Confused between 12 months & 18 months maternity leave!!

I took 18 months this time around with my little guy and I'm so glad I did! Time is just flying by. I'd take longer if I could lol. I'm a single mother so finically it's a bit tough. But I'd rather have that extra time with my baby 🩵. And daycare isn't an issue for me because my sister has a day home and cares for my children when I work.

I took the 12 month, you get paid the same amount between 12 and 18 just different payouts each week but at the end of the time period the total is the same. This way if I want to go back after 17 months I don't lose out on money. But if I take the 18 months and go back to work after 17 I lose the last month of EI.

- if I start EI with 12 months and decide on taking 18 months after completing 12 months, i just inform my work place and they should be ok with it? And how to extend the EI? Thanks.

Work place will be fine with it. You don't need to extend EI as you will be paid out after 12 months. Telling EI 12 months but being off for up to 18 gives you more flexibility

EI and your protected workplace leave are 2 separate things, so there's no problem telling EI 12 months and telling your work something else. Your workplace may have guidelines around how much notice you need to give, so keep that in mind. But as long as you aren't receiving EI and working at the same time, you're good on the EI side.

I took 12 months so that I got paid everything within the year. If you want to extend the time with your work, you need to give them a months notice. But like others said, if you take 18 months pay out, you get less each pay and if you go back earlier than 18 months, you won't have gotten all the money you would have if you took 12 months payout.

For me, 12 months was enough. I was mentally ready to go back to work. However, I didnt get daycare until he was 14 months, so I was home a few extra months before going back to work. It's all personal preference, but Id recommend 12 months payout and extending your time if you decide you want more time at home. Just keep in mind you wont be getting any EI payments for the last 6 months, so you need to budget

Tell your work 18 months and then apply for 12 month benefits through the government. You get the same amount regardless of 12 or 18 months. Just one is spread out. That way, after 12 months, if you are not ready to go back, you don't have to tell your work you want to extend. It's easier to tell your work you are coming back early than it is to extend.