Employers with Ontario employees should be aware of two potential changes to Ontario sick leave laws that will affect how they manage employee illnesses at their workplace.
Since the COVID pandemic, employee sick leave has become an increasingly hot topic in workplaces across Canada. Many workers and unions argue that they need access to more sick leave, while employers worry about the impact of employee absenteeism on the workplace. At the same time, health care providers – dealing with an overburdened Canadian health care system – say they no longer have time to do administrative tasks such as providing medical notes for workers.
In recent weeks, the Ontario government responded to the discussions around Ontario sick leave with two announcements.
- Consultations regarding a new long-term employee sick leave.
- Elimination of employee medical note requirements.
So, if these changes to Ontario sick leave laws go through, what can employers expect?
Consultation re New Long-Term Ontario Sick Leave
Last month, Ontario launched consultations regarding a new personal long-term illness leave under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The government is seeking input on a new (unpaid) leave of up to 27 weeks, which would align with Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits.
Per the consultation paper, the long-term illness leave would include the following features:
- a six-month eligibility period
- certification by a qualified health practitioner
- not requiring the leave to be taken consecutively or in periods of entire weeks (however, if an employee takes any part of a week as leave, the employer may deem the employee to have taken one week of leave).
The main issue that the paper considers is whether the leave should be based on a “critical illness” or a “serious medical condition”. A critical illness refers to a significant change to a person’s baseline state of health such that their life is at risk due to the illness. A serious medical condition would be broader in that it would include chronic or episodic illnesses and would not require a significant risk of death.
Employers and employees are also asked a series of questions regarding the treatment of sick leave at their workplace, such as whether their workplace provides a long-term sick leave and if so, how employee absences are managed.
Clearly, this new leave could have a significant impact on Ontario workplaces. Even though the leave would be unpaid, employee absenteeism could increase. If you have comments, they must be submitted by May 6, 2024.
Eliminating Medical Note Requirements for Ontario Sick Leave
After two weeks of employment, Ontario employees are entitled to three days of unpaid leave for personal illness, injury or medical emergency every year. Employers may require “evidence reasonable in the circumstances”, which has been understood to mean a note or certificate from a health care provider.
Ontario announced that it would amend the ESA to prevent employers from requiring employees to provide medical notes in support of a sick leave. Based on the announcement, it appears that this change would only apply to short-term (3-day) sick leaves and would not apply to other leaves of absence that require medical documentation (e.g., critical illness and compassionate care leave). In addition, the announcement indicates that employers would still have the option of requiring an employee to provide an attestation in support of a sick leave.
UPDATE: On May 6, 2024, the Ontario government introduced Bill 190, which includes these amendments to sick leave. The changes will prohibit employers from requiring an employee to provide a medical certificate for a short-term sick leave, while continuing to permit employers to require “evidence reasonable in the circumstances”. These changes will come into force when Bill 190 is passed by the government.
How Compliance Works Helps HR Teams Stay on Top of Changes to HR Laws
Governments are continually responding to changes in the Canadian workplace by amending employment laws. This includes Ontario sick leave requirements and many others. Compliance Works makes it easy to track and understand these changes. Subscribers receive legal updates in as little as 24 hours of amendments being announced.
Contact us to Request a Demo or email us at info@complianceworks.ca to learn how a subscription to Compliance Works can help your HR team succeed.
If an employee needs to take a leave of absence to care for a sick family member, different leaves of absence apply. Read our earlier post – Which Leave of Absence Applies when a Family Member is Sick? – for more information.
