Assuming this is a provincially regulated Alberta workplace, Alberta does not have a general three-day minimum before an employer can request a doctor’s note. For personal and family responsibility leave, the government expressly states that medical documentation is not required by legislation, but employers can establish their own documentation policies. Your three-day threshold may therefore come from your workplace policy, employment contract or collective agreement rather than provincial law. Check that wording first: a rule expressly exempting shorter absences should not simply be overridden for one employee.

There is no fixed number of short absences that automatically triggers a right to demand documentation. A documented, recurring pattern can support a reasonable request for medical confirmation, even for one- or two-day absences, provided the request respects applicable workplace rules. However, the pattern alone does not establish dishonesty. Alberta Human Rights Commission Start by recording the dates and meeting privately with the employee to explain your concern and ask whether there is a health-related issue or accommodation need affecting attendance. Where their explanation and existing information are insufficient, make a written request identifying why medical confirmation is necessary and precisely what information is required. Give reasonable time to obtain it and advance notice of any ongoing documentation requirement.

Keep the request limited to confirmation that the absence was medically necessary and the relevant dates; where accommodation is needed, seek information about functional limitations and anticipated intermittent absences, not ordinarily the diagnosis. Keep that information confidential. Where an ongoing condition explains the pattern, consider obtaining supporting documentation covering the recurring need, with periodic review, rather than demanding a new note for every absence. Disability-related attendance issues require an individual accommodation assessment to the point of undue hardship, not automatic discipline for exceeding an attendance threshold. Before imposing consequences for missing documentation, review the reasonableness of the request and any barriers the employee faces in complying.

-HRInsider Staff