BC Government Tables new Serious Illness and Injury Leave

In a recent Employer Alert, we explained how various other Canadian provinces have created Employment Standards protected serious illness and injury leaves (“SIIL”) of four to six months and predicted B.C. would not be far behind. We were right. On October 20, 2025, the B.C. Government introduced an amendment to the Employment Standards Act which will allow employees to take a job protected leave due to “serious illness or injury” for up to 27 total weeks in a 52 week period (the “Amendment”).

Here are a few key details:

1. There will be a government set but still undisclosed qualifying minimum pre-leave service, likely 3 to 12 months at most, to access the leave;
2. There is no definition of what constitutes a “serious illness” or “serious injury”;
3. Employers can require a basic medical certificate;
4. The leave can be taken in multiple periods in one week increments provided the total in a 52 week period does not exceed 27 weeks: this facilitates leave for employees needing short periods off for example when taking chemotherapy; and
5. Like all ESA leaves, the employee must be reinstated to their old job or a “comparable” one at the end of the leave.

Expect the Amendment to be passed before Christmas and in effect by approximately January 1, 2026.

Practical Implications

As we mentioned in the other Employer Alert, it appears likely that eligible employees will essentially have a guaranteed minimum protected disability leave of 27 weeks. The following are some practical implications:

1. It is unclear whether, until the 27 weeks of SIIL have expired, employers can ask for more medical information about the cause and prognosis for return to work beyond the bare bones medical certificate that can be required under the Amendment. We argue that where a leave goes beyond a few weeks or is extended multiple times, this should still be permitted under the “duty to accommodate” rules under the Human Rights Code, since that duty and case law allowing this is not explicitly altered by the Amendment. But we would recommend that such requests be used sparingly when warranted e.g. a leave has been extended multiple times;
2. In cases where someone is hired for a short term with less than 27 weeks left in it or it is practically impossible to find a short term coverage of a role, the mandatory requirement to allow 27 weeks of leave is impractical and onerous, and even absurd in relation to a term hire that ends before the SIIL ends;
3. Since in most situations with longer term, indefinite hire employees, the duty to accommodate would require extension of employment for more than 27 weeks, the Amendment may not change much;
4. At a minimum, an employee on SIIL, like employees on all ESA leaves, cannot be terminated (other than for just cause, including provable abuse of SIIL leave) until they have returned to work with no indication they will need more time off covered by SIIL or after exhausting the 27 weeks, even in situations where the termination is for economic reasons and unrelated to the employee or the leave.
5. Employees terminated on return or just after returning from SIIL, for economic or other reasons, will be able to file complaints alleging a breach of the duty to reinstate from leave. Under this remedy, employers have the onus of proving the termination had nothing to do with the leave and employees can win an order for reinstatement with back pay—not something most employers want to see.

B.C. employers should be updating their disability policies and disability management practises now to ensure compliance with the Amendment.

Geoffrey Howard:      ghoward@howardlaw.ca

604 424-9686

Sebastian Chern:        schern@howardlaw.ca

604 424-9688