On Monday, November 7, 2022, the Federal Government published the final regulations under the Canada Labour Code to implement ten days of paid sick leave for workers in federally regulated industries such as aviation, telecommunications, interprovincial transportation, and banking.
As of December 31, 2022, employees who have been continuously employed for at least 30 days will have access to three days of paid sick leave. As of February 1, 2023, employees will acquire a fourth day of paid sick leave and will continue to accumulate one day each month up to a maximum of 10 days per year.
If an employee does not use all of their paid leave in a calendar year, their accumulated entitlement will carry over into the next year, but each day carried over will reduce by one the number of days that can be earned in the next year.
Employers can require an employee to provide a medical certificate to substantiate their entitlement to the leave where the employee has taken five or more consecutive days of medical leave.
Employers must maintain the following records related to each period of medical leave with pay:
- the dates of commencement and termination of the leave;
- the year of employment in respect of which the leave was earned;
- the number of days of leave carried over from the previous year;
- a copy of any written request for a medical certificate made by an employer; and
- a copy of any medical certificate submitted by an employee.
Employees on paid sick leave who are paid on a basis other than time, such as salespeople paid by commission, will be entitled to their “regular rate of wages” consistent with the method of calculating an employee’s pay for the purposes of holidays and other paid leaves under the Canada Labour Code.
Further information is available in the government’s press release.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to a member of Miller Thomson’s Labour & Employment group.
