Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 7, 2014 April 7, 2014 NEWS NEWS 3 Maternity leave good opportunity Maternity leave good opportunity for talent development for talent development European court decision around training, promotions European court decision around training, promotions should make employers think twice about writing off women on mat leave should make employers think twice about writing off women on mat leave BY LIZ BERNIER WHEN AN employee goes on maternity leave, it's generally as- sumed she'll be — for the most part — out of touch with the offi ce. But that's a diffi cult assump- tion to make, especially since the maternity leave experience can re- ally diff er from person to person, according to Jennifer Beeman, co-ordinator, women in employ- ment, at CIAFT (the Council for Women's Access to Work) in Montreal. "Within the experience of ma- ternity leaves, there can be wom- en who discover, much to their surprise, that they want to slow down, they kind of go domestic. But there are other women who absolutely kind of go stir crazy — they want to get back to work as soon as they're physically ready." So what happens if a woman on maternity leave still wants to be involved with her workplace, whether through part-time work, side projects or training and de- velopment opportunities? Is it discrimination to automatically exclude? In a recent decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled it is "discrimination on grounds of sex" to automatically exclude a woman on maternity leave from a training opportunity that may advance her career. In the case in question, Lore- dana Napoli had been admitted into a competitive training course, but was excluded because she was on a compulsory mat leave. Con- sequently, her colleagues, who were able to take the course before her, could be promoted to a higher position with better pay. e court ordered that equiva- lent remedial courses be provided so Napoli could receive the train- ing and be promoted without delay. "In this way, the career devel- opment of such a female worker would not be hindered in relation to that of a male colleague who was successful in the competition and admitted to the initial train- ing course," said the court in its decision. Of course, it's a decision that has no legal bearing on employers in Canada. But it raises some in- teresting questions about the as- sumptions made when it comes to women on maternity leave — and the impact it may have on their future careers. Taking a maternity leave can trigger gender disparities and negative eff ects for a woman's ca- reer path in a number of diff erent ways, said Beeman. "Without question, maternity leave and having children has a major impact on women's work- ing life. We can see it statistically in many different ways, and it marks the beginning of a real wage gap between men and women, among other things. Men's sala- ries tend to go up — what we call the 'daddy bonus' — and it goes up more than can be identifi ed by having longer working hours," she said. "It can be the beginning of a ca- reer gap too, and these things kind of have a cumulative eff ect over a woman's working life. ere are always exceptions to all general trends… But, generally, you can really see the impact of children on women's work in almost all sta- tistics regarding women's partici- pation in the labour force." To work or not to work? Of course, there are many women who are not concerned with work while they're on a maternity leave — and employers must respect that, said Patrizia Piccolo, a lawyer at Rubin omlinson in Toronto. "Some employers don't like the fact that someone could take up to 52 weeks of leave," she said. "It causes tension or confl ict in their workplace because it's a long time for someone to be away. (At times), we see employers saying, 'We want to put pressure on the employee to come back early or to work during the leave.' And I think the proper response to that is ' e law is the law and you can't force someone to work during their leave or to come back early.'" But when a woman does want to maintain some involvement More Strength. More Value. Being a trusted advisor to our clients also means providing the highest quality legal advice with efficiency. Our National Labour and Employment Law Group is pleased to welcome Labour Relations Specialist Melissa Kennedy to further enhance client value, and new partner Tim Lawson and Counsel Margaret Gavins to strengthen our top-tier legal advice. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT : Melissa Kennedy, Tim Lawson, Margaret Gavins McCarthy Tétrault LLP mccarthy.ca BE > pg. 7

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