By December 1, 2022, the Canada Labour Code will require all federally regulated employers, regardless of size, to provide their employees with up to ten (10) paid days of annual medical leave.
The new requirements flow from Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code, which received Royal Assent on December 17, 2021, and Federal Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, which received Royal Assent on June 23, 2022.
In a July 15 press release in support of this new requirement, the government stated that
“no one should have to choose between staying home when they’re sick or being able to afford rent and groceries. However, as the pandemic has highlighted, too many Canadians have little or no access to paid sick leave.”
It had originally been contemplated that the new paid medical leave requirement would apply initially to employers with 100 or more staff, while permitting smaller employers to continue to meet existing personal leave requirements under the Canada Labour Code. This transitionary approach, however, now appears to have been abandoned in favour of a blanket application regardless of size.[1]
The downloading of support obligations to the private sector may prove challenging for some employers. For example, small interprovincial transportation companies – which fall under federal jurisdiction - have already been hard-hit by rising fuel costs and must now shoulder an additional cost absent any corresponding government support.
Accordingly, all federally regulated employers should familiarize themselves with these forthcoming changes, which (subject to any greater contractual obligation) include:
providing employees with three days of paid medical leave after 30 days of continuous employment;
after this initial 30-day period, accruing one additional day of paid medical leave at the beginning of each month to a maximum of 10-days per calendar year;
allowing employees to take paid medical leave in one or more periods (and in minimum increments of one-day);
basing pay on the employee’s normal hours of work at their regular pay rate; and
being able to require employees who take five, or more, consecutive days of paid leave to provide a medical certificate within 15 days of their return to work.
If you are a federally regulated employer with questions about how best to meet these pending changes, please contact one of our experienced employment lawyers for support.
Vey Willetts LLP is an Ottawa-based employment and labour law boutique that provides timely and cost-effective legal advice to help employees and employers resolve workplace issues in the National Capital Region and across Ontario. To speak with an employment lawyer, contact us at: 613-238-4430 or info@vwlawyers.ca
[1] Fasken were first to report this, based on information received from the Federal Labour Program.