By Allison Venditti (November 22, 2022)
Can I work on maternity leave?
Will working during parental leave impact my E.I. payments?
Working while on maternity leave is one of the top questions we are asked here at My Parental Leave – and why we have a whole section devoted to this topic in our course!
So the short answer is yes. Yes, you can work during your maternity leave BUT you may lose some of your EI income so we advise people to tread lightly.
Here are a few things to consider before you say YES to some work on your Canadian parental leave:
- Is this a part time job with regular hours or a one-time gig?
- Is the work with your current employer? If so, have you confirmed how you will both notify EI and how your payment will be managed to limit the amount of money that you will lose from your Employment Insurance income?
- Do you want to work while on maternity leave? Do you have to make ends meet?
Figure out how much money you will ACTUALLY be bringing in after EI claws back their portion. In many cases it will not be worth it – so crunch those numbers!
In the My Parental Leave course we have included calculators, checklists and everything you’ll want to consider before you make any major decisions about your parental leave – including if it makes sense to work while on leave.
Have more questions? Hop on over to our Instagram or LinkedIn pages where we host regular chats with our parental leave experts and share helpful resources and advice.
About the author
Allison Venditti, CHRP, CHRL is a career coach, Human Resources and return-to-work expert with over 15 years of experience creating programs, policy and best practices that improve workplace cultures and increase employee retention. She is the founder of My Parental Leave and Moms at Work, Canada’s largest professional network for working moms