Paid Personal Sick Days Policy Template, BC Version

In 2022, BC made paid leave for the COVID-19 public health emergency a permanent part of the Employment Standards Act in the form of 5 days of paid and 3 days of unpaid leave for personal injury or illness. Here’s a template policy incorporating the new leave rules that you can adapt for your own use if you’re located in BC.

1. EMPLOYEE ENTITLEMENT TO ILLNESS OR INJURY LEAVE

Employees with at least 90 consecutive days of employment with ABC Company are entitled to up to five (5) days of paid and three (3) days of unpaid personal illness or injury leave per calendar year.

2. SICK LEAVE PAY

Employees who take paid personal injury or illness leave in accordance with this Policy will receive pay equal to at least the amount calculated by multiplying the period of the leave and the average day’s pay, where the average day’s pay is determined by the formula

amount paid ÷ days worked

where:

• amount paid equals the amount paid or payable to the employee for work done during and wages that are 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
• days worked equals the number of days the employee worked or earned wages within that 30 calendar day period.

3. WRITTEN NOTIFICATION OF LEAVE

Employees who take personal injury or illness leave, whether paid or unpaid, of three (3) or more consecutive days must, within 15 days of returning to work, give the ABC Company HR department or other Company official a certificate issued by a health care practitioner or other reasonable evidence verifying that the employee was incapable of working for the period of their leave.