Employees in Ontario are entitled to take up to three days of unpaid sick leave each calendar year. But what constitutes a sick day? The Employment Standards Act (ESA) outlines requirements surrounding sick leave that employers and employees must follow, including valid reasons for taking sick leave.
Sick Leave in Ontario
Sick leave is an unpaid job-protected leave, and employees in Ontario are granted three days of sick leave each calendar year. Employees are entitled to sick leave once they have worked for an employer for at least two consecutive weeks. Sick leave days do not have to be taken consecutively. Sick leave days are not pro-rated, which means that if an employee begins partway through a calendar year, they are still entitled to three days of leave for the year. Unused sick leave days do not carry over to the following year.
Reasons to Take Sick Leave
In Ontario, an employee can take sick leave due to a personal illness, injury, or medical emergency. The cause of the illness, injury, or medical emergency does not matter. Typically, employees are entitled to take sick leave for pre-planned elective surgery if it is for an injury or illness, even though it is scheduled and not an “emergency”. However, sick leave cannot be used for cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary.
Employers and Sick Leave
Employees must provide some form of notice, which does not have to be in writing, before starting sick leave (or as soon as possible after starting the leave). Although employees are required to provide such notice, they do not lose the right to take leave if they fail to do so. Also, an employer may ask for evidence “reasonable in the circumstances” (e.g. a medical note) to demonstrate that the employee is eligible for sick leave. It is recommended that all employers have a sick leave policy in place. This will help prevent issues regarding notice of leave and evidence. If you do not have a sick leave policy in place, contact our HR support to start setting one up.
