Family-friendly amendments to the Employment Standards Act passed during the 2018 fall legislative session are now in effect.
Changes to the act include extended parental leave from 12 months to 18 months to align with the federal employment insurance changes.
Compassionate care leave has been extended from eight weeks to 28 weeks.
Also, the qualifying period for an employee to receive sick leave has been reduced from six months to three months.
Government received feedback from Islanders on the amendments through consultation last summer.
“Our workforce is changing and our employment standards need to evolve with it,” said Workforce and Advanced Learning Minister Sonny Gallant.
With these changes, P.E.I. is more closely aligned with the federal employment insurance benefits as well as all other provinces.
More information on the amendments to the Employment Standards Act is available at Peiemploymentstandards.ca.
