Fired after Maternity Leave - Know your Rights

Human rights legislation and employment standards protect employees from discrimination and termination from their employment due to pregnancy, having a child, planned maternity leave or taking maternity leave. However, this does not mean that an employer can never terminate an employee who is pregnant, on maternity leave or returning from maternity leave.  An employer can terminate a pregnant employee, an employee on maternity leave or coming back from maternity leave, provided that the termination is unrelated to the maternity leave or pregnancy. 

Proving that an employee was terminated due to their pregnancy or maternity leave can be challenging, as employers rarely explicitly state the reason for termination. Employees must show that the employer considered pregnancy or the maternity leave as a factor leading to termination. While challenging, proving that pregnancy or maternity leave was a factor in the employee’s termination is not insurmountable. The Employee is not required to show that their pregnancy or maternity leave was the only reason for the loss of their job, and direct evidence is not required.  In other words, Pregnancy or maternity leave does not have to be the only reason for the termination of employment for an employee to successfully argue that they were discriminated against or that the employer failed to comply with the requirements to reinstate them following their maternity leave. An employee will be successful as long as they can establish that their pregnancy and or maternity leave played a role in the termination. 

If an employer does decide to terminate a pregnant employee or someone returning from maternity leave, based on business reasons or performance issues, the employer should document evidence to support their non-discriminatory decision. Lack of such evidence may result in the employee being more likely to succeed arguing that their   pregnancy or maternity leave was a factor in the termination of their employment. For employees, it is a good idea to keep an eye out for job postings by the employer for their role or similar type roles to see if their position was truly ‘eliminated’. 

If you suspect that your pregnancy or maternity leave factored into your dismissal from your job, it is advisable to seek legal advice from an experienced employment lawyer.