Parental Leave in Quebec: The Act Respecting Labour Standards

Quebec's Act Respecting Labour Standards (LNT) gives employees the right to unpaid, job-protected leave for a birth or adoption: up to 18 weeks of maternity leave, up to 5 weeks of paternity leave, and up to 65 weeks of parental leave, a right that is distinct from the benefits RQAP pays.

Information last verified on 2026-09-24. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This article covers the maternity, paternity, and parental leave granted under Division V.1 (family or parental leave and absences) of the Act Respecting Labour Standards (LNT), CQLR c N-1.1, sections 81.1 to 81.17. This is an UNPAID leave the employer must grant to protect the employee's job, a distinct legal question from the financial benefits RQAP pays during that time. For the benefit plan and its amounts, see RQAP: Quebec Parental Insurance Plan Eligibility, Benefit Weeks, and Amounts.

The 5-Day Leave for a Birth or Adoption

Section 81.1 grants every employee a 5-day leave for the birth of their child, the adoption of a child, or a pregnancy termination occurring from the 20th week of pregnancy on. The first two days of this leave are paid. This leave cannot be taken more than 15 days after the child's arrival at the parent's home (or after the pregnancy termination).

Paternity Leave or Leave for the Parent Who Did Not Give Birth

Section 81.2 grants a paternity leave, or a leave for the parent who did not give birth to the child, of at most 5 continuous weeks, unpaid. This leave is also available to adoptive parents. It can start as early as the week of the child's birth (or of placement, in an adoption), and must end no later than 78 weeks after the birth or placement.

The required notice is at least 3 weeks in writing, with a shorter notice allowed when the birth or placement happens earlier than expected (s.81.2.1).

Maternity Leave

Section 81.4 grants a pregnant employee unpaid maternity leave of at most 18 continuous weeks, which the employer may extend with consent. If delivery happens after the expected date, section 81.4.1 guarantees at least 2 additional weeks after the delivery.

This leave can start as early as 16 weeks before the expected date of delivery, and must end no later than 20 weeks after the week of delivery (s.81.5).

The required notice is at least 3 weeks in writing, accompanied by a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy and the expected delivery date; this notice can be shorter if a medical certificate indicates that stopping work earlier is necessary (s.81.6). From the sixth week before the expected delivery date, the employer may also require in writing a medical certificate showing that a pregnant employee still at work is able to work; if the employee refuses or does not provide it within 8 days, the employer can force the start of maternity leave (s.81.8).

Parental Leave

Section 81.10 grants the father and mother (or both parents of a newborn), as well as a person adopting a child, the right to unpaid parental leave of at most 65 continuous weeks. This right is individual: each parent is entitled to it separately, which distinguishes it from RQAP's shareable parental weeks, which are divided between both parents rather than granted individually to each.

This leave can start as early as the week of the birth or placement, and must end, absent an exception, no later than 85 weeks after the week of the birth or placement (s.81.11). That window can be extended to 104 weeks in cases and under conditions set by government regulation; it is not an open-ended extension available to everyone.

The required notice is at least 3 weeks, with a shorter notice when the health of the newborn, the adopted child, or the mother requires the employee's presence sooner (s.81.12).

Returning to Work, Not Showing Up, and Child Hospitalization

An employee can return to work early by giving at least 3 weeks' written notice of the new return date, or return part-time or intermittently with the employer's consent (s.81.13). If the employee does not show up for work on the return date stated in their notice, they are presumed to have resigned (s.81.14).

If the child is hospitalized, a paternity, maternity, or parental leave is split into weeks at the employee's request (s.81.14.1), or can be suspended by agreement with the employer so the employee can return to work during the hospitalization (s.81.14.2). An employee who sends the employer, before the leave expires, a notice with a medical certificate showing that the child's health (or, for maternity leave, the employee's own health) requires it is entitled to extend the leave by the period stated in the certificate (s.81.14.2).

Continuity of Benefits and the Right to Reinstatement

During these leaves, the employee's participation in group insurance and pension plans must not be affected, subject to payment of the usual premiums, with the employer continuing to pay its usual share (s.81.15).

On return, section 81.15.1 grants a reinstatement right: the employer must put the employee back in their usual position, with the salary and benefits they would have had if they had stayed at work. If that position no longer exists on return, the employer must recognize all the rights and privileges the employee would have had if they had been at work when the position ceased to exist.

Who Is Covered: The Particular Scope of These Leaves

LNT section 3 excludes certain categories of workers from the Act's general scope, including an employee whose exclusive duty is to care for a child or a sick, handicapped or aged person in that person's dwelling, where that duty is performed on an occasional basis or solely as family or community help (s.3(2)), construction workers governed by the Act Respecting Labour Relations, Vocational Training and Workforce Management in the Construction Industry, R-20 (s.3(3)), a student working during the school year under an approved work-initiation program (s.3(5)), an athlete whose membership in a sports team is conditional on continued participation in an academic program (s.3(5.1)), and senior executives (s.3(6)).

Notably, sections 81.1 to 81.20, which include the maternity, paternity, and parental leave described above, are expressly carved back in for construction workers and senior executives. Both groups are therefore entitled to these leaves even though most other labour standards do not apply to them.

LNT Leave and RQAP Benefits: Two Different Things

This LNT-protected leave is not the same thing as the financial benefits RQAP pays. The LNT protects the employee's job during an unpaid absence; RQAP pays a replacement income during part of that time. The lengths do not necessarily match: the LNT's parental leave allows up to 65 weeks unpaid per parent, while RQAP's paid shareable parental weeks total 32 weeks under the basic plan or 25 weeks under the special plan. An employee may therefore be entitled to a longer protected leave than the period during which they receive benefits. For the details of benefit amounts and weeks, see RQAP: Quebec Parental Insurance Plan Eligibility, Benefit Weeks, and Amounts.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about the maternity, paternity, and parental leave granted under the Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR c N-1.1, current as of September 24, 2026. It is not legal advice and does not replace verifying directly with the CNESST or a licensed professional for a specific situation.