If an employee is on a leave covered by the Employment Standards Act, their employment is considered continuous:
- The employee continues to get any wage or benefit increases that they would normally receive
- Employers continue to make payments to benefit plans – unless the employee doesn’t want to continue with a plan or if they take reservist’s leave
- Employers continue to calculate annual vacation, termination entitlements, pension, benefits or length of service the same as if they normally would
Given LOA is considered continuous employment, and employee would be accountable for the same re-testing as if they were not on leave; however, if the testing interval should have occurred while on LOA, they would be required to take it upon resumption of work.
You cannot force an employee to take testing while on LOA.
However, if the testing is tied to certification and a requirement of employment – say a welding certificate for example – the employee could be held to maintain their certificates as a condition of employment.