Are Paid Sick Days an Employee Right in Canada?

by Kathryn Benson, Sr. HR Options Consultant, HR Options

Are paid sick days an employee right in Canada? This question is asked often by new employers in Canada. The answer is that, unlike paid vacation, the Canadian Employment Standards Acts have no requirement for employers to provide paid sick days to employees. Providing paid sick days is an employer choice. Employers can provide as many as makes sense for the retention of employees, and the health of the organization.

Furthermore, employers can apply different sick policies to different groups of employees - so long as discrimination is not a factor. For example, it would be legitimate to have a different policy for full time versus part time, or management versus non-management positions, whereas it would be discriminatory to apply different policies to younger versus older staff. 

It is recommend to have a sick day policy if you will be providing paid time off. For example, most sick policies stipulate that sick days do not get paid out upon termination and also are not rolled over to a new year. If your organization provides paid sick days, but you don't have a clear policy, you may still be fine to let the employee know that they are not paid out sick days upon termination. However, if you've paid sick days out to other employees upon termination, you may get yourself into hot water due to the precedent that you've set. As with most HR issues, having a clear, visible policy is best practice to protect your organization and the employee from confusion and possible liability.

For more information on how HR Options can assist you with human resources services, and/or outsourced payroll and employment in the U.S. or Canada, please contact Nunzio Presta at 1-866-859-4157 toll free or via email at npresta@hroptions.com.