Starting in February, Alberta employers will be required to provide compassionate care leave to their workers.
Amendments to the province’s Employment Standards Code will provide eligible employees with up to eight weeks of unpaid leave to care for or support a seriously ill family member for whom the employee is the primary caregiver, according to a Blakes Bulletin.
The amendments provide job security for employees who take time off work to care for a dying family member.
The Bulletin notes that once the employee returns to work, the employer must either reinstate the employee to his or her former position or provide the employee with alternative work of a comparable nature at the same earnings and benefits as were provided to the employee prior to commencing leave.
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