On April 15 2025, the Ministry of Labour proposed changes to the Employment Standards Act that may eliminate or significantly alter the right of employers to require their employees to produce medical notes for short-term, health-related leaves. These changes are expected to come into effect in the fall of 2025, before the respiratory illness season.
Currently, provincially-regulated employers must provide eligible employees with five days of paid leave and three days of unpaid leave, annually, for absences related to health, illness or injury. If the employer requests it, the employee must provide reasonable proof of entitlement to such leaves, typically by way of a medical note. There is no universal requirement to provide a sick note every time an employee is sick. What is required is “reasonably sufficient proof”, and that could vary depending on each individual circumstance, such as how long an employee is sick, and what type of evidence is available. For example, if an employee is sick for one day, their own verbal explanation to their employer would be enough. Longer absences may require more information.
When Bill 11 comes into effect, amending the Employment Standards Act, if health-related leave is taken in “specified circumstances” and on a “short-term basis”, then an employer must not request a health record in relation to their leave. It remains to be seen what “special circumstances” and “short-term basis” mean. The provincial government has not yet finalized the regulations which will define these circumstances. It is expected that the regulations will deal with the length of any health-related illness that is exempt from the requirement for a note, or how often an employee can be on medical leave in a year, even on short-term bases, before a note would be required.
If you are an employer, you should be revising your sick leave policies and training your management team on the new rules.
If you are an employee, you will benefit from not having to obtain a doctor’s note for minor illnesses.
If you are a health care professional, your burden will ease, and you can dedicate your time to providing medical care instead of writing notes for transient ailments.
If you have questions or concerns about how these upcoming changes will affect you, please reach out to one of our employment lawyers who will be able to assist.