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Employment standards laws of every jurisdiction (Nunavut is the lone exception) entitle employees to take days off when they can’t work due to short-term illness or injury. However, the rules vary with regard to:
- How much, if any, minimum service employees must have to be eligible for sick leave.
- How many sick days per year employees are allowed to take.
- The grounds for taking sick days, for example, whether sick days also include illness to relatives and/or medical appointments during work hours.
- Whether sick days are paid or unpaid.
- How much and what kind of notice employees must provide to their employers to take sick leave.
- Whether employers can require employees to provide a medical certificate from a doctor or health care practitioner verifying their need to take leave.
Another wildcard is overlap in employment standards leave rights. Thus, for example, in addition to sick leave, most jurisdictions allow employees to take public emergency leave for diseases like COVID-19 that have been declared to be a public health emergency. Here’s a summary of the sick leave and overlapping leave rights that apply in each part of Canada. Go to the HR Insider website for a complete Sick Leave Compliance Game Plan.
Medical Leave of Absence
Leave Length: Up to 27 weeks of unpaid medical leave per year which may be taken in multiple periods. Employer may require each period to be at least 1 day in duration.
Eligibility: All employees are entitled to medical leave, including interns, regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company. Student interns are entitled only to unpaid medical leave.
Grounds for Leave: Personal, i.e., non-work-related, injury or illness, medical appointments during work hours, organ or tissue donation, or quarantine.
Paid Leave: Up to 10 days paid medical leave per year paid at regular wage rate. Employer may calculate medical leave pay for employees whose work hours differ from day to day or are paid on a basis other than time by taking their average daily earnings, exclusive of overtime hours, for the 20 days they worked immediately before the first day of the period of paid leave.
Accrual of Paid Leave: Employees get 3 days paid medical leave after 30 days continuous service and then accrue 1 more additional day of paid leave after each month of service up to 10 paid days per year, which carry forward to the next year provided that an employee’s total allotment of paid medical leave days in any year doesn’t exceed 10.
Notice: Employee must give employer written notice of the day on which leave is to begin and its expected duration at least 4 weeks before that day, unless there’s a valid reason why that notice cannot be given, in which case written notice must be provided as soon as possible. Employee must also give employer written notice of any change in the length of medical leave as soon as possible.
Verification: After an employee returns to work from a medical leave lasting 5 or more consecutive days, employer has 15 days to require the employee to provide a certificate issued by a health care practitioner certifying that they were incapable of working during their medical leave.
Reinstatement: To same or comparable position at same salary and benefits as if leave hadn’t been taken. Seniority accumulates during leave.
Other: If employees request in writing, employer must inform them in writing of every employment, promotion, or training opportunity for which the employee is qualified that arises while the employee is on leave.
(Canada Labour Code, Sec. 239; Canada Labour Standards Regs, Sec. 33.1).
- Long Term Illness or Injury Leave
Leave Length: Up to 16 weeks per calendar year.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 90 days.
Grounds for Leave: Injury or illness to or quarantining of the employee.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer written notice, including estimated return date as soon as is reasonable and practicable in circumstances and then inform employer of any change in the estimated date of returning to work.
Verification: Before taking leave or, if advance notice is impossible, as soon as reasonably possible after leave begins, employee must give employer a medical certificate from a nurse practitioner or physician stating the estimated duration of the leave.
Ending Leave: Employees must provide at least 1 week’s written notice of date they intend to return to work unless there’s an agreement otherwise and at least 2 weeks’ written notice of intention to terminate employment if they won’t be returning to work after their leave ends; Employers don’t have to reinstate employees who don’t give notice or report to work on their next scheduled work day after their leave ends, unless the failure is due to unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances.
Reinstatement: To same or comparable position at same salary and benefits as if leave hadn’t been taken; seniority accumulates during leave.
Other: If an employee is on leave on the day by which they must use their vacation, they must use any unused part of the vacation immediately after the leave expires or later date agreed to by the employer and employee.
(Employment Standards Code, Division 7.5).
- Personal & Family Responsibility Leave
Leave Length: Up to 5 days per calendar year.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 90 days.
Grounds for Leave: Leave is necessary for the employee’s own health (or for the employee to meet their responsibilities to a family member).
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Before taking leave, employee must give employer as much notice as reasonable and practicable in circumstances and then inform employer of any change in the estimated date of returning to work.
Verification: Not specified.
(Employment Standards Code, Sec. 53.982).
A. Personal Illness or Injury Leave
Leave Length: Up to 5 days paid and 3 days unpaid per calendar year.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 90 consecutive days.
Grounds for Leave: Personal, i.e., non-work-related, illness, or injury.
Paid Leave: To calculate paid leave due, employer must multiply the leave period x average day’s pay using the formula: amount paid ÷ days worked.
Where: i. amount paid = the amount paid or payable to the employee for work done during and wages earned within the 30-calendar day period before the leave, including vacation pay paid or payable for any days of vacation taken within that period, less any amounts paid or payable for overtime, and ii. days worked = the number of days the employee worked or earned wages within that 30-calendar day period.
Notice: Not required.
Verification: If the employer requests it, employee must, as soon as practicable, provide reasonably sufficient proof that they’re entitled to leave.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 49.1).
B. COVID-19 Leave
Scope: Applies only to COVID-19.
Leave Length: Unpaid leave for as long as the circumstances making the leave necessary continues.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company.
Grounds for Leave: Any of the following:
- The employee is diagnosed with COVID-19 and is acting in accordance with: (i) instructions or an order of a medical health officer, or (ii) advice of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse.
- The employee is in quarantine or self-isolation in accordance with: (i) an order of the provincial health officer, (ii) an order made under the Quarantine Act(Canada), (iii) guidelines of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, or (iv) guidelines of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- The employer tells the employee not to work due to its concerns about the employee’s exposure to others.
- The employee is providing care to an eligible person, including because of the closure of a school or daycare or similar facility.
- The employee is outside and can’t return to B.C. due to travel or border restrictions.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Not required.
Verification:
- If the employer requests it, employee must, as soon as practicable, provide reasonably sufficient proof that they’re entitled to leave, i.e., one or more of the grounds for leave listed above applies.
- Employer may not request and employee need not provide a note from a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner or registered nurse.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 52.12).
A. Family Responsibility Leave
Leave Length: 3 days unpaid per calendar year.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed for at least 30 days.
Grounds for Leave: Leave is necessary for either:
- The health of the employee; or
- The employee to meet family responsibilities to a family member.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer as much notice as is reasonable and practicable in the circumstances.
Verification: Employer may require employee to provide reasonable verification of the need for leave.
Other: Employer may count a part of day taken for family responsibility leave as a full day for purposes of determining the employee’s remaining allotment of leave days for the year.
(Employment Standards Code, Sec. 59.3).
B. Long-Term Serious Injury or Illness Leave
Leave Length: Up to 27 weeks’ unpaid leave in a 52-week period to be taken in one continuous period unless employer and employee agree to a different arrangement or a collective agreement provides otherwise.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 90 days.
Grounds for Leave: Serious injury or illness that prevents employee from being at work for at least 2 weeks.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer as much notice as is reasonable and practicable in the circumstances.
Verification: Employee must, as soon as possible, give employer a certificate from a physician providing evidence reasonable in the circumstances that the employee is expected to be incapable of working for a period of at least 2 weeks because of a serious injury or illness.
Ending Leave Early: Unless the employee and the employer agree otherwise, employee may end a leave early before the 27 weeks expires by giving the employer written notice at least 2 weeks before the day the employee wants to end the leave.
Reinstatement: To same or comparable position at same salary and benefits as if leave hadn’t been taken; seniority accumulates during leave.
Other: Employer may require the employee to provide a certificate from a physician stating that the employee is fit to return to work before the employee returns to work.
(Employment Standards Code, Sec. 59.10).
C. Public Health Emergency Leave (COVID-19)
Scope: Applies only to COVID-19.
Leave Length: Unpaid leave for as long as the circumstances making the leave necessary continues.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company.
Grounds for Leave: Any of the following:
- The employee is under medical investigation, supervision, or treatment.
- The employee: (i) is required to quarantine or isolate themselves, or (ii) is subject to self-isolation or any other measure that results in their inability to work.
- The employee is more susceptible to COVID-19 because the employee: (i) has an underlying medical condition, (ii) is undergoing medical treatment, or (iii) has contracted another illness.
- The employee is absent from work as a result of the side effects from being vaccinated against COVID-19.
- The employer, due to the employer’s concern about the employee’s exposure to others, has directed the employee not to work.
- The employee is providing care or support to an eligible family member, including care or support needed due the closure of a school or premises where childcare is provided.
- The employee is directly affected by travel restrictions and can’t reasonably be expected to travel to their workplace.
- The employee is subject to an order made under The Public Health Act.
- The employee is acting in accordance with an order made under The Emergency Measures Act.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer as much notice as is reasonable and practicable in the circumstances.
Verification: Employee may be required to provide employer reasonable verification of necessity of leave as soon as practicable, but employers may not request a physician’s certificate or medical certificate.
Reinstatement: To same or comparable position at same salary and benefits as if leave hadn’t been taken; seniority accumulates during leave.
(Employment Standards Code, Sec. 59.12).
A. Sick Leave
Leave Length: 5 days unpaid per calendar year.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve worked for the employer for more than 90 days.
Grounds for Leave: Employee can’t work due to injury or illness.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer notice of expected duration of leave.
Verification: Employer may require employee to provide a certificate of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner or midwife certifying that the employee is incapable of working due to illness or injury if the requested leave is for 4 or more consecutive calendar days.
Other: Employer must keep sick leave records confidential.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 44.021).
B. Emergency Leave
Government may issue regulations granting employees leave of absence and establishing ground rules for such leave for public emergencies. COVID-19 is the only emergency leave regulation that currently exists.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 44.028).
A. Sick or Family Responsibility Leave
Leave Length: Up to 7 days unpaid per calendar year that don’t carry forward to the next year if they’re unused.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve worked for the same employer for a continuous period of at least 30 days.
Grounds for Leave: Employees can’t work due to their own health or because of their responsibilities to a sick family member.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer a statement in writing of the nature of the family responsibility where the leave is of 3 or more consecutive days in duration.
Verification: Employee no longer required to provide employer a certificate of a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner for sick leave lasting 3 or more consecutive days.
Other: Employer must keep sick leave records confidential.
(Labour Standards Act, Sec. 43.11).
B. Communicable Disease Emergency Leave
Scope: Currently applies only to COVID-19 but government can designate other communicable diseases to which the leave applies when those diseases cause public health emergencies or crises.
Leave Length: Unpaid leave for as long as the circumstances making the leave necessary continue.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company.
Grounds for Leave: Unpaid leave for employees who won’t be performing the duties of their position due to one or more of the following reasons:
- The employee is under individual medical investigation, supervision, or treatment related to a designated communicable disease.
- The employee is following a Public Health Protection and Promotion Act order related to a designated communicable disease.
- The employee is in isolation or quarantine or is subject to a control measure, including self-isolation, and the quarantine, isolation, or control measure.
- The employer directs the employee not to work due to concern that the employee may expose other individuals in the workplace to a designated communicable disease.
- The employee is providing care or support to an eligible family member or other individual for a reason related to a designated communicable disease including a school or childcare service closure.
- The employee is directly affected by travel restrictions related to a designated communicable disease and, under the circumstances can’t reasonably be expected to travel back to the province.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Not specifically addressed.
Verification: Employer may require employee to provide evidence reasonable in the circumstances, at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances, that the employee is entitled to the leave, but may not require the employee to provide a certificate from a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner as evidence.
Other: Unless employer and employee agree otherwise agree, leave time does not count towards the application of the employee’s LSA rights, but the period worked upon resumption of employment after leave is considered to be continuous with the period worked before the leave.
(Labour Standards Act, Sec. 43.39).
A. Sick & Family Responsibility Leave
Leave Length & Grounds: Employees entitled to:
- Up to 5 days unpaid per year if required due to sickness or injury to the employee.
- Up to 3 days unpaid per year: (i) due to the sickness or injury of a child, parent, or family member; or (ii) for medical, dental, or other similar appointments during work hours.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company.
Grounds: Employees can’t work due to their own health or because of their responsibilities to a sick family member.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer notice of intention to take leave as soon as possible.
Verification: To be determined by regulation.
Other: Employer must keep sick and family responsibility leave records confidential.
(Labour Standards Code, Sec. 60G).
B. Serious Illness & Injury Leave
Definition: “Serious illness” includes a serious injury.
Leave Length: Up to 27 weeks’ unpaid within a 52-week period if employee is diagnosed with a serious illness with eligibility starting either:
- The day the employee is diagnosed with the serious illness; or
- If the employee has been absent from work due to the serious illness before its diagnosis, on the day the employee was first absent from work due to the serious illness.
Eligibility: Employees employed by employer for at least 3 months.
Leave Periods: Leave may be taken in a single or multiple periods of at least 1 week in duration and which may be consecutive or nonconsecutive. Employees that take 4 or more non-consecutive periods in a 52-week period must wait 6 months from the date their most recent period of leave ended before taking serious illness or injury leave again, unless the employer agrees to allow the employee to take the new 52-week period sooner.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must advise employer of intention to take leave as soon as possible.
Verification: Employee must give employer verification of its entitlement to leave, that is, either reasonable information or information listed in a later LSC regulation, if such a regulation is published.
(Labour Standards Code, Sec. 60F).
C. Emergency Leave
Scope: Currently it applies only to COVID-19 but the government can designate other communicable diseases to which the leave applies when those diseases cause public health emergencies or crises.
Leave Length: Unpaid leave for as long as the circumstances making the leave necessary continue.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company.
Grounds for Leave: Unpaid leave for employees who can’t perform the duties of their position due to the emergency, including where:
- The emergency applies to an employee’s eligible family member.
- The emergency results in a situation where the employee’s family member requires care or assistance.
- The employee is the only person reasonably able under the circumstances to provide the family member with the required care or assistance.
- Providing the required care or assistance to the family members has the effect of preventing the employee from performing the employee’s work duties.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give the employer as much notice as reasonably practicable of intention to take emergency leave or as soon as possible after leave begins if advance notice can’t be provided.
Verification: Employer may require employee to provide evidence that’s reasonable in the circumstances that the employee is entitled to the leave and employee must provide that evidence within a reasonable time.
(Labour Standards Code, Sec. 60I).
A. Sick Leave
Leave Length: Up to 5 days unpaid per 12-month period.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 30 days.
Grounds for Leave: Employee is incapable of working due to an illness or injury.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer, “at the earliest reasonable opportunity,” a request for the sick leave listing the duration or expected duration of the leave.
Verification: Employee must provide employer a certificate of a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner for sick leave lasting more than 3 consecutive days, if the employer requests such a certificate.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 29).
B. Emergency Leave
Leave Length: Unpaid emergency leave for as long as the employee is unable to perform the duties of their employment because of the emergency.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve been employed.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must advise the employer of intention to take emergency leave before starting leave, if possible.
Verification: Employee must, within a reasonable period of time, provide employer, if the employer requests it, reasonable verification of entitlement to the leave; Exception: If emergency leave is due to an epidemic or pandemic of a reportable disease or prescribed communicable disease, employer may not request and employee need not provide a medical certificate of need for leave.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 30.3).
No sick leave.
Public Emergency Leave but currently applies only to COVID-19.
A. Sick Leave
Leave Length: 3 days unpaid per calendar year which employer can require be taken in full day periods.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 2 consecutive weeks.
Grounds for Leave: Employee can’t work due to personal injury, illness, or medical emergency.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer notice of leave before or as soon as possible after starting leave.
Verification: Employer may require an employee to provide reasonable evidence of entitlement to leave but may not require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 50).
B. Long-Term Illness Leave
Leave Length: 27 weeks’ unpaid per calendar year which must be taken in full week periods.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least 13 consecutive weeks.
Grounds for Leave: Employee can’t work due to a “serious medical condition,” which may be episodic or chronic.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must give employer notice of leave before or as soon as possible after starting leave.
Verification: Employee must provide employer a certificate from a qualified health practitioner that: (i) states that the employee has a serious medical condition, and (ii) lists the period during which the employee won’t be performing the duties of the position because of the serious medical condition.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 49.8).
C. Declared Emergency & Infectious Disease Emergency Leave
Scope: Applies to any infectious disease that creates a public health emergency, not just COVID-19, including side effects and illness resulting from getting a vaccine against that disease.
Leave Length: Unpaid leave for as long as the circumstances making the leave necessary continue.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company.
Grounds for Leave: Unpaid leave for employees who won’t be performing the duties of their position due to one or more of the following reasons:
- Because of an emergency declared under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and: (i) because of an order that applies to the employee made under the Act; (ii) because of an order that applies to the employee made under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, (iii) because the employee is needed to provide care or assistance to an eligible individual under Section 50.1(8) of the Employment Standards Act (ESA); or (iv) because of such other reasons as may be prescribed by Regs.; or
- Because of one or more of the following reasons: (i) The employee is under individual medical investigation, supervision, or treatment related to the designated infectious disease; (ii) The employee is acting in accordance with an order under the Health Protection and Promotion Actthat relates to the designated infectious disease; (iii) The employee is in quarantine or isolation or is subject to a control measure related to the designated infectious disease issued to the public (which may include, but is not limited to, self-isolation); (iv) The employee directs the employee not to work due to concern that the employee may expose other individuals in the workplace to the designated infectious disease; (v) The employee is providing care or support to an eligible individual under Section 50.1(8) of the ESA, including, but not limited to, school or day care closures; (vi) The employee is directly affected by travel restrictions related to the designated infectious disease and, under the circumstances, can’t reasonably be expected to travel back to Ontario; or (vii) The employee’s hours of work are temporarily reduced or eliminated by the employer for reasons related to the designated infectious disease.
Paid Leave: Employee also entitled to up to 3 days’ paid leave (which employer may require be taken in full days) if they’re not performing the duties of the position because:
- The employee is under individual medical investigation, supervision or treatment related to the designated infectious disease.
- The employee is acting in accordance with an order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act that relates to the designated infectious disease.
- The employee is in quarantine or isolation or subject to a control measure (which may include, but is not limited to, self-isolation), implemented as a result of information or directions related to the designated infectious disease issued to the public.
- The employer is concerned that the employee may expose other individuals in the workplace to the designated infectious disease.
- The employee is providing care or support to an eligible individual referred to in subsection 50.1(8) because: (i) the individual is under individual medical investigation, supervision, or treatment related to the designated infectious disease, or (ii) the individual is in quarantine or isolation or subject to a control measure (including self-isolation) implemented as a result of information or directions related to the designated infectious disease issued to the public.
Paid Leave Amount: The lesser of $200 per day and either:
- (i) The wages the employee would have earned had they not taken the leave, or (ii) if the employee receives performance-related wages, including commissions or a piece work rate, the greater of the employee’s hourly rate, if any, and the minimum wage that would have applied for the number of hours the employee would have worked had they not taken the leave; or
- Another calculation listed in the Regs.
No Premium for Paid Leave Days: If a paid day of leave falls on a day or at a time of day when overtime pay, a shift premium or both would be payable by the employer, the employee is not entitled to more than the regular nor to the shift premium for any leave taken; Nor is employee entitled to premium pay for any day of paid leave that falls on a public holiday, the employee is not entitled to premium pay.
Notice: Employee must give employer notice of leave before or as soon as possible after starting leave.
Verification: Employer may require an employee to provide reasonable evidence of entitlement to leave but may not require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 50.1).
A. Sick Leave
Leave Length: Up to 3 days unpaid per 12-month calendar year.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months.
Grounds: Employee can’t work due to illness or injury.
Paid Leave: In addition to 3 days of unpaid sick leave, employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for a continuous period of at least 12 months also accrue up to 3 days of paid sick days at the following rate:
- One day of paid sick leave after 12 months of continuous employment with the same employer.
- One additional day of paid sick leave after 24 months of continuous employment with the same employer.
- One additional day of paid sick leave after 24 months of continuous employment with the same employer.
Rate of Pay: Employer must pay sick leave of either:
- If the employee is paid hourly, the employee’s regular rate of wages multiplied by the number of hours for which the employee would have worked had they not requested leave; or
- If the employee is salaried, the employee’s rate of pay for a day of work.
Limits on Paid Leave: Maximum number of paid sick leave days is 3 per calendar year – unused paid sick leave days can’t be carried forward to the next year.
Notice: Employee must advise employer of expected duration of sick leave.
Verification: If an employee requests sick leave of 3 consecutive calendar days, the employer may require the employee to provide a certificate signed by a medical practitioner certifying that the employee is or was unable to work due to illness or injury.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 22.2).
B. Emergency Leave
Leave Length: Unpaid emergency leave for as long as the employee is unable to perform the duties of their position because of the emergency.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve been employed.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Employee must:
- Give the employer as much notice as reasonably possible of intention to take emergency leave.
- If required to leave before notice can be given, advise the employer as soon as possible after the emergency leave begins.
Verification: Employee must provide employer, on request and within a reasonable time in the circumstances, reasonable evidence that they’re entitled to emergency leave, but is not required to provide a certificate from a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner.
Reinstatement: Employer must let the employee to resume work in the position held immediately before the emergency leave began or, if that position no longer exists, in a comparable position, with no less than the same wages and benefits the employee would have received had they not taken emergency leave.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 22.5).
Medical Leave of Absence
Leave Length: Up to 26 weeks over a period of 12 months unpaid leave.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months.
Grounds for Leave: Non-work-related illness, sickness, organ or tissue donation for transplant, an accident, domestic violence, or sexual violence of which the employee has been a victim.
Paid Leave: First 2 days per calendar year are paid with pay calculated according to the same formula as pay for a statutory holiday.
Notice: Employee must, as soon as possible, notify the employer of the period of absence and reasons for it.
Verification: Employer may require the employee to furnish a document attesting to reasons for the absence when such a request is warranted such as by the duration or repetitive nature of the absence.
Reinstatement: Employer must reinstate employee to their former position with the same benefits, including wages to which they’d have been entitled had they remained at work, or if that position held by the employee no longer exists, the employer must recognize all the rights and privileges to which the employee would have been entitled had they been at work at the time the position ceased to exist.
(Labour Standards Act, Div. V.0.1).
A. Personal Illness or Injury Leave
Leave Length:
- Up to 12 unpaid days per calendar year for non-serious illness or injury, unless employer can show that the employee has a record of chronic absenteeism and there’s no reasonable expectation of improved attendance.
- Up to 12 unpaid weeks over a period of 52 weeks due to serious illness or injury that’s not work-related.
- Up to 26 unpaid weeks per 52-week period leave for work-related illness or injury for which employee is receiving workers’ comp benefits.
Eligibility: Employees who’ve been in the employer’s service for more than 13 consecutive weeks before the absence.
Grounds for Leave: Employee can’t work due to personal illness or injury or due to illness or injury due to the illness or injury of an immediate family member who’s dependent on the employee.
Paid Leave: None.
Notice: Not specifically addressed.
Verification: Employer may, in writing, require the employee to provide a certificate of a duly qualified medical practitioner certifying that the employee was incapable of working due to illness or injury or certifying the illness or injury of the member of the employee’s immediate family.
(Saskatchewan Employment Act, Sec. 2-40).
B. Public Health Emergency Leave
Scope: May apply to any public health emergency in Saskatchewan, not just COVID-19.
Leave Length: For as long as the circumstances that require the employee to take leave continue.
Eligibility: All employees regardless of how long they’ve worked for the employer.
Grounds for Leave: Employee entitled to employee is entitled to a public health emergency leave during period an order of the chief medical health officer is in force if:
- The employees is directed to isolate themselves to prevent or reduce the spread of the disease by: (i) the employer; (ii) a duly qualified medical practitioner; (iii) the Government of Saskatchewan; (iv) the chief medical health officer.
- The employee is required to provide care and support to a child family member affected by the Govt. or chief medical officer order.
Paid Leave: Employees entitled to pay at their regular wages and regular benefits during leave if:
- They’re authorized by their employer to work at home during that period.
- They comply with the measures set out in the order of the chief medical health officer; and
- They comply with any additional requirements set out in an order.
Notice: Not specifically required.
Verification: Not specifically required.
(Saskatchewan Employment Act, Sec. 2-59.1).
Sick Leave
Eligibility: Employees entitled to one day of unpaid sick leave for every month they’ve worked, up to a maximum of 12 days.
Notice: Employee must advise employer of expected duration of sick leave.
Verification: Employer may require employee to provide certificate of a qualified medical practitioner or a qualified nurse practitioner of entitlement to leave.
(Employment Standards Act, Sec. 59).
