Leave of Absence in Yukon

The Yukon Territory has established specific regulations governing leaves of absence to protect employees’ rights while balancing employers’ operational needs.

These regulations are primarily outlined in the Employment Standards Act, which sets minimum standards for employment across the territory. Understanding these leave provisions is crucial for employers and employees to ensure compliance and appropriate workplace planning.

This guide will help you understand the various types of leave of absence in Yukon, their eligibility requirements, and how they’re administered.

What Types of Leave are available in Yukon?

Yukon’s employment legislation provides various types of leave to address employees’ different life circumstances. These leaves balance workplace needs with personal requirements.

For a quick overview, this table summarizes the primary job-protected leaves available to employees in Yukon.

Leave Type	Duration of Leave	Paid or Unpaid
Annual Vacation	Minimum 2 consecutive weeks per year	Vacation pay required (minimum 4% of gross wages)
Sick Leave	Up to 12 days per year	Unpaid (Rebate program available)
Maternity Leave	Up to 17 weeks	Unpaid
Parental Leave	Up to 63 weeks	Unpaid
Bereavement Leave	Up to 1 week	Unpaid
Compassionate Care	Up to 28 weeks	Unpaid
Critical Illness (Child)	Up to 37 weeks	Unpaid
Critical Illness (Adult)	Up to 17 weeks	Unpaid
Death/Disappearance of a Child	52 to 104 weeks	Unpaid
Domestic/Sexualized Violence	5 paid days, 5 unpaid days, plus up to 15 unpaid weeks	Both
Jury Duty	As required	Unpaid
Reservist Leave	As required for deployment/training	Unpaid

Annual Vacation Leave in Yukon

Annual vacation leave provides employees with guaranteed time away from work for rest and personal pursuits. This leave is a statutory right for eligible workers in Yukon.

All employees in Yukon are entitled to vacation pay and vacation time after completing specific periods of employment. The only exception is members of the employer’s family, who are exempt from these vacation entitlements.

Employers must begin paying vacation pay after an employee has been continuously employed for 14 days. This requirement ensures that even relatively new employees start accruing vacation benefits early in their employment.

How are vacation pay and time calculated?

Vacation pay in Yukon is calculated as at least 4% of an employee’s gross wages. This percentage-based approach ensures that vacation compensation scales appropriately with earnings.

Vacation time is calculated as at least two consecutive weeks for each completed year of employment. Employers must provide this vacation time within 10 months after the employee completes one year of employment.

What happens to accrued vacation upon termination?

When employment ends, the employer must pay all outstanding earnings, including any vacation pay that has built up. Yukon law does not allow policies that make employees lose unused vacation pay or time off.

Source: Vacation pay and vacation time, Government of Yukon

Sick Leave in Yukon

Sick leave in Yukon allows employees to take time off work when they are ill or injured without risking their employment status.

Under the Yukon Employment Standards Act, employees can take up to 12 days of unpaid sick leave each year. You earn one unpaid sick day for every month you work, up to the 12-day limit.

You cannot carry over any unused sick leave days to the next year. Each new year, you start fresh and can earn a new set of sick leave days.

Additionally, the Government of Yukon offers a Paid Sick Leave Rebate Program. This program helps employers and eligible self-employed Yukoners pay for up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. The program is available until March 31, 2026, but it requires legislative approval and has specific eligibility requirements.

Maternity and Parental Leave in Yukon

Maternity and parental leave in Yukon allow employees to take time off for the birth or adoption of a child while maintaining job security.

Eligible Yukon employees are entitled to up to 17 weeks of job-protected, unpaid maternity leave. This provision allows expectant mothers time to prepare for childbirth, recover, and bond with their newborn.

To qualify for maternity leave, employees must have been employed for at least 12 consecutive months with the same employer. Additionally, employees must provide:

Four weeks’ notice of their intention to take maternity leave
A medical certificate confirming the pregnancy

It’s important to note that employers may require pregnant employees to begin maternity leave within the 6 weeks prior to their estimated due date, depending on workplace circumstances.

Parental leave entitlements in Yukon are substantial and vary based on specific circumstances:

An employee taking parental leave on their own may take up to 63 weeks of leave
If both parents take parental leave, they may take up to 71 weeks combined, but only in cases where the first employee on leave is unable to care for the child due to injury, illness, death, or other family hardship

All parental leave must be completed within 78 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption, creating a defined window for this entitlement.

Source: Maternity and parental leave, Government of Yukon

Bereavement Leave in Yukon

Bereavement leave allows employees time to mourn and attend to arrangements following the death of a family member.

An employee can take bereavement leave when a family member dies, provided that the funeral falls within the leave period. Additionally, if a First Nation family designates an employee as the person responsible for organizing a funeral potlatch, the employee qualifies for this leave.

Bereavement leave in Yukon provides up to one week of unpaid leave. This time allows employees to attend funerals, manage affairs, and begin the grieving process without employment concerns.

Compassionate Care Leave in Yukon

This leave is for employees who need to provide care and support to a family member with a serious medical condition and a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.

Entitlement: Employees can take up to 28 weeks of unpaid leave. This leave must be taken in periods of at least one week.

Eligibility: A medical certificate from a qualified practitioner is required to confirm the family member’s condition.

Critical illness leave provisions allow employees to care for critically ill family members while maintaining job security.

Critical illness leave for a child in Yukon

An employee who is a family member of a critically ill child (under 18 years of age) may take leave to care for or support that child. The Employment Standards Act defines a “critically ill child” as a person under 18 whose life is at risk due to illness or injury.

Eligible employees may take up to 37 weeks of leave to care for a critically ill child. This leave must be taken in periods of at least one week at a time. If multiple employees take this leave to care for the same critically ill child, they may collectively take up to 37 weeks.

Critical illness leave for an adult in Yukon

Critical illness leave for an adult allows employees to care for or support a critically ill adult family member (18 years or older) whose life is at risk due to illness or injury.

Eligible employees may take up to 17 weeks of leave to care for a critically ill adult. This leave must be taken in periods of at least one week at a time. If multiple employees take this leave to care for the same critically ill adult, they may collectively take up to 17 weeks.

To qualify for critical illness leave (both child and adult), employees must:

Have completed six months of continuous employment with their employer
Provide a certificate from a qualified medical practitioner or nurse practitioner stating that the family member is critically ill, requires care or support, and specifying the period during which care is needed
Give their employer at least two weeks of written notice before starting the leave (unless circumstances require shorter notice)

This specialized leave addresses the particularly traumatic circumstances when a child has died or disappeared as a result of a crime.

How long is the leave for a child’s death?

An employee who is the parent of a child who has died, where the death is likely the result of a crime, is entitled to a leave of absence of up to 104 weeks (2 years). This substantial leave period acknowledges the profound impact of such a loss.

How long is the leave for a child’s disappearance?

An employee who is the parent of a child who has disappeared, where the disappearance is likely the result of a crime, is entitled to a leave of absence of up to 52 weeks (1 year).

What are the eligibility requirements for these leaves?

To qualify for either of these leaves, employees must:

Have completed six months of continuous employment with their employer
Be the parent of the child who has died or disappeared
Provide written notice to their employer at least two weeks before taking the leave (unless circumstances require shorter notice)
Take leave in periods of at least one week at a time

Domestic and Sexualized Violence Leave in Yukon

Domestic and sexualized violence leave provides crucial support for employees experiencing or affected by violence.

This leave provision enables employees to take time off work to deal with situations involving domestic or sexualized violence. The leave can be taken all at once, as single days, or in groups of days, providing flexibility to address varying circumstances.

Employees are entitled to:

Leave Type	Paid Portion	Unpaid Portion
Short-term Leave	5 days	5 days
Long-term Leave	None	Up to 15 weeks

With employer consent, the leave may be taken non-consecutively or not all at once, allowing for flexible arrangements based on individual needs.

Qualifications for different components of this leave vary:

After 90 days of employment, employees qualify for both paid short-term leave and unpaid long-term leave
Immediately upon employment, employees qualify for unpaid short-term leave

Source: Domestic and sexualized violence leave, Government of Yukon

Jury Duty Leave in Yukon

Employers must allow employees to take time off work to serve as jurors when summoned or selected for jury duty. While this leave may be unpaid at the employer’s discretion, employers cannot discriminate against employees in any other way due to their jury service. This means employers cannot reduce wages or alter employment conditions because an employee is fulfilling their civic duty.

Reservists’ Leave in Yukon

Employees who are military reservists and have been employed with the same employer for at least 6 consecutive months are entitled to job-protected unpaid leave for:

Deployment on overseas missions, including pre- and post-deployment duties
Deployment for domestic emergencies
Up to 15 days of annual training

This leave applies to both Reservists and Rangers, recognizing the important role these individuals play in national security and emergency response.

Voting Leave in Yukon

Eligible employees in Yukon are granted time off with pay to vote in federal, territorial, and municipal elections, in accordance with applicable laws. Employees do not need to submit a written request for this leave. In exceptional cases where an employee must travel a significant distance to vote, the deputy minister may approve additional paid time off.

Read on to get insights about key leaves, rights and obligations in other Canadian provinces, including: