Letter of Critical Illness Leave

This letter gives an employer notice that the employee is taking a Critical Illness Leave. This means taking a leave of absence to provide care or support to a critically ill adult or child family member.

The length of the leave of absence increases when it's for a child family member. The age requirement to fit the definition of child varies per Province and Territory and means either younger than 18 or 19 years old. Also, the leave entitlement for a child varies per Province, but is either 36 or 37 weeks, while the length for an adult critical illness leave is either 16 or 17 weeks, depending on the Province or Territory.

To be entitled to take this leave, a health practitioner's certificate is needed to prove that the family member is in critical state and needs the assistance of the employee asking for this leave. The definition of family member applies to the following individuals:

(1) Parents or step-parents, spouse, children, siblings or step-siblings of the employee;

(2) Spouse's parents or children;

(3) Children-in-law, grandchildren, grandparents, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or the employee's spouse;

(4) Uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew of the employee or the employee's spouse;

(5) Dependents of the employee.

This means that an employee may notify the employer that they are taking a leave for one or more of the above family members.

This is a leave permitted under the law, which means an employee has the right to take this leave without losing job security.

The leave is only permitted after a certain amount of time of employment.

HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT

Notice of this leave should be delivered to the employer in advance before the employee takes their leave of absence. The certificate from a doctor will need to be paid for and obtained by the employee taking this leave. The certificate should be sent with the letter; if not, the certificate should be sent as soon as possible.

The letter can be sent by mail or email in PDF format. Once the notice has been sent to the employer, the employee should keep a copy of the letter and the medical certificate for their records.

APPLICABLE LAW

Employment law legislation is governed by each Province and Territory. For federal employees, the Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2) applies. These laws establish the minimum requirements for a personal leave of absence that employers must afford to their employees.

HOW TO MODIFY THE TEMPLATE

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.