Unpaid leave - Does it qualify for CEC?

[Aguntupalli]

Hi All,
I started working from 17th June 2013 . I have taken five weeks of unpaid leave in March 2014.But my weekly hours are 40.
am I eligible to able for CEC right away?
How will the Visa officer determine that I have 5 weeks of unpaid leave in between , when my employer reference letter will just state the Start Date to the To date?
I am asking this question , as I am in a family situation where i have to leave the country .and so I am wondering if I can apply now and leave as soon as possible.

Thank you all

 

[ABS_1382]

Even one of my friend has a similar situation...he was out of Canada (to his home country) for couple of weeks but on official trip...The letter from the company does not mention that stuff...How will the VO know and should we declare that somewhere....

 

[Hope1957]

Unpaid vacation time does not count as qualifying work experience for CEC. You will have to work for another 5 weeks to gain the required 12 month work experience (even though you have worked for 40 hours per week).

CIC can call and check with your employer if you have taken any unpaid vacation time and the employer will have to disclose it to them. Moreover, not disclosing this information can lead to you being crucified for misrepresentation and with holding information, since you know that unpaid vacation time does not count as qualifying work experience for CEC. I'm sure you don't want that now ...
They can double check how much you have earned against your annual salary stated in your reference letter and that can be a hint for them to check with your employer on unpaid vacation time. They have the resources to find out and they will.

It's best that you wait until you have the 12 month qualifying work experience for CEC and then apply.

Hi All,
I started working from 17th June 2013 . I have taken five weeks of unpaid leave in March 2014.But my weekly hours are 40.
am I eligible to able for CEC right away?
How will the Visa officer determine that I have 5 weeks of unpaid leave in between , when my employer reference letter will just state the Start Date to the To date?
I am asking this question , as I am in a family situation where i have to leave the country .and so I am wondering if I can apply now and leave as soon as possible.

Thank you all

 

[ABS_1382]

Thanks for the response Hope1957. But if it was a paid official trip...it still counts to your work experience - Right?

 

[Hope1957]

Official trip? Meaning you were paid to go and work outside of Canada for a certain period of time (in which case you cannot include this work experience for CEC)? Or did you mean a paid vacation time?
As per the operational manual 25-A, the recommended paid vacation time which can be included in qualifying work experience towards CEC is 2 weeks. Again it is at the discretion of the VO to consider your paid vacation time or not. I'd say if it is between 2 to 3 weeks of paid vacation time, you're safe. Anything over that you will have to explain why you took such a long paid vacation and you will have to convince the VO to include it as part of the qualifying work experience.

Thanks for the response Hope1957. But if it was a paid official trip...it still counts to your work experience - Right?

 

[jes_ON]

Thanks for the response Hope1957. But if it was a paid official trip...it still counts to your work experience - Right?

No, apparently CIC is taking a much stricter approach to defining "work in Canada" so no work outside of Canada is counted any more. Refer to the OP-25A...

How do they know if you leave the country? Immigration controls...

How do they know if you're unpaid for 5 weeks? Your total earnings will be less than what they are supposed to be...

How else will they know? They can call your employer and verify...

Yeah, sure, sometimes I'm sure some people get away with it. But ask yourself - Do you really want to risk being refused for misrepresentation and banned from Canada to avoid waiting 5 more weeks?

 

[ABS_1382]

This is great information but let me speak about my case so that I know if I am doing the right thing:

I went to my home country with the client (for whom I work) and it was an official visit i.e.

1. I did not apply for any leave - So I have been paid in full. So if they would look at my salary slips they wont find any shortage....Also I will make sure that I inform my HR that if there is a query on those two weeks, she should mention that it was an official trip and was required as part of the job...

And since it is just two weeks I dont think there would be a big issue as even the OP - 25a says that 2 weeks of paid vacation (mine was not even a vacation ) is acceptable....

Hope I am thinking on the right lines.....

 

[jes_ON]

I went to my home country with the client (for whom I work) and it was an official visit i.e.

1. I did not apply for any leave - So I have been paid in full. So if they would look at my salary slips they wont find any shortage....Also I will make sure that I inform my HR that if there is a query on those two weeks, she should mention that it was an official trip and was required as part of the job...

I would be concerned that this time will NOT be counted... I know your situation, so I truly hope you get the new work permit application filed so that at least you can gain an extra 2 weeks on implied status...

And since it is just two weeks I dont think there would be a big issue as even the OP - 25a says that 2 weeks of paid vacation (mine was not even a vacation ) is acceptable....

Actually, the OP25A says that you cannot claim work outside Canada as vacation time... (esp. since you probably used your vacation time another time...) the impact of this is that it is likely that any vacation time outside of Canada is now under suspicion as well... Please please please - give yourself an extra two weeks, month, two months...
[/quote]

 

[Hope1957]

CIC will have access to information on when you last entered the country (which you should have disclosed on your application). This could be enough for them to investigate further. To be safe wait till you have the required work experience or risk getting refused or worse being banned from Canada.

This is great information but let me speak about my case so that I know if I am doing the right thing:

I went to my home country with the client (for whom I work) and it was an official visit i.e.

1. I did not apply for any leave - So I have been paid in full. So if they would look at my salary slips they wont find any shortage....Also I will make sure that I inform my HR that if there is a query on those two weeks, she should mention that it was an official trip and was required as part of the job...

And since it is just two weeks I dont think there would be a big issue as even the OP - 25a says that 2 weeks of paid vacation (mine was not even a vacation ) is acceptable....

Hope I am thinking on the right lines.....

 

[canvan14]

I agree with everyone above. I think you can try work the extra two weeks and completely be on the safe side. Better safe than sorry!
Yes people do get away with it but it would be a big regret if you are not one of them. Good luck!

 

[ABS_1382]

Thanks a lot guys....I would go with the feeling of all my wonderful friends and will wait for two weeks before the application is made....Thanks for your feedback and concerns....

 

[sutyfornow]

Unpaid vacation time does not count as qualifying work experience for CEC. You will have to work for another 5 weeks to gain the required 12 month work experience (even though you have worked for 40 hours per week).

CIC can call and check with your employer if you have taken any unpaid vacation time and the employer will have to disclose it to them. Moreover, not disclosing this information can lead to you being crucified for misrepresentation and with holding information, since you know that unpaid vacation time does not count as qualifying work experience for CEC. I'm sure you don't want that now ...
They can double check how much you have earned against your annual salary stated in your reference letter and that can be a hint for them to check with your employer on unpaid vacation time. They have the resources to find out and they will.

It's best that you wait until you have the 12 month qualifying work experience for CEC and then apply.

If i started working in january 2016 and took a month unpaid vacation this means i should apply in march 2017 so they can consider it a year? I mean making up the month holiday in February, am i right?

 

[Sorobu]

Hello,

For my foreign work experience I worked for 55 weeks (40hrs a week). I took 3 weeks of vacation within this time period, 1.5 weeks was paid and the rest was unpaid. Would this qualify as 1 years experience for CEC? Would there be any issues with this?

 

[Hesoyam]

Hello
My 1st year experience started on 23 july 2018 and on 29 december 2018 i went back to my home country for 3 weeks and after coming back i continued my experience and i have took 2 year of experience means till 2020 july and i got ita in 2021 feb and those 3 weeks its was not paid so i worked over so is their anything to be worried about as i don’t have continued experience and i created my profile on july 2020 before completing 2 year but i got ita after completing 2 year and 7 months.
please reply
Thank you