In Ontario under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), most employees who have worked for an employer for at least two consecutive weeks may take up to three days of unpaid job-protected sick leave each calendar year due to a personal illness, injury or medical emergency.
As of October 28, 2024, employers are not allowed to ask employees for a sick note from a “qualified health practitioner” (defined as a physician, registered nurse or psychologist) as evidence of entitlement to these three unpaid sick days.
Alternatively, employers may ask employees for a sick note from other health care professionals if it’s “reasonable in the circumstances”, but may only request the following information:
- the length or expected length of the employee’s absence;
- the date the employee was seen by a health care professional; and
- whether the employee was examined in person by the health care professional issuing the note.
Employers are also permitted to ask employees to provide “evidence reasonable in the circumstances” that the employee is entitled to the sick leave (e.g., an attestation). What is reasonable will depend on all facts of the situation, such as the sick leave duration, whether there is a pattern of absences, whether any evidence is available, and the cost of obtaining the evidence.
Businesses that voluntarily offer paid sick days are exempt from the new sick notes policy where the sick day provisions in their employment contracts are a greater right or benefit than the sick leave provisions in the ESA. Whether the sick day is paid is only one factor that would be considered in making this determination.
For more information, please contact CFIB’s Business Advisors at cfib@cfib.ca or 1-833-568-2342.
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