Do you need to take time off work because of the COVID-19 pandemic? This post looks at the statutory leaves available to employees in provincially-regulated workplaces. A post on leaves available to employees who work for federally-regulated employers is available here. For more information on whether your workplace is under provincial or federal legislation, click here. All employees should also check what leaves they may be entitled to under their employer’s policies and/or their collective agreement (if the workplace is unionized).
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If you are an employee and need time off work for reasons related to COVID-19, there are several types leaves, both paid and unpaid, that may allow you to take time off work. This includes going on leave because you are in self-isolation, you are under quarantine, you are ill, you are caring for a sick family member, or you are looking after children as a result of school or daycare closures.
This post answers the following questions:
1. What leaves are available if I am sick?
2. What leaves are available if I am in self-isolation or quarantine?
3. Can I stay off work, even though daycares are allowed to reopen?
4. Can I take time off work if I have to look after a sick family member?
1. What leaves are available if I am sick?
If you are sick as a result of COVID-19, you should first find out if you have access to paid sick leave or short-term disability benefits from your employer. The amount of pay you receive and the requirements for justifying your leave (i.e. whether you need to bring in a medical note), will depend on your employer’s policies and/or your collective agreement (if you belong to a union).
Regardless of whether your employer offers paid sick leave, there are also unpaid leaves available under the Employment Standards Act that will allow you to take time off work. These leaves are “Infectious Disease Emergency Leave” and “Sick Leave” and are described below.
Your employer cannot fire you because you have taken one of these leaves and must return you to your position or to a comparable position if your job no longer exists when your leave is over.
You are also entitled to participate in employer benefit plans and to receive benefits. Your employer must pay their share of the premiums, but you may be required to pay the employee share. Although these two leaves are unpaid, you may be able to access Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits or other government income support.
Infectious Disease Emergency Leave
This new leave allows you to take a unpaid time off work for as long as you are not able to perform your employment duties for a specified reason relating to COVID-19 (and as long as COVID-19 remains a “designated infectious disease”). There is no maximum number of days. If you are sick as a result of COVID-19, you can take this leave. You must advise your employer that you are taking this leave.
Typically, employers are entitled to require employees to provide evidence that is “reasonable in the circumstances” to establish their entitlement to the leave. For Infectious Disease Emergency Leaves, employers are not allowed to require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner (e.g. a doctor’s note). Also, if you are required to provide proof that you were entitled to this time off work, you must only provide the evidence “at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances”.
You are also entitled to take this leave if you are in self-isolation or quarantine, or if you are caring for a specified family member. Please see our other sections for more information.
Sick leave under the Employment Standards Act
If you have been working for your employer for at least two consecutive weeks, you are entitled to three unpaid sick days per year. Your employer may require you to provide evidence that is “reasonable in the circumstances” that you are entitled to take sick leave. In some circumstances, this may involve bringing in a medical note.
2. What leaves are available if I am in self-isolation or quarantine?
If you are in self-isolation or quarantine, or subject to another control measure due to COVID-19, and unable to perform your employment duties, the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave will provide a way for you to take time off work. This new leave allows employees to take an unpaid leave of absence for as long as they are not able to perform their employment duties for a specified reason relating to COVID-19 (and as long as COVID-19 remains a “designated infectious disease”). There is no maximum number of days. You must advise your employer that you are taking this leave.
Typically, employers are entitled to require employees to provide evidence that is “reasonable in the circumstances” to establish their entitlement to the leave. For Infectious Disease Emergency Leaves, the employee only needs to provide the evidence “at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances” and employers are not allowed to require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner (e.g. a doctor’s note).
Your employer cannot fire you because you have taken this leave and must return you to your position or to a comparable position of your job no longer exists when the leave is over. You are also entitled to participate in employer benefit plans and to receive benefits. Your employer must pay their share of the premiums, but you may be required to pay the employee share. Although this leave is unpaid, you may be able to access certain government benefits.
You are also entitled to take this leave if you are sick or if you are caring for a specified family member. Please see below for more information.
Some employer policies and collective agreements entitle employees to a paid leave if they cannot work due to an emergency or due to quarantine. Check with your union, or if you are not unionized, your employer, to see if you have access to a paid leave.
3. Can I stay off work, even though daycares are allowed to reopen?
The answer to this is not entirely clear, but parents and caregivers may be able to continue to qualify for a leave even though daycares have reopened.
The Employment Standards Act allows employees to take a leave if they have to care for a child or another family member, “because of a matter related to” COVID-19 that concerns the child or family member who is being looked after. The closure of schools and daycares are examples of why employees might be required to care for a child during the pandemic, but the ESA is broad enough to capture other reasons why COVID-19 might require an employee to look after a child.
For example, there may not be a daycare space available, or the caregiver may not be able to rearrange their work to allow for pick-up/drop-off or before/after care. Furthermore, there may be health reasons why daycare is not a reasonable option for the family, including concerns about the child’s health if they have an underlying medical condition that makes them more vulnerable to a severe case of COVID-19 or if they live with someone who does or with an elderly family member.
The Infectious Disease Emergency Leave provides employees with an unpaid leave of absence for as long as they are unable to perform their employment duties for a specified reason relating to COVID-19 (and as long as COVID-19 remains a “designated infectious disease”). There is no maximum number of days. You must advise your employer that you are taking this leave.
This leave will allow you to take time off work if you are required to care for any of the following people as a result of school or daycare closure:
- You or your spouses’ child, step-child, foster child or child under you or your spouse’s legal guardianship
- Your brother, step-brother, sister or step-sister
- Your brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law
- You or your spouse’s son-in-law or daughter-in-law
- You or your spouse’s nephew or niece
- A person who considers you to be like a family member
Typically, employers are entitled to require employees to provide evidence that is “reasonable in the circumstances” to establish their entitlement to the leave. For Infectious Disease Emergency Leaves, the employee only needs to provide the evidence “at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances” and employers are not allowed to require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner (e.g. a doctor’s note).
Your employer cannot fire you because you have taken this leave and must return you to your position or to a comparable position of your job no longer exists when the leave is over. You are also entitled to participate in employer benefit plans and to receive benefits . Your employer must pay their share of the premiums, but you may be required to pay the employee share. Although this leave is are unpaid, you may be able to access certain government benefits.
You are also entitled to take this leave if you are in self-isolation or quarantine, or if you are caring for a specified family member. Please see our other sections for more information.
Before you take unpaid time off work, your employer may have an obligation to accommodate you in a manner that would allow you to keep working. See our section on family status accommodation below for more information, and this previous blog post.
In addition, your employer or collective agreement may offer some paid leave in these circumstances, possibly through personal days, discretionary leave or the use of sick credits. The leaves available, the length of the leave, and the amount you would be paid will depend on your employer’s policies or your collective agreement. Check with your union, or if you are not unionized, your employer, to see if you have access to a paid leave.
4. Can I take time off work if I have to look after a sick family member?
There are a number of unpaid leaves that may be available to you if you need time off work to care for a sick family member due to COVID-19. These leave options are described below. The most flexible of these leaves is the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave.
Your employer cannot fire you because you have taken one of these leaves. It must return you to your position or to a comparable position if your job no longer exists when the leave is over. You are also entitled to participate in employer benefit plans and to receive benefits, unless you elect in writing not to. Your employer must pay its share of the premiums, but you may be required to pay the employee share. As these leaves are unpaid, you may be able to access EI Sickness Benefits or other government benefits.
In addition to these unpaid leaves, your employer or collective agreement may offer some form of paid leave in these circumstances, possibly through personal days, discretionary leave or the use of sick credits. The leaves available, the length of the leave, and the amount you would be paid will depend on your employer’s policies or your collective agreement. Check with your union, or if you are not unionized, your employer, to see if you have access to a paid leave.
Infectious Disease Emergency Leave
This new leave allows you to take unpaid time off work for as long as you are not able to perform your employment duties because you are caring for or supporting a specified family member as a result of COVID-19 (and as long as COVID-19 remains a “designated infectious disease”). There is no maximum number of days. You must advise your employer that you are taking this leave.
This leave allows you to take time off work if you are caring for any of the following people:
- Your spouse
- You or your spouse’s parent, step-parent or foster parent
- You or your spouses’ child, step-child, foster child or child under you or your spouse’s legal guardianship
- Your brother, step-brother, sister or step-sister
- Your grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
- Your brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law
- You or your spouse’s son-in-law or daughter-in-law
- You or your spouse’s uncle or aunt
- You or your spouse’s nephew or niece
- The spouse of your grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece
- A person who considers you to be like a family member
Typically, employers are entitled to require employees to provide evidence that is “reasonable in the circumstances” to establish their entitlement to time off work. For Infectious Disease Emergency Leaves, the employee only needs to provide the evidence “at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances” and employers are not allowed to require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner (e.g. a doctor’s note).
You are also entitled to take this leave if you are sick or if you are in self-isolation or quarantine as a result of COVID-19. Please see our other sections for more information.
Family Medical Leave
This leave may entitle you to take time off work if you are caring for a specified family member who is in serious condition and at risk of death as a result of COVID-19.
You can take this unpaid leave for up to 28 weeks to provide care or support for a specified family member. You will need to obtain a doctor’s note specifying that the person you are caring for has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within a period of 26 weeks or less. You must advise your employer in writing that you are taking this leave and, if requested, provide the employer with a copy of the doctor’s note. If multiple caregivers take a Family Medical Leave with respect to the same person, you must split the 28 weeks between you (you cannot each get 28 weeks off work).
This leave may entitle you to time off work if you are caring for any of the following people:
- Your spouse
- Your or your spouse’s parent, step-parent or foster parent
- Your or your spouses’ child, step-child, foster child or child under you or your spouse’s legal guardianship
- Your brother, step-brother, sister or step-sister
- Your grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or the employee’s spouse
- Your brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law
- Your or your spouse’s son-in-law or daughter-in-law
- Your or your spouse’s uncle or aunt
- Your or your spouse’s nephew or niece
- The spouse of your grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece
- A person who considers you to be like a family member
Family Caregiver Leave
If you are caring for a specified family member who is in serious condition as a result of COVID-19, you may be able to take this leave.
You may take an unpaid leave of up to eight weeks to care for a specified family member if you have a doctor’s note stating that the individual you are caring for has a serious medical condition. You must advise your employer in writing that you are taking this leave and, if requested, provide them with a copy of the doctor’s note.
This leave may allow you to take time off work if you are caring for any of the following people:
- Your spouse
- Your or your spouse’s parent, step-parent or foster parent
- Your or your spouse’s child, step-child or foster child
- Your or your spouse’s grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild
- Your child’s spouse
- Your brother or sister
- A relative who is dependent on you for care or assistance.
Critical Illness Leave
If you are caring for a critically ill minor child or specified adult as a result of COVID-19, the Critical Illness Leave may entitle you to take time off work.
If you have been employed by your employer for at least six consecutive months, you may be able to take an unpaid leave of up to 37 weeks to provide care or support for a critically ill minor child or up to 17 weeks to provide care or support for a critically ill adult as a result of COVID-19. In the unfortunate event that the critically ill person passes away, the leave ends on the last day of the week in which the minor child or adult dies.
You will need a doctor’s note that states that the person is critically ill and requires the care or support of one or more family members. The note must also set out the period during which the person requires care or support. You must advise your employer in writing that you are taking this leave. You must also provide a written plan that indicates the weeks in which you will take time off work under this leave (the plan can be amended).
You may be able to take this leave if you are caring for one of the following people:
- Your spouse
- Your or your spouse’s parent, step-parent or foster parent
- Your or your spouses’ child, step-child, foster child or child under you or your spouse’s legal guardianship
- Your brother, step-brother, sister or step-sister
- Your grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or the employee’s spouse
- Your brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law
- Your or your spouse’s son-in-law or daughter-in-law
- Your or your spouse’s uncle or aunt
- Your or your spouse’s nephew or niece
- The spouse of your grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece
- A person who considers you to be like a family member
Family Responsibility Leave
If you need to take a few days to tend to the illness, injury, a medical emergency or another urgent matter relating to a specified family member, you may wish to take Family Responsibility Leave.
You may take three unpaid days each year to deal with such issues relating to the following people:
- Your spouse
- Your or your spouse’s parent, step-parent or foster parent
- Your or your spouse’s child, step-child or foster child
- Your or your spouse’s grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild
- Your child’s spouse
- Your brother or sister
- A relative who is dependent on the employee for care or assistance
You must advise your employer that you are taking this leave. Your employer can require you to provide “evidence that is reasonable in the circumstances” to justify your time off work under this leave.