BC to change law regarding sick notes for short-term absences from work
Changes to the Employment Standards Act will eliminate the need for workers to get sick notes for short-term absences from work.
Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour, has introduced Bill 11, amending the Employment Standards Act to help ease the administrative burden on BC’s health care practitioners by clarifying when it is appropriate for employers to request a sick note from workers. Currently, the act allows employers to request “reasonably sufficient proof” that an employee is sick.
Changes to the act will clarify that employers can’t request, and employees are not required to provide, a sick note written by a physician, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse as evidence that the employee’s short-term absence from work was related to illness or injury. Regulations will be established to set out how many days is considered a short-term absence, and how often an employee may be absent before their employer can request a formal sick note. The regulations will deal with notes from doctors and nurse practitioners, and may also consider notes from other health professionals. The regulations will be implemented prior to respiratory illness season in fall 2025.
In addition to addressing unnecessary sick notes, the regulation update includes replacing fax and paper-based processes with digital systems, streamlining referral processes, consolidating and standardizing forms, and improving information-sharing between providers. As a result of a partnership with Doctors of BC and Health Quality BC, changes are being implemented related to the scheduling of medical imaging appointments, which are anticipated to save more than 180 000 physician hours per year.
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