No more sick notes: New short-term sick leave rules for British Columbia employers

At a glance

• British Columbia passed (BC) Bill 11, Employment Standards Amendment Act 2025 (Bill 11) in May 2025 but it is not yet in force.
• It will amend the Employment Standards Act (ESA) to prohibit employers from requesting or requiring sick notes for short-term health-related absences.
• The new rules may also apply to short-term absences for caring for a 'prescribed individual' (eg a child), with further regulations expected by fall 2025 to clarify what qualifies as a short-term illness.
• Employers are advised to review and adjust their sick leave policies ahead of the 2025 influenza season to ensure compliance once the new regulations are enacted.

The government of BC has announced plans to enact new rules prior to the 2025 influenza season that will prohibit employers from asking or requiring employees to provide sick notes for short-term absences from work.

In April 2025, the BC government introduced Bill 11. Bill 11 received Royal Assent on 29 May 2025, but is not yet in force.

Bill 11 will amend ESA to prohibit employers from requesting or requiring an employee to provide proof of illness when taking a short-term 'health-related leave' from work under specified circumstances.

Currently under ESA, employers can require an employee to provide 'reasonably sufficient proof' of their entitlement to illness or injury leave and employees may be asked to provide a sick note from their health practitioner to meet this requirement.

Under Bill 11, employers will no longer be allowed to ask for or require an employee to provide a sick note or other record as 'reasonably sufficient' for illness or injury leave taken on a short-term basis. At this time, it remains unclear as to what other short-term circumstances will be captured by the new rules, although the BC government has suggested that short-term leaves or absences to care for a 'prescribed individual' (eg a child) suffering from an illness or injury may also be captured and they will issue regulations by the fall of 2025 regarding what constitutes a short-term illness, among other things.

Takeaways

The BC government has announced its intention to enact the new rules prior to the respiratory illness season in fall 2025.

To ensure compliance, employers are encouraged to review their policies and practices on obtaining proof of illness from employees for short-term leaves or absences and should be ready to implement the new guidance once any regulations are issued.

For further information, please contact any member of the DLA Piper Canadian Employment and Labour Law Service Group listed here, who will ‎‎ensure that you are acting upon the most up-to-date information as it becomes available.