Bereavement leave

A buyer meets bereavement leave in the employment records, as one of the entitlements that come with the staff. It is a kind of protected leave. See what happens to an employee on leave when the business is sold.

Federal and Ontario rules

Under the federal Code, an employee on the leave is entitled to be reinstated in the same position under section 210.2, or in a comparable one if for any valid reason the employer cannot, and under section 210.3 pension, health and disability benefits and seniority accumulate during the leave, subject to the contribution rules in that section. In Ontario, section 50.0.2 gives an employee employed for a minimum period a leave without pay on the death of a family member the section lists. Under section 50.0.2(8), a paid or unpaid leave taken under an employment contract in circumstances that also qualify is deemed taken under that section, and the Ontario guide says a contract’s terms apply instead where it gives a greater right or benefit. This entry covers the federal Code and Ontario only; check the rules where you are.

What to check or ask

• Who is on bereavement leave at closing, and since when.
• Whether employment contracts or policies give more than the statute.
• How the seller recorded the leave days taken.