Results of the June 2026 Mercer QuickPulse^® Survey: Leave Edition

Supporting employees through major life events is an important part of an employer’s total rewards strategy. From welcoming a new child to caring for an ill family member, leave policies play a significant role in attracting and retaining talent while helping employees balance work and personal responsibilities.

The 2026 Mercer QuickPulse^® Canada Family Care Leaves Survey, conducted in June with 361 Canadian organizations, offers a snapshot of how employers are approaching leave benefits today. The findings reveal that while many organizations continue to enhance maternity and parental leave programs, support for other family care leaves remains far less common.

The survey also highlights several administrative trends that demonstrate employers’ efforts to simplify leave management while maintaining compliance across Canada’s provincial requirements.

Maternity and parental leave benefits remain a priority

One of the clearest findings from the survey is that 61% of organizations provide benefits for both maternity and parental leave. The most common approach is topping up Employment Insurance (EI) or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). Most organizations (82%) that provide leave benefits use this method, making it the preferred strategy over salary continuance or short-term disability programs (for maternity benefits).

This trend reflects a growing focus on helping employees maintain financial stability while away from work, reducing the income gap that can accompany maternity or parental leave.

Eligibility is becoming more inclusive

Many organizations are also making these benefits available to a broad segment of their workforce. More than half (54%) of employers extend leave benefits to all employees, except temporary contract or seasonal workers, while a smaller share (8%) provide benefits to all employees without exclusions. Only a minority restricts benefits exclusively to full-time or executive employees.

Eligibility also begins relatively early for many employees. 39% of organizations offer benefits effective from the employee’s date of hire, while 25% require a service window of three months or less from date of hire for benefit eligibility.

Together, these findings suggest many employers view enhanced maternity leave and parental leave as core benefits rather than a perk reserved for long-tenured employees.

Top-up benefits continue to evolve

The survey also provides insights into how organizations administer top-up programs. Most employers extend top-up benefits beyond maternity leave alone. Every organization offering top-ups includes maternity leave, and many also cover parental and paternity leave in Quebec.

During the EI waiting period, just over half (53%) of organizations pay employees the equivalent of their regular earnings. Others either provide only the top-up during the waiting period or wait until EI begins before making payments.

Most organizations (63%) also wait until they receive an employee’s EI or QPIP benefit statement before issuing payments, although they typically make those payments retroactive to the beginning of the leave.

Leave duration and income replacement remain competitive

While benefit designs vary by employer, the median duration of employer-paid income benefits is:

• 15 weeks for maternity leave
• 12 weeks for parental leave
• 12 weeks for Quebec paternity leave

When employer payments are combined with government benefits, the median income replacement reaches approximately 95% of an employee’s normal weekly earnings for both maternity and parental leave. Most organizations use a fixed-percentage design rather than tiering benefits based on tenure or seniority.

These survey responses suggest Canadian employers continue to invest in leave programs that minimize the financial impact of taking time away from work.

Support for other family care leaves is less common

While maternity leave and parental leave benefits are widespread, enhanced benefits for other caregiving situations are much less prevalent. Only 17% of surveyed organizations provide income benefits for compassionate care leave or for caring for a critically ill child or a critically ill adult family member.

Among employers that do provide these benefits, compassionate care leave is the most frequently covered (96%), followed closely by leave to care for critically ill children (84%) and adults (81%). Benefits are split fairly evenly between EI top-ups and salary continuance programs.

Like maternity leave and parental leave, eligibility often begins immediately, with 60% of employers making these benefits available from the employee’s date of hire. For organizations offering these programs, median benefit durations range from six to eight weeks, depending on the leave type, with most employers replacing nearly all of an employee’s normal wages when combined with EI benefits.

Administrative practices continue to mature

Beyond benefit design, the survey also sheds light on how organizations administer leave programs. 82% of employers continue benefit coverage and pension contributions during leave, even when legislation doesn’t require continued coverage. Meanwhile, most organizations (71%) do not require employees to repay income benefits if they choose not to return to work following leave.

Vacation accrual practices vary considerably. Nearly half of employers (49%) continue paid vacation accrual during leave, while others provide unpaid vacation accrual or suspend accrual altogether. Among organizations that allow paid vacation accrual, 79% do not require employees to use that vacation before returning to active work.

The survey also shows that organizations generally avoid collecting company assets during leave. Nearly half (48%) leave assets with employees regardless of the duration of the leave, while others collect equipment only after extended absences or under specific circumstances.

Consistency across provinces remains a focus

Managing leaves across multiple jurisdictions continues to present challenges for national employers. Most organizations (57%) operating in multiple provinces report harmonizing both their written leave policies and leave administration across provincial legislative requirements. This helps create a more consistent employee experience while simplifying administration.

Almost all organizations (94%) continue to manage leave administration internally, rather than outsourcing either statutory leaves or employer top-up programs.

Key takeaways

The survey findings illustrate that Canadian employers continue to view family leaves as an important component of their employee value proposition. Enhanced maternity leave and parental leave benefits have become relatively common, with many organizations providing generous income replacement, broad eligibility, and comprehensive top-up programs.

At the same time, opportunities remain to expand support for employees caring for critically ill family members or taking compassionate care leave. As employee expectations around workplace flexibility and wellbeing continue to evolve, organizations may increasingly look beyond maternity leave and parental leave to create expanded family care programs.

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About the author

Stephanie Lue-Kim, Senior Consultant, MMB Workforce Health

Stephanie specializes in disability management, well-being, accommodation, and mental health. The Workforce Health team’s focus is improving productivity through building strong workforce health strategies and policies, which includes Leave policies and top up programs. With over 24 years in the group health insurance industry and 5 years with Mercer (Marsh), she focuses on bringing innovative disability and well-being solutions and strategies to clients.

Kristin Smith, Senior Legal Consultant, MMB Canada

Kristin is responsible for leading the National Legislative Team for MMB Canada. With over 24 years practicing in the areas of pension, benefits, and employment law, Kristin supports consultants and clients in the development, interpretation, and implementation of related workplace policies, ensuring a balance of legal compliance and strategic practicality.