BC ESA leave for sexual or domestic violence

[NFinnerty@nhcwater.com]

#94754

Forum: Private

Hi,

I am looking for a legal opinion/advice with the requirement to provide leave in cases of sexual or domestic violence.

The immediate issue is in BC, we also have staff in Alberta and I see for Alberta the leave is 10 days of unpaid leave. I’ve included below our policy for paid sick & family leave. I recently became aware of a situation that would warrant leave for sexual & domestic violence. Until now, I did not realize there was a 5 day paid leave entitlement. I am looking for input on whether we are currently covering this 5 paid days of leave or if this should be additional leave. Personally, I think it is additional and if so, advice on how to structure it or communicate it to protect privacy. I don’t want to create a unique code and will need to convey to payroll. Thank you. Noreen

Current language:
SICK & FAMILY LEAVE
Full‐time employees earn 80 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year. Sick leave for part‐time and temporary employees is pro‐rated by hours worked per week or duration of contract. Up to 40 hours of unused sick leave (or the equivalent to one week for part-time staff) can be carried over to the following year.
On-call employees are eligible for up to 40 hours of paid sick leave for personal sickness upon completion of 90 days of employment.

Personal and Dependent leave
Sick leave is available for the care of yourself or your dependent family members, including step-children and any other person residing with you as a member of your family. This includes time off for health-related appointments or education (e.g., school meetings) for dependents under the age of 19.

Other Family Leave
An employee can use up to 40 hours of sick leave per year to help with the care or health of other immediate family members. Other immediate family members include parent, step-parent, sibling, grandchild, or grandparent.
You are expected to report your absence as soon as possible but no later than 10 am on the day of your absence. There is no compensation for unused sick leave on termination of employment. If your sick leave has been exhausted, you may request to use your earned vacation or comp time to top up your salary for unexpected days lost, or request time off without pay. Extended days off for personal illness may trigger short or long-term disability compensation.

[Haley O’Halloran]

#94755

Hi Noreen,

It looks like your current policy for sick and family leave is comprehensive, but as you’re noting, the issue at hand is related to the specific leave entitlement for sexual and domestic violence, which is a separate issue. The 5 days of paid leave for sexual or domestic violence, which applies in some provinces (like BC), is indeed an additional entitlement, separate from the regular sick and family leave.

Based on your current policy, it appears that the 80 hours of paid sick leave per year would not cover this specific leave. The sexual/domestic violence leave entitlement would need to be separate because it’s not tied to illness or regular family care. You’re right to assume it should be additional to the existing sick leave.

You may want to create a separate policy section that explicitly addresses sexual and domestic violence leave, detailing:
-The 5 paid days entitlement.
-The specific purpose of this leave (for dealing with the immediate aftermath of violence, attending medical or legal appointments, etc.).
-Whether any documentation or verification is required (and ensure this is done sensitively to protect privacy).
Here’s a sample structure you could consider adding to your policy:

Domestic Violence Leave Policy

You should also refer to our Domestic Violence Leave Game Plan.

When it comes to payroll, you don’t need a unique code, but you could label the leave in a way that ensures clarity. A simple method could be adding a leave category called “SDV Leave” and just flagging this on the employee’s time records when it’s used. This would allow payroll to differentiate it from other types of leave without creating a unique code or tracking system.

Alternatively, you could incorporate this into your existing sick leave system, with a clear note that the 5 days of sexual/domestic violence leave are distinct from other sick leave.

To protect employee privacy, make sure that employees don’t need to disclose sensitive details to their managers or HR. You could request a general note stating that the employee is using leave under the “Sexual & Domestic Violence Leave” entitlement, but there’s no need for them to provide any additional details unless they choose to. Make sure you handle any related documentation with the utmost sensitivity, ensuring it’s securely stored and shared only with those who absolutely need to know.

If this is not already included in your policy, you may want to add a brief paragraph explaining this specific type of leave and ensure that the information is communicated to your team.
Let payroll know that this is separate from sick leave and ensure that it’s tracked appropriately (whether through a specific label or system).

Lastly, I am worried that this issue is too legally sensitive and involves private company matters, so I will advise you to seek out legal counsel for this issue as it goes beyond our scope of compliance and management. There could be some integral information that we are missing that a lawyer could help you with, to ensure both you and the employee are taken care of.

Thank you for your question.

-HRInsider Staff

[Author]

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