On January 1, 2022, BC became the first province in Canada to implement a minimum standard of five days of paid sick leave every year. To address two issues that have been raised since the employer-paid sick leave came into effect, changes have been introduced to simplify the administrative process and strengthen paid sick leave legislation to protect workers.
BC’s Employment Standards Act has now been amended to reference ‘calendar year’ which standardizes the annual entitlement period for all employees regardless of the start of their employment. Previously, ‘employment year’ was used to establish an employee’s annual paid sick leave entitlement which was cumbersome because it requires separate dates for each employee based on their start date.
In addition, to address concerns that paid sick leave entitlement is not applicable to all BC employees due to existing language, the clause that relates to collective agreements has been amended.
On April 3rd, 2022, Bill 19 – 2022 the Employment Standards Amendment Act received Royal Assent and its provisions are now in force. The Employment Standards Branch has updated its web content to reflect the new amendments, and also has provided some interpretative information to support workers and employers, accessible through the following links:
- Illness or Injury Leave - Act Part 6, Section 49.1
- Handling absences and other disruptions
- Leaves of absence
- Scope of This Act - Act Part 1, Section 3
- Unionized workplaces
For more information on paid sick leave in BC, visit the Government of BC website.