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Seniors experiencing a loss of autonomy

Family-related leave (death or funeral)

The law provides protections so that you may be absent from work if there’s a death in your family or to plan or hold a funeral. Here’s what you need to know.

Rules vary depending on your employer and its activities

The rules governing leaves of absence in the event of a family member’s death or funeral are not the same for all workers in Quebec. Depending on your employer and the kind of business it is, either provincial or federal rules will apply.

In addition, different rules could apply depending on your employment status (for example, if you’re an intern).

Find out which rules apply to you:

You can also contact the following general information centres:

You may be entitled to a longer leave

This page describes what the law allows, but your work contract or (if your unionized) your collective agreement may give you the right to take a longer leave.

Check your work contract or your collective agreement, or speak with your HR manager for more information.

Your employer must grant you leave

You’re entitled to a leave of absence in the event of a family member’s death or funeral.

The number of days varies according to your relationship to the deceased.

  • If it’s your spouse or de facto partner, your child or the child of your spouse or de facto partner, your brother, sister, or one of your parents, you may be absent for up to 5 days.
  • If it’s your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or parent-in-law, you may be absent from work for one day.
Who is considered a de facto partner?

When it comes to leaves of absence, the law considers that you’re de facto partners if you’re in one of the following situations:

  • You’ve been living together as couple for one year or more,
  • You live together as a couple and have at least one child together, regardless of how long you’ve lived together.

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Death and funerals (CNESST)

Additional leave based on the circumstances of the death

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the death of your family member, for example, if they were a victim of crime or if they committed suicide, you could be entitled to a longer leave.

You may be absent from work for up to 10 days if an immediate family member dies (e.g., your spouse or de facto partner, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, etc.) or if someone for whom you acted as a caregiver dies.

You don’t have to take 10 consecutive days. You can divide them into two periods, by taking a few days when the person dies and a few days for the funeral, for example. If you want to divide your days into half-days, you must obtain your employer’s authorization.

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Types of leaves you can receive as an employee working in federally regulated industries and workplaces (Governement of Canada)

Your employer may have to pay you for this leave

You may be entitled to paid leave.

If the deceased person was your spouse or de facto partner, child or the child of your spouse or de facto partner, brother, sister, or one of your parents, your employer must pay you for the first 2 days.

In the other cases, the days you take off will be at your own expense.

If you’ve been working continuously for your employer for at least 3 months, your employer must pay you for the first 3 days.

Any additional days off are at your own expense.

If you’ve been working continuously for your employer for less than 3 months, all the leave you take is at your own expense.

You must inform your employer if you want to take a leave of absence

If you want to take a leave of absence, you must inform your employer as soon as possible.

If the federal rules apply to you, this notice must be made in writing.

You have options if your employer doesn’t respect your rights

If you feel that your employer isn’t respecting your rights or that they’ve imposed certain unfair measures because you took a leave of absence, you may have some options.

If the provincial rules apply to you, contact the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST):

Situations where there are grounds for filing a complaint (CNESST)

If the federal rules apply to you, contact the Labour Program:

Contact the Labour Program (Government of Canada)

Next steps

The information presented on this page is not a legal opinion or legal advice. This page explains in a general way the law that applies in Quebec. To obtain a legal opinion or legal advice on your personal situation, consult a legal professional.