My business can’t afford 10 paid sick days!

I can’t afford to cover increased labour costs!

Hospital icon BC is the only province that places the cost burden of mandatory paid sick days on small businesses.

Image of dollar coins on one side of a balance and employees on another one, symbolizing the high cost of paid sick days for employers in BC

84 percent 84% of BC small businesses can’t afford to pay for an additional 5 paid sick days. Doubling the number of days would cost the average employer:

10 paid days
5 employees 10 employees 25 employees
$9,496 $18,992 $39,389

Rules and regulations icon 9 in 10 BC small business owners agree that the current paid sick days policy needs more checks and balances to ensure it’s fair for employers.

Hon. David Eby, Premier

CC: Hon. Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour

Dear Premier Eby and Minister Whiteside,

As a small business owner, I am already struggling to manage the costs of providing five paid sick days. Increasing this number would further devastate my business, especially with payroll costs continuing to rise.

To help keep payroll costs manageable and support BC’s small businesses, I urge you to:

  • Avoid increasing the number of paid sick days.
  • Adopt guardrails to prevent abuse of the system.
  • Consider adopting the Yukon model, which allows businesses to offer up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year to employees earning $33.94 per hour or less, with government reimbursement for employers.
CFIB logo

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.