British Columbia becomes the first province in Canada to legislate this level of paid time off for workers who fall ill. The paid sick leave entitlement applies to all employees covered by the Employment Standards Act (ESA), including part-time, temporary or casual employees. The ESA does not cover federally regulated sectors, self-employed workers and employees in professions and occupations explicitly excluded from the ESA.
Effective January 1, 2022 employers are required to provide their eligible employees with up to 5 days of paid sick leave per year if they need to stay home due to illness or injury. Employees will be paid their regular wages for these sick days, which do not need to be taken consecutively. Employees must have worked with their employer for at least 90 days to be eligible for the paid sick days and can be required by their employer to provide sufficient proof of illness or injury.
If you have any questions about this at all, please contact us.
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