Ontario legislation ensures workers 10 sick days a year without a doctor’s note

Sick notes for the boss could soon be a thing of the past in Ontario!

The measure, part of the workplace reform law Premier Kathleen Wynne’s administration has put forward, means fewer wasted appointments for doctors and nurse practitioners, allowing workers to stay home and get well instead of spreading their germs around, Health Minister Eric Hoskins said Thursday.
People will be more likely to take sick days and not drag themselves into work where they could infect colleagues, leading to more absenteeism on the job, and doctors can concentrate on patients who need medical care instead of a note.
Labour Minister Kevin Flynn, who is shepherding the labour reforms that include a $15 minimum wage by 2019, said the law will ensure all workers are entitled to at least 10 personal emergency leave days annually.
Flynn said “most employers” no longer require sick notes, but the ban will force others in line with more modern employment practices.

The new legislation will take precedence over any sick note terms in collective agreements.

Source The Star
Quebec Labour Regulations already allow of an employee to be absent from work, without pay, for 10 days per year to fulfil obligations relating to family care.
“The new Ontario legislation is taking it one step further, by including personal sick days. At the MUHC there are managers which require the employee provide a medical note for a one day absence during targeted periods. Said Manuel Fernandes, the interim president of the union representing half the MUHC employees.
He went on to say, “That unless the employee is abusing the system, the request goes against, the collective agreement, jurisprudence, places a an undo burden on the health care system and adds stress to an employee already not feeling well, … employees are required to pay out of pocket for the doctor’s notes”.