By OptiVal Editorial Desk
Bereavement leave in Ontario is short, specific, and easy to get wrong in the moment it matters most. The entitlement is two unpaid days in a calendar year, not two days for each death. It covers a defined list of family members, not everyone an employee is close to. And a paid day in a contract can use up one of those two days. This guide sets out the rule as Ontario publishes it.
Ontario sets the rule out in Bereavement leave: Your guide to the Employment Standards Act. General information, not legal advice. If a contract gives a greater right or benefit, the contract terms apply instead.
What bereavement leave in Ontario actually gives an employee
Most employees covered by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) can take up to two days of unpaid, job protected bereavement leave in each calendar year, once they have worked for the employer for at least two consecutive weeks.
Four details catch employers out:
- The two days are a yearly total. Two deaths in one year do not create four days of ESA bereavement leave.
- There is no pro rating. Someone who starts partway through the year, full time or part time, still gets the full two days for the rest of that year.
- Unused days do not carry over. The count resets on January 1.
- The days do not have to be consecutive. An employee can take one day at the time of the death and save the second for a funeral, a memorial service, or an estate appointment later.
The leave is not limited to the day of the death. It can be taken then, or later for a funeral or memorial service, or to attend to estate matters, such as meeting a lawyer about an estate.
Who counts as family, and who does not
The ESA list is specific. Bereavement leave can be taken for the death of:
- a spouse, including married and unmarried partners
- a parent, step parent, or foster parent of the employee or the employee’s spouse
- a child, step child, or foster child of the employee or the employee’s spouse
- a grandparent, step grandparent, grandchild, or step grandchild of the employee or the employee’s spouse
- the spouse of the employee’s child
- a brother or sister of the employee
- a relative who is dependent on the employee for care or assistance
Read that list carefully. An aunt, an uncle, a cousin, or a close family friend is not on it, unless that person was a relative dependent on the employee for care or assistance. That does not mean you must refuse time off. It means the time is not ESA bereavement leave, so handle it under your own policy, vacation, or an unpaid arrangement, and record it that way.
Other leaves can apply to the same event, and each is separate. A single absence can only count against one ESA leave, even if the event qualifies under more than one. A death might also raise family responsibility leave, family caregiver leave, or, where a child has died, child death leave, a much longer separate entitlement. Do not assume the two day rule is the whole answer for the death of a child. Check the other leave first.
The paid day trap in contracts and handbooks
Many handbooks offer one paid bereavement day, thinking they are being generous. Ontario’s example shows the problem. One paid day per year is not a greater right or benefit than the ESA, so the employee is still entitled to two job protected days per calendar year.
If the employee takes that one paid day for a memorial service, the day counts against both entitlements at once. The employee then has one unpaid ESA day left, and no paid contract days left. It is not one paid day plus two unpaid days.
The same counting logic appears in our sick leave guide for Ontario employers. If your policy promises three paid days, or paid days per death, say so plainly and cost it that way. Vague wording gets read against the employer when a manager has already said yes.
Notice, proof, part days, and pay
An employee should tell you before the leave starts, or as soon as possible after it starts. Notice does not have to be in writing. Oral notice is enough, and an employee does not lose the right to the leave for failing to give notice properly. For a remote team, use one absence channel so a message to a manager reaches payroll the same day.
You may ask for evidence that is reasonable in the circumstances. Ontario gives examples: a death certificate, a funeral home notification, a published obituary, a memorial service program, or a legal office communication about an estate appointment. Reasonable depends on the length of the leave, any pattern of absences, what evidence is available, and its cost. Ask for the lightest proof that confirms the fact.
Part days need a decision in advance. An employee is entitled to wages for the part of the day worked, and those hours still count for overtime. You may count a part day as a full day of leave used, but you do not have to. Apply your choice consistently and record it. The two ESA days are unpaid, unless your contract or policy pays for them.
Job protection is the point. An employer cannot threaten, fire, or penalise an employee for taking bereavement leave, or planning to take it. A narrow exception covers certain professionals, such as some health practitioners, where taking the leave would be professional misconduct or a dereliction of duty.
What to fix in your handbook this month
- State the rule exactly: two unpaid days per calendar year, after two consecutive weeks of employment, for the family members on the ESA list.
- Say whether your business pays for any bereavement days, and if so, state that a paid day taken also uses an ESA day, unless your policy genuinely gives more.
- Add the part day rule: pay for time worked, count hours for overtime, and decide whether a part day counts as a full leave day.
- Set one absence channel that reaches the manager and payroll, with oral notice accepted.
- Train managers on the two hard cases: a relative not on the ESA list, and the death of a child, where another leave may apply.
Our remote staffing team sees these clauses most often in handbooks copied from older templates or another province, where the days and the family list differ.
Bereavement leave, handled properly
Two unpaid days sounds minor until a manager gives the wrong answer on the worst week of an employee’s year. OptiVal runs payroll at $29 per employee per month plus a $149 setup fee (CAD, HST extra), and bookkeeping starts at $199 per month. See our pricing page and services. Led by qualified professionals with more than 75 years of combined experience, PwC-trained, we keep leave records and pay lined up. Book a free consultation to review your ESA leave records.
