Parental Leave Assistance Program for Lawyers Guidelines
Criteria for Eligibility
Effective November 1, 2011
Please note that if you are a woman lawyer who is eligible for the Parental Leave
Assistance Program, you may also be eligible under the Law Society's Career
Coaching Program. The Career Coaching Program is offered free of charge. Please
consult the following webpage to find out more:
http://www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=2147487022
1.
In the spring of 2008, The Law Society of Upper Canada adopted the Parental
Leave Assistance Program ("PLAP"), a program for lawyers who meet specified
eligibility criteria to receive payment of benefits during a parental leave of
absence.1 PLAP is available to sole practitioners and partners in firms of five
lawyers or less. PLAP is not an income replacement program, but a program
aimed at defraying some of the costs of overhead during the leave from practice.
2.
The purpose behind PLAP is to reduce the financial hardship when a lawyer,
woman or man, in a small firm or sole practice takes a parental leave. The funds
are designed to cover expenses associated with maintaining a lawyer's practice
during the parental leave.
3.
The following rules apply to PLAP.
Definitions/Interpretation
4.
I n th e se gui d el i nes
a.
"El Special Benefits Program" means the program created under the
Employment Insurance Act, S.C. 1996, c. 23 to provide maternity, parental,
sickness and compassionate care benefits for self-employed persons and "El
Special Benefits" are maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care
benefits paid under that program.
b.
"Family member" means a spouse, a parent, step-parent or foster parent, a
child, step-child or foster child, a sibling, a grandparent, a grandchild, an
1
Parental leave includes a maternity leave, a parental leave (mother or father) and an adoption leave (mother or
father).
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c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
aunt or uncle, a niece or nephew.
"Member in good standing" is a member of The Law Society of Upper
Canada who holds a Class L1 licence that is not suspended, who is not in
default of the requirement to pay to The Law Society of Upper Canada the
annual fee or any insurance premium levy, who is not in default of any
requirement to file any document with The Law Society of Upper Canada
and who is not is default of any requirement to file any document with the
Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company.
"Midwife" means a registered member of the College of Midwives of
Ontario or a person authorized to practise midwifery in the jurisdiction in
which the child is expected to be born.
"Operational/overhead expenses" means expenses from the operation of a
law practice, such as rent or lease costs, telephone costs, hydro costs, etc.
"Physician" means a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario or a person who is authorized to practise medicine in the
jurisdiction in which the child is expected to be born.
"Practice revenue" means the income realized by a member related to the
operation of a law practice.
"Spouse" means a person to whom a member is married or with whom a
member is living in a conjugal relationship outside of marriage and
includes both same-sex and opposite sex relationships.
"Week" means a period of seven consecutive days beginning on and including
Sunday.
The birth of more than one child as a result of a single pregnancy and the
adoption of more than one child simultaneously will be considered to be a
single birth and a single adoption.
Eligibility
5.
To be eligible for benefits under PLAP, the applicant must satisfy all of the
following requirements:
a.
Be a parent (mother or father) of a child;
Note: For the purpose of this subparagraph, a “parent” is an individual who,
under the laws of Ontario, has rights and responsibilities with respect to the
custody, care and control of the child.
b.
c.
Be a member in good standing;
Have no access to any other maternity/parental/adoption financial
benefits under public or private plans;
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Note: For the purpose of this subparagraph:
Lawyers who have entered into an agreement with the Canada
Employment Insurance Commission and are eligible to receive El Special
Benefits are not eligible for PLAP.
Lawyers who have entered into an agreement with the Canada
Employment Insurance Commission but are in the one year waiting
period to be eligible for El Special Benefits are eligible for PLAP.
Lawyers who have terminated their agreement with the Canada
Employment Insurance Commission but remain eligible to claim El Special
Benefits are eligible for PLAP if they sign an affidavit stating that they will
forego all El Special Benefits.
d.
Cease to engage in remunerative work and to practise law during the
leave for which he or she is receiving payment of benefits under PLAP.
6.
To be eligible for benefits under PLAP, the applicant must be a sole practitioner
or a partner in a firm of five lawyers or less. The applicant must also demonstrate
that he or she had an active law practice and earned income from providing legal
services, advice or opinions to clients in the province of Ontario for a period of
approximately six months immediately preceding the earliest of the following
applicable events:
a.
The time the applicant applies for benefits under PLAP;
b.
The date of the birth of the child;
c.
In the case of an adoption, the date upon which the child is placed with the
applicant;
d.
The date of a stillbirth or miscarriage after the 19th week of gestation;
e.
The date upon which a birth mother on the advice of a physician or a
midwife because of complications caused by her pregnancy ceases to
practise law.
7.
PLAP is not an income replacement program, but a program aimed at defraying
some of the costs of overhead during the leave from practice.
8.
The program is also not intended to replace existing public or private assistance
programs. Without limiting the generality of paragraph 5 subparagraph c, to
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receive benefits under PLAP, members must not be eligible to receive any parental
benefits under:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
the Employment Insurance program under the Employment Insurance Act, or
any other government program of the same nature, subject to the note at
subparagraph c;
a p a r tne rs h i p ag ree me n t;
a policy at the firm where they practise or work;
an individual agreement with the firm where they practise or work;
any other form of financial parental benefits or any form of income
replacement, other than financial support received from their family members
or their spouse's family members.
9.
A birth mother who would otherwise be eligible for benefits under paragraphs
5, 6 and 8 and has a miscarriage or stillbirth after the 19th week of gestation, is
eligible for benefits under PLAP from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth for a
maximum period of twelve weeks.
10.
A leave must begin and end within the 16 weeks immediately following,
a.
b.
c.
11.
the date of the birth of the child, unless the child remains hospitalized, in
which case the period is extended by the number of weeks during which
the child remains hospitalized;
in the case of an adoption, the date upon which the child is placed with the
applicant; or
the date of a stillbirth or miscarriage after the 19t1 week of gestation.
Notwithstanding paragraph 10, a birth mother, who would be eligible under
paragraphs 5, 6 and 8 but who, on the advice of a physician or a midwife and
because of complications caused by her pregnancy, must cease to practise law
before the delivery of the child, is eligible for benefits under the PLAP from the
first day of her leave for a maximum period of twelve weeks.
Benefit Amount
12.
The amount of the benefits offered by The Law Society of Upper Canada for a
parental leave is $750 per week for up to twelve weeks, to a maximum of $9,000 per
leave. If more than one parent is eligible under PLAP, each parent may claim benefits
as long as the total combined amount of benefits do not exceed $9,000 per leave
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per family unit.
13.
Benefits will be paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT) on a bi-weekly basis
where the lawyer meets all of the eligibility criteria and submits the necessary
documents required for consideration of his or her application. The benefits will
be prorated on a weekly basis.
14.
Without limiting the generality of paragraph 13, if a lawyer engages in
remunerative work or practises law in a given week, he or she will not be eligible
for benefits for that week.
15.
Without limiting the generality of paragraph 13, if a lawyer ceases to be or is not a
member in good standing in a given week, he or she will not be eligible for
benefits for that week.
16.
For tax purposes, the benefits paid under PLAP are considered to be taxable
income. As benefits will be payable to the individual applicant, a T4A will be
issued to the applicant by the end of February of the year following payment of the
benefits.
Application Process
17.
2
A person who wishes to apply for PLAP benefits must:
a.
complete and file a PLAP application, in the form of an affidavit;
b.
provide one of the following documents:
i.
a certified copy2 of a Statement of Live Birth or equivalent acceptable
official proof of birth of the child;
ii.
a certified copy2 of an official proof of the date upon which the child is
placed with the applicant;
iii.
a medical certificate or a certified copy from a physician or a midwife
confirming the medical advice to cease to practise law before the
delivery of the child;
iv.
a medical certificate or a certified copy2 from a physician or a midwife
confirming the date of stillbirth or miscarriage after 19 weeks of
gestation.
c.
Provide proof of practice revenue and operational/overhead expenses by
submitting the most recent financial statements and tax return and by
Copies submitted in support of a PLAP application are to be certified by a lawyer other than the applicant.
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d.
signing an affidavit that outlines practice revenues and
operational/overhead expenses for the period beginning immediately after
the fiscal year reported on the tax return to the date of the signing of the
application for parental leave benefits. For applicants that became a sole
practitioner or a partner in a firm of 5 lawyers or less since the fiscal year
end of their last tax return, an affidavit that outlines practice revenues and
operational/overhead expenses for the last six months is required. A
decision to grant or refuse an application includes an assessment of the
financial documentation provided for the period of 6 months prior to the
date of application to determine whether the member was a sole
practitioner or a partner for a substantial period of time during the 6
months.
Submit a signed authorization authorizing the Lawyers' Professional
Indemnity Company to provide to The Law Society of Upper Canada any
information about the applicant that The Law Society of Upper Canada
may require from the Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company for the
purposes of determining a person's eligibility for benefits under PLAP.
18.
The Law Society of Upper Canada may require additional information and
supporting documentation at any time to determine any person's eligibility for
benefits under PLAP.
19.
Applications under PLAP must be filed within 4 weeks of either,
a.
b.
c.
d.
20.
the birth of the child;
the date upon which an adoptive child is placed with the applicant;
the interruption of the pregnancy due to miscarriage or stillbirth after the
19th week of gestation; or
the interruption of the practice of law on the advice of a physician or a
midwife.
PLAP applications are considered by the PLAP manager. In processing a PLAP
application, the PLAP manager shall consider the following: the application and
all required supporting documents (as outlined in paragraph 17) submitted by
the applicant, all additional information and documents requested by The
Law Society of Upper Canada under paragraph 18, all information obtained by
the PLAP manager from the Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company and all
other relevant information, including information with respect to the member's
status with the Law Society, payment by the member of required fees and
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compliance by the member with filing requirements. Eligibility decisions are
communicated to the applicant in writing within one month of receipt. The
applicant may file a request for review of the decision with the Chief Financial
Officer within one month of the decision having been communicated to the
applicant. The Chief Financial Officer will review the PLAP manager's decision
and communicate his or her decision to the applicant within one month of receipt
of the request for review.
21.
Continued eligibility for PLAP benefits is determined by the PLAP manager,
based on the following: the application and all required supporting documents (as
outlined in paragraph 17) submitted by the applicant, all additional
information and documents requested by The Law Society of Upper Canada
under paragraph 18, all information obtained by the PLAP manager from the
Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company and all other relevant information,
including information with respect to the member's status with the Law
Society, payment by the member of required fees and compliance by the
member with filing requirements.
Repayment of Benefits
22.
Where, after a member has been paid benefits under PLAP, the Law Society
determines that the member was not in fact entitled to receive payment of
benefits under PLAP, the Law Society may request from the member the
repayment of the benefits paid to the member. Where the Law Society requests
from a member the repayment of benefits paid to the member under PLAP, the
member shall promptly repay the benefits.
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