10 paid sick days for federally regulated employees
Starting in 2023, federally regulated businesses are required to provide workers, who have been employed with them for 30 days or more, with up to 10 days of medical leave with pay each year. The below frequently asked questions provide clarity on the minimum requirement, but employers can always be more generous with their medical leave policies. We encourage employers to consider how these new entitlements will interact with their existing leave programs & collective agreements. Which employers are affected? All federally regulated businesses that are regulated by the Canada Labour Code will need to implement these 10 days of medical leave with pay, no matter the size of the business or the number of employees. Employers who are unsure if they are federally regulated can get clarity by: All paid employees who have been continuously employed with you for 30 days or more. This includes full-time, part-time, casual, fixed-term contract employees, and even longshore workers with multiple employers. Only unpaid student interns are not eligible for medical leave with pay, instead, they are entitled to unpaid medical leave. How do employees earn paid medical leave? As of December 1, 2022, employees can start to accrue up to a maximum of 10 days of medical leave with pay per year. These days will be earned gradually while continuously employed with the same employer in the following way: 30-day qualifying period 3 days will be earned after the employee completes a 30-day qualifying period of continuous employment. For example, employees hired: Accrual throughout the year Carrying over from the previous year When can employees take paid medical leave? Employees are encouraged to provide 4 weeks’ written notice, or written notice as soon as possible if there is a valid reason for not providing 4 weeks’ notice. The employer may require an employee to provide a medical certificate from a health care practitioner if the employee takes 5 or more consecutive days of medical leave. How to calculate an employee’s medical leave pay If employees are covered by a collective agreement this calculation can be different, but must: Employee Earning Examples Example 2 – Short term employee Example 3: Employee hired after Dec 1st, 2022 Emma will earn:
Which employees are eligible?
After completing the initial 30-day qualifying period, employees can continue to earn 1 day of paid medical leave after completing another month of continuous employment. This day is earned on the first day of the following month (e.g., after working through the month of January 2023, 1 day of medical paid leave will be earned on February 1st, 2023).
Any unused accrued medical leave in one year will be credited to the beginning of the following year; however, employees may not accrue more than a maximum of 10 days of paid medical leave per year. For example, an employee who has never taken any paid medical leave in 2023, could have their 10 days available at the start of 2024, but would not be able to accrue any more days in the year 2024. Should they take the 10 paid medical leave days at the start of 2024, they would not be able to accrue more days in 2024.
Employees can decide to take accrued paid medical leave in increments, as required, to a maximum of 10 days in a year. Employers may require that employees take periods of leave of not less than 1 day, but they can allow partial days if they wish. Employees can use these accrued days for days they are scheduled to work or are expected to be available for assigned work for any of the following reasons:
If employees are not covered by a collective agreement:
What will my businesses need to record?
Businesses will need to keep a record of the following for at least 3 years:
What if I don’t implement these sick leave days?
The government plans to take an educational approach to complaints raised on medical paid leave, but Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPS) will be given to non-compliant businesses. The fines will depend on the size of the business and the type of violation. The size of the businesses is determined by the employee count and annual gross revenues for the fiscal year before the violation has been issued. Micro businesses have fewer than five employees or less than $30,000 in annual gross revenues, small businesses have fewer than 100 employees or less than $5 million, and anything larger is considered a large business. Examples of violations and penalties include:
Example 1 – Hired before Dec 1, 2022
Hélène has been continuously employed full-time with ABC Ltd. for two years. On December 1st, 2022, she starts to accrue the new paid medical sick leave days. Thirty days later (December 31st, 2022) Hélène has earned 3 days of paid medical sick leave. After continuing to work through January 2023, she earns another paid medical leave day on February 1, 2023. If Hélène gets sick in March, she could take up to 4 days of paid medical leave, but if she does not use any of her paid medical leave, she can continue to accrue up to 10 days per year.
Shawn has been hired to work for three weeks starting February 15, 2023. After his contract is done, he is again hired to work June 1st, 2023. As he doesn’t work for the company continuously for 30 days, he is not eligible for any paid medical leave.
Emma starts working for Company XYZ on March 5, 2023, and is doing a great job, so they keep her on. Company XYZ uses a year of employment for both annual vacation and medical leave with pay calculation, which starts on April 1st, and ends on March 31st the following year.
Resources
Share this Article:
Topics in this Article: Running Your Business My Business – From Startup to Retirement Managing Human Resources Employment Standards
Topics and Location:
- Running Your Business
- My Business – From Startup to Retirement
- Managing
- Human Resources
- Employment Standards
Want More? Become a Member
Join thousands of businesses that are set up for success.
Join Now
Print Article
Related Articles you might like.
Annual vacations: Do you know your obligations towards your employees?
Vacations are essential to allow employees to “unplug” and recharge their batter...
Running Your Business
Are you affected by Ontario ESA changes to business/IT consultants?
If you’re a business or IT consultant, or hire business or IT consultants, you s...
Running Your Business
Paid holidays in Canada
Paid public holidays, also known as statutory holidays or general holidays, are ...
Running Your Business
Minimum wage rates and overtime rules in Canada
Minimum wage is the lowest amount you can pay an employee per hour of work. This...
Running Your Business