Parenting Plans for Shift Workers and Irregular Schedules in Ontario

If you work rotating shifts, nights, or travel for work, a standard weekday and weekend schedule may not fit your life. You may worry that a court will see your hours as a reason to limit your time with your child.

The good news is that the Divorce Act sets no presumed schedule. If you were never married or are not divorcing, a different statute applies, and a lawyer can confirm how it works for you. This article explains what the rules say, how to build flexibility into a plan, and how to make that plan something you can rely on.

No standard schedule is required

Under the Divorce Act, parenting time is the time a child spends in the care of a person named in a parenting order, whether or not the child is physically with that person the whole time. The Act does not set a presumption of a particular schedule, such as 2-2-3 or week on/week off.

When the court allocates parenting time, it must give effect to the principle that a child should have as much time with each parent as is consistent with the child's best interests. Common schedules are options that people use, not entitlements. Because the Act sets no presumed schedule, a plan can be built around your shifts, but the court considers only the child's best interests when making a parenting order.

If you were never married or are not divorcing, you cannot get a Divorce Act order and need a parenting order under Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act instead. A lawyer can confirm how that statute applies to you.

What a court looks at

The court considers only the child's best interests and gives primary consideration to the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being. The factors include the child's needs given their age and stage of development, including the need for stability, the history of care, each person's ability and willingness to care for the child and to communicate and cooperate, and the child's views and preferences.

For a shift worker, the child's need for stability and each person's ability and willingness to care for the child are among the factors a court looks at. A clear plan for who covers the child when you are working helps show that.

Building flexibility into the plan

Justice Canada's Parenting Plan Checklist says plans should be flexible enough to be realistic and allow for unforeseen events such as illness. It also asks you to consider the children's ages and how the plan may change as they grow. Points worth covering include:

• How you will share your shift calendar, and how far ahead.
• What happens when a shift changes at short notice.
• How holidays will alternate between households, and who cares for the children during school breaks and statutory, civic and religious holidays.
• How you will stay in touch, whether by phone, e-mail, text, social media or video chat.

A parenting order may set requirements for communication and may provide for any other matter the court considers appropriate, which lets a court write video or phone contact or tailored conditions into an order. Unless the court orders otherwise, the person exercising parenting time has exclusive authority to make day-to-day decisions during that time.

Making the plan enforceable

An informal parenting plan can be difficult to enforce. A plan can instead be included in a separation agreement or in a court order. A court must include in a parenting order any parenting plan the parties submit, unless it is not in the child's best interests, in which case it may modify the plan.

Be careful with very loose wording. A plan that says time will be "as work allows" may be hard to apply if you disagree later. Describing a base schedule with defined ways to adjust it is usually clearer.

Parents can update an agreement by agreeing to the change, but a court order can only be changed by a new decision from the court. If your shifts change a lot over time, think about how the plan will handle that.

What to do next

• Write down your work pattern for the next year, including travel and overtime.
• List who can help with child care when you are working.
• Draft a base schedule and a method for swapping time.
• Decide how you will communicate and how much notice you will give.
• Have a lawyer review the plan before you sign it or ask a judge to make it an order.

Frequently asked questions