Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave in Ontario: 10 Days, 15 Weeks, 5 Paid

By OptiVal Editorial Desk

Domestic or sexual violence leave in Ontario is the one Employment Standards Act leave where some of the time is paid by the employer. The entitlement is up to 10 days and up to 15 weeks in a calendar year, and the first five days taken in that year must be paid. The rest is unpaid.

Ontario sets the rule out in Domestic or sexual violence 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 domestic or sexual violence leave in Ontario actually gives an employee

• Up to 10 days in a calendar year, taken as full days, part days, or in blocks.
• Up to 15 weeks in the same calendar year, taken together or separately.
• The first five days taken in the calendar year are paid, in total. There are not five paid days for the 10 day part and another five for the 15 week part.

An employee may be entitled to more than one ESA leave for the same event, and each leave is separate. Our sick leave guide and bereavement leave guide cover the shorter leaves.

Who qualifies, and for what purposes

An employee qualifies after at least 13 consecutive weeks of employment, if the employee, or the employee’s child, has experienced domestic or sexual violence or been threatened with it. Child means a child, step child, child under legal guardianship, or foster child under 18. An employee who committed the violence is not entitled to this leave.

The leave must be taken for one of five purposes:

• To seek medical attention for the employee or the child because of a physical or psychological injury or disability caused by the violence.
• To access services from a victim services organisation for the employee or the child.
• To have psychological or other professional counselling for the employee or the child.
• To move, temporarily or permanently.
• To seek legal or law enforcement help, including making a police report, or getting ready for or taking part in a related family, civil, or criminal court process.

The 10 days and the 15 weeks count differently

The 10 days are per calendar year, for full time and part time staff alike. There is no pro rating. Someone who starts partway through the year still gets 10 days for the rest of that year, and unused days do not carry over. The days do not have to be taken together. A part day can be counted by the employer as a full day of leave. Even so, the employee must still be paid for the part of the day they worked, and those worked hours still count toward overtime and hours of work limits.

The 15 weeks are also per calendar year. A week runs from Sunday to Saturday. The weeks can be taken together or separately, and taking part of a week uses up a whole week of the entitlement. Two separate periods in the same Sunday to Saturday week use up only one week. An employer cannot force an employee to take a whole week when they only need a day, and cannot stop them working before or returning after a single day taken inside that week.

The employee does not have to use the 10 days first.

The first five days are paid: how the pay is worked out

The first five days taken in a calendar year must be paid whether they come from the 10 day entitlement or the 15 week entitlement. After five paid days, further leave is unpaid unless a contract says otherwise. In general, paid leave pays what the employee would have earned if they had been at work:

• Hourly paid: hourly rate multiplied by the hours not worked because of the leave. At $19 an hour for a nine hour day, that is $171.
• Salaried: salary continuance. For a full day, salary divided by the number of days in the pay period. A salary of $1,500 paid bi weekly over 10 working days gives $150 for one day. For part of a day, work out the hourly rate from the salary and multiply by the hours taken.
• Paid fully or partly by performance, such as commission or piece work: the greater of the employee’s hourly rate, if any, and the applicable minimum wage, for the time missed.
• Overtime and premiums: if the missed shift would have included overtime hours or a shift premium, leave pay is at the regular rate only, not the overtime or premium rate.

Notice and evidence: lighter than managers expect

Notice works differently for the two parts. For days from the 10 day entitlement, the employee must tell the employer in advance, or as soon as possible after the leave starts if advance notice is not possible. That notice does not have to be in writing. For weeks or part weeks from the 15 week entitlement, notice must be in writing before the leave, or in writing as soon as possible after it starts. Notice is needed each time leave is taken. Failing to give proper notice does not take away the right to the leave.

An employer may ask for evidence reasonable in the circumstances, depending on the length of the leave, any pattern of absences, what evidence is available, and its cost. Ask for the least that confirms eligibility, and do not ask for detail about the violence itself. One named contact, a private payroll code, and no circulation of the reason are basic handling for a remote team. See our remote staffing pages.

Rights during the leave, and what to fix now

Employees who take this leave have the same rights during and at the end of leave as employees who take pregnancy or parental leave. An employer cannot threaten, fire, or penalise an employee in any other way for taking the leave, planning to take it, being eligible for it, or being in a position to become eligible.

• Add this leave to the handbook as its own entry: 13 weeks to qualify, 10 days, 15 weeks, first five days paid in total.
• Build the pay codes before anyone needs them: paid day, unpaid day, and part day split, with the regular rate rule for overtime and premium shifts.
• Train the one or two people who will receive these requests. Everyone else only needs to know the person is on approved leave.
• Keep a private tracker for days used, weeks used, and paid days used in the calendar year. Reset it on January 1. Nothing carries over.

Domestic or sexual violence leave, handled properly

Ten days, 15 weeks, and five paid days sounds clear until a part day, a commission plan, and a written notice question land in the same pay run. 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 setup.