Sick leave has become an increasingly hot topic, as governments across Canada continue to make significant changes – including restricting the ability of employers to ask for doctor’s notes and adding long-term medical leaves of absence.
So, what do employers need to know about employee sick leave in Canada? In this Compliance Works guide, we provide a primer on sick leaves of absence, including the questions that HR teams should consider when an employee requests time off due to illness or injury.
Need more detailed information on Canadian laws governing sick leave? Download our in-depth review comparing sick leave requirements across Canada. (This is a sample of the kind of information you can access on a regular basis with a subscription to Compliance Works!)
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Note: If your 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.
What type of sick leave is the employee seeking?
Many provinces (B.C. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan) and the federal jurisdiction (which applies to employees in certain industries like banking, transportation and telecommunications) require employers to provide both short-term and long-term (serious illness) leaves.
- Short-term sick leave: 3-12 days of leave for employee sickness or injury (depending on the jurisdiction). May include days that must be paid.
- Long-term sick leave: 27 weeks of leave for a serious medical condition, illness or injury. Typically, these leaves are unpaid. (Over the last 2 years, many provinces responded to an increase in Employment Insurance sickness benefits by establishing new 27-week medical leaves of absence.)
Some provinces (Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec) do not differentiate between short-term and long-term (or serious) sick leaves – employees are simply entitled to up to 26-27 weeks of leave for illness or injury.
In New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, employees are only entitled to short-term sick leave – these provinces have not yet enacted legislation entitling employees to long-term illness leaves.
Is the employee eligible for sick leave?
Determining whether an employee is entitled to sick leave generally depends on how long the employee has been employed by the employer.
Eligibility periods vary depending on the laws of the province where the employee is located, ranging from immediate eligibility (Quebec) to eligibility after 90 days of employment (most provinces). Some provinces, like Ontario, have shorter eligibility periods for short-term sick leave (2 weeks) while requiring employees to have worked for a longer period of time (13 weeks) before being eligible for a long-term medical leave.
Per the Canada Labour Code, federally regulated employers are subject to a somewhat unique regime. After 30 days of continuous employment, employees are entitled to 3 days of paid medical leave and then they can accrue additional sick days each month – up to a maximum of 10 days of paid leave per calendar year. (See our earlier post for more details on the federal law.)
Does the employee have to provide a medical note?
Historically, employers have been entitled to ask employees to provide a note or certificate from a medical practitioner in support of a sick leave request. More recently, many governments have responded to an overburdened Canadian health care system by restricting the ability of employers to request such documentation in the case of short-term sick leaves.
Is the employee entitled to be paid for their time off?
For the most part, employers are not obligated to pay employees for time off due to illness. However, there are a few exceptions, requiring employers to pay employees for a specified number of days.
- British Columbia: 5 paid days of leave per year
- Prince Edward Island: 3 days of paid leave per year
- Quebec: 2 days of paid leave over a 12 month period
- Federal: up to 10 days of paid sick leave per year (see above for further details)
How does Compliance Works help you to stay on top of sick leave and other leaves of absence?
Governments frequently amend laws governing leaves of absence, including leaves due to illness. Compliance Works makes it easy to understand and stay on top of the changes.
- Plain-language summaries of Canadian HR laws
- Auto-tracked updates so you never fall behind
- Personalized reminders so that you can ensure your organization complies with the law
Want to simplify your leave compliance process? Request a Demo or email us at info@complianceworks.ca to see how Compliance Works can support your team.
