Are you or one of your employees about to take maternity leave? According to the Vanier Institute, 90% of working women who become mothers will take leave from their job when they give birth or adopt a child.

In preparation for this momentous occasion, here is a list of things to keep in mind when managing and planning for a Maternity Leave in your workplace.

1) Know the Employee's Rights

It's crucial that you bring yourself up-to-date with the latest information about your employees' rights. You need to familiarize yourself with what benefits they are entitled to, when they can legally return to work, and how long you must hold their job open.

In all provinces (except BC, QC and NB), you'll need to have worked with a company for a minimum amount of time before you are entitled to maternity/paternal/adoption leave. In order to be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) in Canada, a minimum of 600 insurable hours must have been worked over a 52 week (1 year) period for that particular employer. If approved, you will be paid benefits for up to 37 weeks under the federal Employment Insurance plan.

The working population in the United States must combine their maternity leave with sick leave, personal days, vacation, short-term disability and unpaid family time. In Canada, however, you will be covered for up to 37 weeks under the federal Employment Insurance plan.

2) Develop Procedures

When someone is leaving your company, you want to ensure that they are leaving their job knowledge behind. Cover your bases and have a set plan in place for transitional periods. Get them to document their job by writing processes for how they do everything so that a new person can refer to a manual. Things to be documented could include:

• Description of their role and responsibilities.
• Step by step procedures for how to use specialty software.
• Outlines of partnerships and projects that are in progress.
• Deadlines and an outline of daily tasks.
• A background on clients and their needs, if applicable.
• Templates for emails and other correspondence.

3) Ensure that they plan/arrange for childcare ahead of time.

The process of finding a nanny or other caregiver can be long, so your employee will want to consider their decisions carefully - particularly if they plan to return to work quite soon after birth. The waiting lists for some daycare arrangements can be several months long, so remind them to put their name on the list early.

5) Start looking for their replacement.

Their maternity leave start date will come sooner than you think! By planning ahead and starting the recruitment process early, you will allow ample time to find a candidate with the right skills and qualifications to get the work done properly. Be clear in your job description to disclose that there is no guarantee to continue once the maternity leave ends. Using a staffing and recruiting agency can be an asset in finding qualified replacements for the length of the maternity leave.

6) Create a return plan.

While the employee is on maternity leave, there is likely to be changes in operations. Whether there be a few days or a few weeks of overlap between the end date of the replacement and the start of your returning employee, come up with a plan to ease them back into the role and avoid overwhelming them.

For a more detailed guide put together by our HR Expert, check out "What to Expect When your Star Player is Expecting"

If you have a staff member going on maternity leave, contact TPD for help finding their perfect replacement!