Image: File image of a woman dealing with a cold. / Yuri Arcurs, Dreamstime

By Darlene Rotchford, MLA for Esquimalt-Colwood and Parliamentary Secretary for Labour

OPINION

YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Limiting the need for sick notes in B.C.

Nov 19, 2025 | 8:23 AM

Changes to the Employment Standards Act have come into effect on November 12^th that limit when employers can ask for sick notes due to short-term illness. This will help ease the administrative burden on health care professionals while also making sure that people aren’t spreading illness or experiencing long wait times.

And when you or your children come down with a cold or a flu, you shouldn’t be stuck in a waiting room, potentially getting other people sick, in order to get a sick note. Now people can call in sick for short-term illnesses to rest and recover, without the added hassle of booking and attending a medical appointment for the single purpose of getting a sick note, one that does not help them get better any faster.

These changes mean that for the first two short-term absences in a year where you’re off sick for five days or less, your employer can’t ask for a sick note – whether you’re sick yourself or caring for a close family member. For more illness-related absences after that, you may be required to provide a note.

This makes the health care system work better for everyone. When people get sick, they can keep their germs where they belong – at home – and means that people don’t need to shoulder the extra costs of transportation or child care out-of-pocket and can focus on themselves or their child getting better.

This also helps stop the spread of diseases in transit and in the workplace. In 2022, British Columbia was the first province to implement five employer-paid sick days a year to help make sure that workers could afford to stay home when they’re ill.

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Eliminating unnecessary paperwork will free up time for health care providers to spend with patients who need the care. It helps the system work better for everyone as our government continues to work hard towards solutions to health care shortages, and continues to support workers across B.C.

This builds on work we’re doing to train and recruit more health care workers from around the world, including in the U.S. Since May 2025, the number of job applications received from U.S. health-care workers has reached more than 1,400 and more than 140 qualified U.S. doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals have accepted job offers here in B.C.

Making sure that people have fair working conditions, while also building a reliable health care system that works for patients and health care professionals, is something our government will continue to fight for.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of Fraser Valley Today or Pattison Media.