Further Update and Reminder re New Increased Paid Sick Leave Under the Canada Labour Code

In a previous Federal Employer Alert, we noted that recently passed Canada Labour Code amendments included a section that, if brought into force, provided that the new 10 Day Paid Medical Leave requirements would only impact employers with 100 or more employees. The government has since advised that, in fact, it will not bring this section into force.

This means the new Paid Medical Leave will impact all federally regulated private sector employers, regardless of the number of employees they have, on December 1, 2022.

For reference, below is a summary of the new Paid Medical Leave rules:

• After 30 days of continuous employment, an employee will earn 3 days of paid medical leave. Thereafter, the employee will accrue one day of paid medical leave at the beginning of each month, up to a maximum of 10 days per calendar year.
• For each day of medical leave, the employer must pay the employee their regular rate of wages for their normal hours of work. For employees with variable hours or pay, they must be paid the their average daily earnings, exclusive of overtime hours, for the 20 days the employee worked immediately preceding the first day of the period of paid leave
• Accrued and unused medical leave of absence will carry over to the following calendar year but the maximum number of available medical days at any time will be capped at 10.
• An employer can request that a worker provide a certificate from a health care practitioner stating that the employer is incapable of working for the period of the medical paid medical leave. The request must be:
  • in writing;
  • made no later than 15 days after the employee’s return from leave; and
  • directed only to an employee who has taken a medical leave of absence of at least five consecutive days.

All federal employers should be revising their sick leave and pay policies and sick leave and pay software to reflect the new rules above for December 1, 2022.

If you want more information on this change, you can contact us at:

Geoffrey Howard:          ghoward@howardlaw.ca

604 424-9686

Sebastian Chern:            schern@howardlaw.ca

604 424-9688