# Can an Employer Terminate an Employee While They Are on Leave?

> Usually no. In Ontario, Alberta, and federally regulated workplaces, an employer cannot terminate an employee because they took, are taking, or plan to take a job-protected leave (Canada's equivalent to what the US calls "FMLA" leave). Doing so is a prohibited reprisal under each jurisdiction's employment standards law. Narrow exceptions exist, such as Alberta's business-discontinuance exception, but the leave itself is never a lawful reason for dismissal.

Published 2026-08-22 · Last reviewed 2026-08-16 · [Canonical page](https://canadalegalcenter.ca/articles/can-an-employer-terminate-an-employee-while-they-are-on-leave/)

Legal information, not legal advice.

## Can you be fired for taking a leave? The verdict

**Usually no.** In Ontario, Alberta, and for federally regulated employers, taking a job-protected leave (the rough Canadian counterpart to what US readers call "FMLA leave") cannot lawfully be a reason for termination. In Ontario, [the Ministry of Labour's guide confirms](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/termination-employment) that an employer cannot end someone's employment, or penalize them in any other way, if any part of the reason is that the employee exercised an Employment Standards Act (ESA) right, including taking a leave the Act specifies, under [section 74 of the ESA](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/reprisals). Alberta's rule is structured similarly: [Alberta.ca states](https://www.alberta.ca/employment-standards-termination-and-lay-off) that employers cannot end the employment of, or lay off, an employee who has started or is entitled to a job-protected leave, unless the employer is suspending or discontinuing the business. Federally, the [Canada Labour Code](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-246.1.html) lets an employee complain to the Canada Industrial Relations Board if the employer takes reprisal action, including dismissal, for exercising a protected leave right such as [medical leave under section 239](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/l-2/section-239-20201001.html).

The common thread across all three: the leave itself is never a lawful ground for dismissal. What changes between jurisdictions is the mechanism for enforcing that rule and the narrow situations where a termination during a leave can still be lawful for reasons unrelated to the leave.

<div class="table-scroll">

| | Ontario | Alberta | Federally regulated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core protection | Reprisal prohibition, [ESA s. 74](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/reprisals) | Prohibition on ending employment/layoff during job-protected leave, Employment Standards Code | Reprisal complaint, [Canada Labour Code s. 246.1](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-246.1.html) |
| Main exception | Termination for reasons unrelated to the leave (e.g., genuine restructuring) | Employer suspends or discontinues the business | Reasons unrelated to the protected leave |
| Primary remedy | Reinstatement plus top-up benefits | Reinstatement / complaint to Employment Standards | Reinstatement order from the Board |

</div>

## What counts as a protected leave, and why time on leave still counts as employment

The protection only attaches to leaves the applicable statute recognizes as job-protected. In Ontario, this covers the leaves set out in Part XIV of the ESA, and [the Ministry of Labour's guide is explicit](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/reprisals) that reprisal protection extends to "taking, planning on taking, being eligible or becoming eligible for leave under the ESA." It also matters that an employee on leave is not treated as having left the workforce: [Ontario guidance confirms](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/termination-employment) that a person is considered "employed" not only while actively working but also while off sick, on leave, or on lay-off, so time on leave counts toward the continuous employment used to calculate notice entitlements under [section 54 of the ESA](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/termination-employment).

Alberta's [Employment Standards Tool Kit](https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/a94a2104-d2e1-4d06-8ad0-0b5c7f655d75/resource/4d24b1d9-99a0-4fc9-98d6-9b359f8abea8/download/jet-es-tool-kit-module-9-termination-of-employment-2023.pdf) makes the same point for years-of-service calculations: time spent on a job-protected leave counts as continuous employment for the purpose of figuring out an employee's length of service, which in turn affects termination notice. And [alis, the Alberta government's career and employment information service](https://alis.alberta.ca/succeed-at-work/employment-laws-and-standards/what-you-need-to-know-about-employment-standards/?EK=12371), summarizes the underlying rule plainly: an employer cannot terminate an employee because they are on a job-protected leave.

## The narrow exceptions that can flip the answer

The protection is not absolute. In Alberta, [the Tool Kit describes one specific carve-out](https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/a94a2104-d2e1-4d06-8ad0-0b5c7f655d75/resource/4d24b1d9-99a0-4fc9-98d6-9b359f8abea8/download/jet-es-tool-kit-module-9-termination-of-employment-2023.pdf): an employee on a long-term job-protected leave can be terminated or laid off if the employer suspends or discontinues the business, undertaking, or other activity in which the employee was working. This is a business-closure exception, not a performance or workload exception.

In all three jurisdictions, the statutory protection targets termination *because of* the leave. An employer that has an independent, unrelated reason for termination (for example, a documented restructuring that eliminates a role across the organization, not just the position of the person on leave) is not automatically barred from acting during the leave period. The practical difficulty is proving that the reason truly was unrelated, since a termination that lands during or immediately around a leave period invites scrutiny of the employer's real motive.

## What happens if an employer terminates someone during a leave anyway

If a termination is found to violate the reprisal protection, the remedies differ in mechanism but converge on the same outcome: undoing the termination and covering what the employee lost.

In Ontario, [the ESA Policy and Interpretation Manual states](https://www.ontario.ca/document/employment-standard-act-policy-and-interpretation-manual/part-xiv-leaves-absence) that an employee terminated in contravention of the reprisal provision during a Part XIV leave is entitled to reinstatement and to any supplementary or top-up benefits the employer would have provided during the leave had the termination not occurred. [The Ministry of Labour's reprisals guide](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/reprisals) confirms that a finding of reprisal under [section 74(1)](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/reprisals) can result in an order that the employer reinstate the employee.

Federally, an employee of a federally regulated employer can bring a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board under [section 246.1 of the Canada Labour Code](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-246.1.html). Where the Board finds a reprisal occurred, it can order remedies including reinstatement under [section 246.4](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-246.1.html).

## What an employee can do next

The options available depend on which regime applies to the employer:

1. In Ontario, an employee who believes they were terminated as a reprisal for taking or being eligible for a leave can file a claim with the Ministry of Labour, which can investigate and order remedies including reinstatement and top-up benefits.
2. In Alberta, a similar complaint can be made to Alberta Employment Standards regarding the termination or lay-off of an employee on a job-protected leave.
3. For a federally regulated employer, the complaint goes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board under the Canada Labour Code's reprisal provisions.

None of these processes require the employee to already have a lawyer, though the facts around timing (when the leave started, when the termination was communicated, and what reason the employer gave) are usually central to how the complaint is decided.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does this protection cover maternity and parental leave in Ontario?**

In Ontario, the reprisal protection covers any leave specified under the ESA's Part XIV leave provisions, and termination because an employee took, is taking, or is eligible to take such a leave is a prohibited reprisal under section 74 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

**Can an employer lay off, rather than terminate, someone on leave in Alberta?**

In Alberta, employers cannot end the employment of, or lay off, an employee who has started or is entitled to a job-protected leave, unless the employer is suspending or discontinuing the business itself.

**What can an employee do if they're fired while on leave in Ontario?**

An employee can raise a complaint under the ESA's reprisal provisions. If a reprisal is found, the employer can be ordered to reinstate the employee and provide any top-up benefits the employee would have received had the leave continued.

**Does this rule apply to federally regulated employers, like banks or airlines?**

Yes. Under the Canada Labour Code, an employee of a federally regulated employer can complain to the Canada Industrial Relations Board if dismissed for exercising a protected leave right, and the Board can order reinstatement.


## Sources

1. [Ontario Ministry of Labour – Your Guide to the ESA, Termination of Employment](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/termination-employment), Employment Standards Act, 2000, SO 2000, c 41, s 54, s 74 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
2. [Ontario Ministry of Labour – Your Guide to the ESA, Reprisals](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/reprisals), Employment Standards Act, 2000, SO 2000, c 41, s 74 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
3. [Ontario ESA Policy and Interpretation Manual, Part XIV – Leaves of Absence](https://www.ontario.ca/document/employment-standard-act-policy-and-interpretation-manual/part-xiv-leaves-absence), Employment Standards Act, 2000, SO 2000, c 41, s 74 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
4. [Alberta.ca – Employment standards: Termination and lay-off](https://www.alberta.ca/employment-standards-termination-and-lay-off), Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000, c E-9 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
5. [Alberta Employment Standards Tool Kit for Employers, Module 9 – Termination of Employment](https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/a94a2104-d2e1-4d06-8ad0-0b5c7f655d75/resource/4d24b1d9-99a0-4fc9-98d6-9b359f8abea8/download/jet-es-tool-kit-module-9-termination-of-employment-2023.pdf), Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000, c E-9 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
6. [alis (Alberta Learning Information Service) – What You Need to Know About Employment Standards](https://alis.alberta.ca/succeed-at-work/employment-laws-and-standards/what-you-need-to-know-about-employment-standards/?EK=12371), Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000, c E-9 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
7. [Canada Labour Code, s. 246.1](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-246.1.html), Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2, s 246.1(1)(a) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
8. [Canada Labour Code, s. 246.4](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-246.1.html), Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2, s 246.4 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
9. [Canada Labour Code, s. 239](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/l-2/section-239-20201001.html), Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2, s 239(1) (retrieved 2026-07-17)