Policy HR-06-016 — Maternity and Parental Leave for Non-Unionized Employees — full text

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot dde288b7bca4 · verified 2026-06-05 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

POLICY HR-06-016 Municipality of the County of Kings Maternity & Parental Leave for Non-Unionized Employees Policy Human Resources Most Recent Amendment roval Januar 2 2018 Future Review Date 1. Purpose The Municipality of the County of Kings ("the Municipality") believes in supporting all non-unionized employees (employees) who take leave to care for new born or adopted children, or for pregnancy loss. This Policy establishes the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that Non-Unionized employees have when taking maternity or parental leave. The Municipality will grant Maternity and Parental Leave in accordance with the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Code or Federal Employment Standards, whichever is more beneficial to the Employee. Should any discrepancies between this Policy and Provincial and Federal legislation occur, legislation will supersede this Policy. 2. Scope This Policy applies to all non-unionized employees. Unionized employees are subject to the Collective Agreement. Members of Council are subject to Policy ADMIN-01-014: Parental Accommodations for Elected Officials. 3. Definitions 3.1 Non-Unionized Employee: any employee who is not covered under the Collective Agreement between Municipality of the County of Kings and CUPE Local 2618. 3.2 Permanent Employee (full-time or part-time): any employee who has successfully completed the required probationary period. 4. Policy Statements 4.1 Maternity and Parental leave shall be granted in accordance with the Labour Standards Code or Federal Employment Insurance (El) Standards, whichever is more beneficial to the employee. 4.2 Employees shall notify their immediate supervisor no later than the commencement of the fifth month of pregnancy as to when the anticipated leave of absence will commence. 4.3 In the case of a pregnancy loss after 19 weeks' gestation, employees shall be eligible for leaves and Supplemental Unemployment Benefits as established in this Policy. Supplemental Unemployment Benefits 4.4 As a means of supporting employees who take maternity and/or parental leave, the Municipality will provide Supplemental Unemployment Benefits to employees. 4.5 If a permanent full-time or part-time employee is on maternity or parental leave and is in receipt of benefits under the terms of the Employment Insurance Act, the Municipality sh~II provide the employee a Supplemental Unemployment Benefit for a maximum period of 26 weeks. POLICY HR-06-016 Municipality of the County of Kings Maternity & Parental Leave for Non-Unionized Employees Policy Employees who have not successfully completed their probationary period are not eligible for this benefit. 4.6 The Municipality shall supplement Employment Insurance payments according to the following schedule: 4.6.1 The first week shall be paid at the rate of 90 per cent of the employee's salary. 4.6.2 The remaining 25 weeks shall be shared by Employment Insurance and the Municipality to total 90 percent of the employee's salary. 4.7 If an employee resigns or has their employment terminated by the Municipality less than six months after returning from Maternity and/or Parental leave, the employee shall repay to the Municipality the total amount of the supplementary benefit paid to the employee by the Municipality during the 26 week period as provided for in Section 4.6. Benefits 4.8 Employees may opt to maintain benefits while on leave. If an employee chooses to maintain their group insurance benefits while on leave, the Municipality shall pay all contributions required to continue the employee benefit plan while the employee is on Maternity and Parental leave. The only exception to this shall be Long-Term Disability (LTD) benefits. The Municipality will collect the employee's share of health and dental contributions upon the employee's return to work through payroll deductions in an amount not to exceed double the amount of the employee's regular benefit plan contributions per pay. 4.9 Employees may opt to continue pension contributions while on leave. 4.9.1 If the employee chooses to contribute to the pension plan while on Maternity and/or Parental leave, they will continue making regular contributions, which will be matched by the Municipality during their 26 weeks of Supplementary Unemployment Benefits. 4.9.2 Pension benefit contributions will be basecll on the employee's average weekly wages for the four weeks prior to the leave. 4.9.3 If an employee chooses to continue to make pension contributions beyond the Supplemental Unemployment Benefits period, the employee is responsible for making arrangements to this effect with Human Resources and Payroll. 4.10 Continuing LTD contributions on pregnancy/parental leave is mandatory. POLICY HR-06-016 Municipality of the County of Kings Maternity & Parental Leave for Non-Unionized Employees Policy It shall be the employee's responsibility to remit LTD premiums to the Municipality during the period of the Maternity and/or Parental leave, and the employee shall make arrangements to this effect with Human Resources and Payroll. 4.11 All employees shall continue to accrue vacation benefits while on maternity and/or parental leave. While vacation allocations for any given year will be adjusted to reflect the time the employee is off on leave, increases to vacation entitlements shall continue to accrue. 5. Responsibilities 5.1 Council will: 5.1.1 ensure the Municipality has a current and comprehensive policy to address maternity and parental leave for non-unionized employees; and 5.1.2 review and amend this Policy as needed. 5.2 The Chief Administrative Officer will: 5.2.1 administer and implement this Policy; and 5.2.2 identify necessary revisions to this Policy. 6. Amendments Date Amendments August 18, 2020 Policy renamed, aligned with benefits available to unionized staff, SUB benefits extended from 17 to 26 weeks, addition of coverage for pregnancy loss after 19 weeks' estation.