The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Sick Notes for Employee Absences)
Chamber
manitoba
Stage
Introduced
This Manitoba bill limits when employers can demand sick notes and requires employers to pay for them.
Key Changes
- Employers can only require a sick note if the absence lasts more than one week, or if the employee has missed more than 10 scheduled workdays due to illness or injury in that calendar year
- Employers must accept sick notes from a broad range of health professionals, including nurse practitioners, registered nurses, psychologists, and midwives
- Employers must reimburse employees for any reasonable fee charged by a health professional for writing a sick note
- Employees must submit proof of the cost within 30 days of getting the sick note, and employers must reimburse within 30 days after that
- If an employer does not reimburse in time, the unpaid amount is treated as unpaid wages and the employee can file a formal complaint
- The law comes into force 180 days after it receives royal assent, giving employers time to adjust
Gotchas
- The bill does not eliminate sick notes entirely — employers can still require them after one week of absence or after 10 missed workdays in a year, so frequent short-term absences can still trigger a sick note requirement
- A partial day of absence counts as a full day toward the 10-day threshold, which could affect employees who regularly leave early or arrive late due to illness
- The bill does not cap what a health professional can charge for a sick note — only 'reasonable' amounts must be reimbursed, which could lead to disputes about what is considered reasonable
- Employers retain the right to require a return-to-work fitness certificate from a health professional, which is separate from a sick note and not restricted by this bill
- Existing rules requiring a physician's certificate for certain leaves (like maternity or serious illness leave) are kept in place and are not affected by these new sick note restrictions
Who's Affected
- All Manitoba employees covered by the Employment Standards Code
- Employers in Manitoba who currently require sick notes for short absences
- Health professionals such as doctors, nurses, and psychologists who write sick notes
- Workers in low-income or precarious jobs who may have previously paid out-of-pocket for sick notes
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Gotchas
- The bill does not eliminate sick notes entirely — employers can still require them after one week of absence or after 10 missed workdays in a year, so frequent short-term absences can still trigger a sick note requirement
- A partial day of absence counts as a full day toward the 10-day threshold, which could affect employees who regularly leave early or arrive late due to illness
- The bill does not cap what a health professional can charge for a sick note — only 'reasonable' amounts must be reimbursed, which could lead to disputes about what is considered reasonable
- Employers retain the right to require a return-to-work fitness certificate from a health professional, which is separate from a sick note and not restricted by this bill
- Existing rules requiring a physician's certificate for certain leaves (like maternity or serious illness leave) are kept in place and are not affected by these new sick note restrictions
Summary
This bill changes the rules around sick notes in Manitoba workplaces. Right now, employers can ask for a sick note any time an employee misses work due to illness or injury. Under this new law, employers can only ask for a sick note if the employee has been off for more than one week in a row, or if the employee has already missed more than 10 scheduled workdays in that calendar year due to illness or injury. The bill also says that if an employer does require a sick note, they must accept notes from a wide range of health professionals — not just doctors. This includes nurse practitioners, registered nurses, psychologists, midwives, and others. Most importantly, if the health professional charges a fee for writing the sick note, the employer must pay that cost back to the employee within 30 days. This bill was introduced to reduce the burden on employees who are sick, particularly those who might avoid seeing a doctor or go to work while ill just to avoid the cost or hassle of getting a sick note. It also aims to reduce pressure on the healthcare system from unnecessary doctor visits just to get paperwork.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
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