Please complete your profile to unlock commenting and other important features.

Please select your date of birth for special perks on your birthday. Your username will be your unique profile link and will be publicly used in comments.
Narcity Pro

This is a Pro feature.

Time to level up your local game with Narcity Pro.

Pro

$5/month

$40/year

  • Everything in the Free plan
  • Ad-free reading and browsing
  • Unlimited access to all content including AI summaries
  • Directly support our local and national reporting and become a Patron
  • Cancel anytime.
For Pro members only Pro
Summary

BC Is Now Giving Out The Most Paid Sick Days In Canada & Here's Who Gets To Use Them

The good news is that it's mandatory. 🤒

Editor

People in B.C. are going to be able to get five days of paid sick days a year, starting January 1, 2022.

According to the government, B.C. is the first province in Canada to legislate this level of paid time off for workers who fall sick.

It will apply to everyone under the Employment Standards Act, as a minimum amount of days, including part-time workers.

They also said that during the pandemic, companies that had sick leave saw less transmission of COVID-19.

The province gathered information from businesses and employees to determine the right amount, landing on five days.

The hope of this new standard is that people will feel encouraged, and able, to stay home when they are feeling sick.

These paid sick days are also on top of the three unpaid sick days that are already provided. So in total, you are able to take eight days of sick leave for illness or injuries.

Right now, more than one million workers don't have paid sick leave in B.C. These are more often women or racialized workers, the B.C. government said.

This paid leave is going to apply to anyone covered by the Employment Standards Act. So if you are self-employed, working in a federally regulated sector or in any job not covered, then these paid sick days are not mandatory.

Explore this list   👀

    • Editor

      Morgan Leet (she/her) is an Editor for Narcity Media Group. After graduating from Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, she jumped into fulfilling her dream as a journalist, merging her passion for travelling with writing. After working in the print media world on Canada’s East Coast, she joined Narcity with a move to B.C., drawn to the beauty of Western Canada. Since then, she's documented her experience moving to Vancouver, covering everything from local events to bucket-list travel destinations across Canada's West Coast.

    Government jobs in Canada pay more than private ones and the gap is even bigger than you think

    The perks are better too — and it's all funded by your tax dollars. 💵

    The Marineland from your childhood is dead: Inside the grim reality of what's left behind

    Recent drone footage from the semi-abandoned site shows the animals who've been left behind.