to your benefits and update your beneficiaries by completing a Benefits Application/Change Form.  Also, consider whether you need to update your pension beneficiaries by completing a Change of Pension Beneficiary Form. To review your current benefit elections and beneficiaries, sign on to my Human Resources, choose Benefits Summary and click on a specific benefit to review details.
  
  
• If you have not done so, be sure to provide Western Human Resources with proof that you are receiving EI.  This is essential to allow continued SEIB payments. Fax proof to 519-661-4104 or mail to Human Resources, SSB Room 5100, London ON N6A 3K7.

Returning to work

• Before beginning your leave you are asked to provide the date you plan to return from leave.  If you decide to change the date you wish to return to work, you are required to provide at least four weeks of notice to your supervisor.

HR Vision Statement

Recognized leaders in human resource practices and strategic partners in the success of Western and its people.