Leaves of Absence

1. Start your leave by submitting a request through Benefits Zendesk as soon as you know you’ll need time away.
2. Give your manager a heads-up on your expected LOA dates only (no medical details needed).
3. If you are going out on short-term disability, you can submit all required forms directly to your Benefits Zendesk ticket. The Benefits Team will submit all information directly to Canada Life. Forms to fill out include:

• Initial Disability Insurance Medical Statement
• Disability Benefits Employee Statement Guide
• Privacy Consent Disclosure and Authorization Form

Reminder: Short-term disability (STD) is typically used for full-time medical leaves when you expect to be out for more than seven calendar days and the leave requires medical documentation.

Pay during leave depends on the type of leave you’re taking, what you’re eligible for, and where you work.

STD pay (if you’re eligible): ): Canada Life pays 66.67% of weekly earnings, up to a maximum of $2,400 per week. You must use any available sick time to cover the remaining 33.33% until all sick time is exhausted. This portion is handled through Pandora payroll and the Benefits Team.

Part-time employees: You can use your PT Leave for time away from work. All requests must be submitted through Plan.Dora.

All other leaves: You can use sick time (must follow the Sick Paid Time Off policy) or any other paid time off that you have available.

Note: You are not allowed to exhaust your paid time off and then start your leave. Paid time off will run concurrently with eligible leave options.

Depending on your leave, you may need to share documentation, like a note from your healthcare provider.

Full-time medical leave or STD: Send medical documentation to Benefits Zendesk and/or Canada Life.

Timing tip: The sooner you submit requested documentation, the smoother your approval and pay process tends to be.

Your benefits remain active while you’re on an approved leave, as required by applicable law and company policy.

When you’re getting ready to come back, a few quick steps will help make the transition smooth, especially for scheduling and pay. If something changes, let the Benefits Team and/or Canada Life and your manager know as soon as you can.

What to expect

• After your leave is approved, the Benefits Team updates your status in the People Portal. You may see an “Out of Office” banner with tentative dates.
• While you’re on leave, you may temporarily lose access to scheduling in Plan.Dora, and future shifts may be removed.
• Once you know your return date, let the Benefits Team know (if it’s managing your claim), and give your manager a heads-up so that your schedule can be planned.
• If your return date changes, contact the Benefits Team as soon as possible.
• If you’ll need workplace adjustments, such as a medical or a lactation accommodation, you’ll need to complete the appropriate form and submit it through Benefits Zendesk when you return. For a medically necessary accommodation, have your doctor complete the Accommodation Medical Certification Form. For a non-medical accommodation, you can complete the Accommodation Request Form yourself.

Managers play an important role in helping LOAs go smoothly. Your main job is to act early, submit the right access requests, and follow up so that the employee’s leave and return are handled on time.

What managers need to do

• Prepare employees for leave by ensuring they understand the leave process, timelines, required documentation, benefit impacts, and available resources before their leave begins.
• Request temporary system access for a designated employee when a People Manager is going on leave and unable to perform certain manager functions. This may include access to systems such as People Portal and Plan.Dora.
• Support employee readiness. Confirm the employee has shared accurate LOA dates has access to all leave-related information.
• Follow the Manager Leave Task List to ensure all required access, approvals, and administrative actions are completed.

Before your employee returns

As soon as you know an employee’s expected return date, submit a Return-to-Work Access Request in advance and confirm all systems, schedules, and operation needs are ready before the employee’s first day back. If system access was modified during the leave, managers are responsible for submitting the appropriate tickets to restore changes.

Once the employee has returned to work, managers must also submit the employee’s Actual Return to Work date in the People Portal. Review the Manager Playbook for a step-by-step process on what to do.