Overview

The Pregnancy and Parental Benefit Program (PPLBP) is a benefit that gives eligible Ontario physicians up to 17 weeks of pregnancy or parental leave, up to a maximum of $1,300.00 per week.

Eligibility

To apply for the Pregnancy and Parental Leave Benefit Program (PPLBP) you must:

  • reside in Ontario
  • be licensed to practice medicine in Ontario by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) at least 26 weeks before the start date of your pregnancy or parental leave, or completed residency in Ontario within the same 26 week period
  • earn less than $2,600.00 per week in gross eligible income during the leave

You cannot apply for this benefit if you:

  • are still in residency
  • are receiving similar benefits from another province (for example, Manitoba or Quebec)
  • receive EI or other workplace pregnancy or parental benefits that are equal to or more than what you would receive from PPLBP
  • are receiving similar pregnancy or parental leave benefits under another ministry agreement

Benefits are only payable to physicians who are residents of Ontario and licensed by CPSO during the benefit period. If you relocate from the province or resign from CPSO, your benefits will be terminated.

Taking the leave

Start dates

Birth mothers can start their leave up to 5 weeks before the expected date of delivery.

If your attending physician/midwife had advised you to stop working early due to health concerns, you may start earlier than five weeks by including a letter from your attending physician/midwife that confirms these concerns, your expected due date, and the date you were advised to stop working.

Birth fathers, non-birth mothers, and parents expecting a child via surrogacy can start their leave as early as the child’s birth date. Benefits will not be issued for leave taken before the child was born.

Adoptive parents can start their leave as early as the adoption placement date. Benefits will not be issued for leave taken before the adoption placement date.

In the event of a stillbirth, only the birth mother may apply for benefits if the child was carried up to at least 23 weeks gestation prior to the loss. This leave can start up to 5 weeks prior to the expected birth date.

If your attending physician/midwife had advised you to stop working early due to health concerns, you may start earlier than five weeks by including a letter from your attending physician/midwife that confirms these concerns, your expected due date, and the date you were advised to stop working.

All leaves must be completed within 12 months of the child joining the parent. No further benefits will be paid after this date.

Consecutive or non-consecutive leave

You may choose to take your leave in consecutive weeks or non-consecutive weeks.

Consecutive leave is taking all the weeks together, one after another. Non-consecutive leave is taking some weeks of leave, pausing the leave to return to work, and then taking the remaining weeks of leave as your schedule allows.

If choosing a non-consecutive leave, the following rules apply:

  • leave must begin on a Sunday and weeks must be taken from Sunday to Saturday
  • a minimum of two weeks must be taken at a time

Benefit calculation

The amount of your weekly benefit will be calculated based on your eligible income in the 12 months prior to your chosen start date. Additionally,

  • the amount will be calculated based on 75% of your average gross weekly eligible income over this period
  • the maximum gross benefit amount is $1,300.00 per week. To receive the maximum, your 12-month eligible income must be $90,133.00 or greater
  • if you have been licensed by CPSO for fewer than 12 months in Ontario, your benefit will be calculated based on the number of weeks you have been licensed prior to the leave, including residency
  • eligible income refers to earnings received for providing OHIP-covered clinical services in Ontario. If you received payment for services not covered under the OHIP Schedule of Benefits, these payments cannot be used for calculation purposes (for example, UHIP, WSIB, insurance forms, third party billings)
  • benefits will not be adjusted in the case of retroactive pay increases

Factors affecting benefit payments

Earning income during leave

During the leave, you may earn up to $1,300.00 per week in gross eligible earnings before your benefit payment is reduced dollar-for-dollar. Eligible earnings of $2,600.00 per week or greater will reduce the benefit to $0.

Example #1:

Dr. A works during week three of her leave and earns $1,000. There is no change to her benefit.

Example #2:

Dr. B works during week 15 of her leave and earns $1,400. Her benefit is reduced by $100 for that week of leave.

Example #3:

Dr. C works during week 16 of his leave and earns $3,000. His benefit is reduced by $1,700 and he will receive $0 in benefits for that week.

Note: Income is considered earned based on when you worked or the period of time the earnings cover, not the date you are paid. For example, if you work during week six of your leave and are paid in week 10, this income was earned and must be declared for week six.

EI benefits and employer benefits

If you receive similar pregnancy, maternity, or parental leave benefits through the Federal EI Program or through your employer, you will be entitled to a top-up payment from the PPLBP that is the difference between the amount(s) received from the employer and/or EI and the amount payable under the PPLBP. You will still receive a top-up even if your EI benefits or employer benefits are taken before or after your PPLBP leave.

Employer benefits are any income, stipend, or payments paid to you from your workplace, group, or partnership for the purposes of being on a maternity, pregnancy, or parental leave.

Example #1:

Dr. D is eligible for $1,300 per week in benefits for 17 weeks and will also receive $638 per week (gross amount) for 50 weeks from the EI Program. Her PPLBP top-up amount will be $662 per week due to also receiving EI benefits. ($1,300 - $638 = $662).

Example #2:

Dr. E is eligible for $1,000 per week in benefits for 17 weeks and has also previously received $700 per week (gross amount) for 10 weeks from her employer. Her PPLBP top-up amount will be $300 per week for the first 10 weeks and then she will receive her maximum $1,000. for her remaining 7 weeks. ($1,000 - $700 = $300 for 10 weeks).

Example #3:

Dr. F is taking a year-long leave from work. She applies for and is eligible for $1,300 per week in benefits for 17 weeks starting the date her child was born. As per her group agreement, she will also receive $3,000 per week in parental leave benefits from her employer during the last eight weeks of leave before returning to work. Her benefits from PPLBP will be reduced to $0 for the first eight weeks and she will receive her maximum $1,300 for her remaining nine weeks. The fact that she is receiving her employer parental leave benefits later is irrelevant and they will still affect her benefits from PPLBP.

Primary care physicians

If you are a physician in a primary care model and receiving capitation payments during your leave, this must be declared as income. Capitation is considered as paid to you even if you are on group payment or have an internal arrangement within your group.

If you are a physician in a Family Health Organization (FHO), Family Health Network (FHN), or Family Health Team (FHT), you may deduct payments for locum coverage from your on-going capitation payments each month. To support these deductions, a Part 3 form must be completed each month and a signed letter from your locum must be included to confirm the coverage dates and weekly payment agreement.

Note: Overhead expenses cannot be deducted from the on-going capitation payments. Only payments made directly to a locum for providing coverage for clinical services can be deducted using capitation earnings.

Before you apply

It’s important that you know your personal, work and income information before you apply for this benefit. Incomplete applications cannot be processed and may result in delayed payment.

Personal and work information

Make sure you have:

  • your personal information (for example, Ontario home mailing address)
  • your work information (for example, Ontario practice address, OHIP billing number, CPSO number, whether you’re a primary care or ER physician)
  • the start date of your leave and total number of benefit weeks you are applying for
  • your income for the 12 months before the start date of your leave
  • the start date, end date and weekly amount of any EI or employer benefits you receive (if applicable)
  • the expected due date if you’re applying for pregnancy leave
  • the actual birth or adoption placement date if you’re applying for parental leave
  • whether you’re taking consecutive or non-consecutive leave (for example, all 17 weeks, or if there will be gaps in the leave)

Income information

We need to know your 12-month income from the following sources only:

  • fee for service billings (do not include technical fees)
  • income from an Alternate Funding Arrangement (AFA):
    • for specialists, this means all payments of any kind received under any Alternate Payment Plan (APP) or Alternate Funding Plan (AFP) or under the Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) AFP
    • for primary care physicians, this includes all payments received through primary-care agreements, including billings, base rate and comprehensive care payments, bonuses, premiums, and other incentives
  • salary from an employer for the provision of OHIP-insured clinical services
  • income earned as a resident
  • all other medical professional income through OHIP or an employer for insured clinical services, including:
    • locum payments
    • sessional payments
    • stipends or supplements received from a hospital, community agency/organization, LHIN, long-term care facility, ministry, government agency or, received under a Primary Health Care Agreement

Apply for PPLBP

The following outlines how to apply for the PPLBP.

  • Download the application form. You must have the latest version of Adobe installed.
  • Complete Part 1 of the form and make sure to include your total eligible income for the 12 months before the start date of your leave. Eligible income is income earned for providing OHIP-covered clinical services.
  • Complete and have your workplace complete Part 2 of the form to verify any non-fee for service income sources, (if applicable.)
  • Complete monthly Part 3 to declare your weeks of leave, income earnings during leave and any EI/employer benefits. Note: this form can be completed later if you do not yet know your income earnings during your leave.
  • If you are a capitation-based primary care physician and will be deducting locum payments from your capitation payments during your leave, you must include a signed letter from your locum that confirms the coverage dates and weekly payment agreement. This can also be submitted monthly with the Part 3 form.

Birth registration

If applying to start pregnancy leave before the child is born, include a letter from your attending physician or midwife that confirms the expected date of delivery. This document is not required if the child is already born.

If you have a copy of the child’s birth registration, include this in your application submission. Birth registration is a copy of any one of the following:

  • birth certificate
  • Certified Statement of Live Birth (long form)
  • written letter from attending physician or midwife confirming the birth
  • Certificate of Adoption (for adoptions only)
  • Stillbirth or death certificate (if applicable)

Submit your completed, signed application package and any supporting documents in PDF form by email.

All documents must be submitted within 12-months of the child joining the parent. Incomplete and unsigned documents submitted after this date will not be processed.

The program area is not responsible for late submissions or submissions received by a third party.

After you apply

The Ministry of Health will review your application. We will contact you by email within 15 business days to let you know about the status of your application or if we need more information.

If your application is approved, you will receive an approval email with details on your benefits and next steps required.

If additional information is required, you will receive an email with a request for these details.

If you’re not eligible for benefits, we will let you know in the email why your application was not approved.

Payment schedule

Benefit payments are issued as a cheque under your name to the Ontario mailing address on your application. Benefits are not issued to professional corporations. Cheques are mailed on a monthly basis by the 15th of each month.

Benefits are taxable. In February, the Ministry will issue a letter outlining the benefit payments made to you in the previous calendar year.

Contact us

If you have any other questions or concerns about this program, please contact the program area at pplbp@ontario.ca.