On April 15, 2025, the British Columbia (“B.C.”) Government introduced Bill 11, which seeks to amend the Employment Standards Act, RSBC 1996, c 113 (“ESA”) to prohibit employers from requiring sick notes for employees taking short-term health-related leave.
The Government has presented this proposed restriction on sick notes as being designed to alleviate the administrative burden on healthcare practitioners in B.C. According to the Canadian Medical Association, their members issued approximately 1.6 million sick notes in 2024.
The proposed amendments will impact how employers handle short-term illness and injury leave. Currently, employees in B.C. have a right under the ESA and Employment Standards Regulation, B.C. Reg. 396/95 (the “Regulation”) to five (5) days of paid sick or injury leave, along with an additional three (3) days of unpaid leave, if they have worked for the company for at least 90 days. Employers can currently ask an employee to provide “reasonably sufficient proof” of their entitlement to the sick leave, i.e. a sick note, and the employee must provide the proof “as soon as practicable”.
If Bill 11 is enacted, provincially regulated employers in B.C. will no longer have the option to require sick notes for short-term sick or injury leave. The B.C. Government has indicated that regulations yet to be drafted will provide additional details, including rules on what constitutes a short-term absence and the frequency of absences that would allow an employer to request a sick note. The B.C. Government has indicated that the development of these regulations will be informed though stakeholder engagement, including health-care groups, small businesses, employers, and labour groups.
As of the date of this update, Bill 11 is not yet law. However, if it passes and further regulations are established, B.C. employers will need to review and potentially revise their existing sick leave policies and procedures.
We will continue to closely monitor the progress of Bill 11 and provide updates as more information becomes available.