When you’re starting to drown between employee concerns, payroll duties and helping your CEO -- HR Insider is there to help get the logistical work out of the way.
Need a policy because of a recent regulatory change? We’ve got it for you. Need some quick training on a specific HR topic? We’ve got it for you. HR Insider provides the resources you need to craft, implement and monitor policies with confidence. Our team of experts (which includes lawyers, analysts and HR professionals) keep track of complex legislation, pending changes, new interpretations and evolving case law to provide you with the policies and procedures to keep you ahead of problems. FIND OUT MORE...
Does Paid Medical Leave Cover a Routine Dental Appointment? – Ask The Expert

Federal paid sick leave covers medical appointments but BC paid sick leave doesn’t.

QUESTION

Do the new paid sick leave laws cover routine dental and other medical appointments?

ANSWER

Yes under federal law; no under BC law.

EXPLANATION

Two jurisdictions have recently adopted laws granting employees paid sick leave.

Federal: The new federal paid sick leave provisions (Canada Labour Code, Section 239) does cover medical appointments. However, the employer also has the right to require employees to take sick leave in increments of at least one day in duration.

BC: BC’s new paid sick leave provisions don’t say anything about medical appointments and they’re presumably not covered, especially if the appointments are routine.

Note that there are 2 jurisdictions where employees have unpaid leave for medical appointments—Federal and Nova Scotia. In Alberta, a case could be made that unpaid personal leave for “the health of the employee” includes medical appointments.