To: Municipal Pension Plan Employers
Date: February 2007
Topic: Purchases of Compassionate Care Leaves
Direction:
Compassionate care leave, which was introduced on April 27, 2006
when changes to the Employment Standards Act came into effect,
is eligible for purchase.
Compassionate care leave is time Municipal Pension Plan members
take to provide care and support to a family member in situations
where the family member is gravely ill with a significant risk
of death within 26 weeks. Individuals who qualify as “family
members” are defined in the Employment Standards Act. Members
can take up to eight weeks leave in a 26-week period. See the
Employment Standards Branch website at
www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb
for important information about compassionate care leave.
Members can purchase up to five pensionable years for general
leaves that ended on or after January 1, 1991. Compassionate care
leaves occurring on or after April 27, 2006 are included in the
five-year general leave purchase limit.
If a member chooses to pay for the employee portion of a compassionate
care leave taken under the requirements of the Employment Standards
Act, the employer who granted the leave is required to pay for
the employer portion of the leave cost.
See Section 2 of the Instructions for Employers manual for more
information on purchases. This section will be updated on April
1, 2007 to reflect changes to purchase of service rules.
