Canadian Payroll Reporter

5 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 Sick days for probationary employees QUESTION: Are new employees who are still on probation (employed less than three months in this case) entitled to paid sick days? ANSWER: It is important to distinguish be- tween paid sick days that employers provide employees under a company sick leave policy and job-protected time off work for sick- ness that governments legislate under labour standards laws. With the exception of Prince Edward Is- land, there is nothing in law that requires employers to provide employees with paid sick days. In P.E.I., employees who have worked for their employer for more than five years of continuous employment are entitled to one day of paid sick leave and up to three days of unpaid leave each calendar year of employment. In other jurisdictions, it is up to employ- ers to determine the eligibility requirements, the amount, and the duration of any paid sick days they offer, provided that human rights requirements are met. (Employers with collective agreements must, of course, abide by the terms of the agreement for paid sick days.) Many jurisdictions provide employees with a specified number of unpaid sick days (or family responsibility days) per year, as the following table shows: Jurisdiction Eligibility Maximum Number of Unpaid Sick/ Family Responsibility Days per Year Federal Three consecutive months of employment 17 weeks 1 Alberta N/A N/A British Columbia N/A 5 days Manitoba At least 30 days of employment 3 days 2 New Brunswick More than 90 days of employment 5 days 3 Newfoundland and Labrador At least 30 continuous days of employment 7 days 4 Northwest Territories At least 30 days of employment 5 days 5 Nova Scotia N/A 3 days Nunavut N/A N/A Ontario Work for an employer who regularly employs at least 50 Ontario employees 10 days 6 Prince Edward Island Continuous period of at least six months of employment 3 days 7 Quebec At least three months of employment 26 weeks 8 Saskatchewan More than 13 consecutive weeks of service 12 days 9 Yukon The leave is earned at a rate of one day per completed month of employment 12 days 10 CPR | April 2017 ASK AN EXPERT Annie Chong MANAGER OF CARSWELL'S PAYROLL CONSULTING GROUP annie.chong@thomsonsreuters.com | (416) 298-5085 ANSWER: No, because it is not a retiring allowance. A retiring allowance is a sum of money paid on or after termination of employment (including retirement) in recognition of an employee's long service or as compensation for loss of office or employment. The extra amount you are paying to em- ployees who stay on the job is a retention bo- nus. The cash payment of the bonus is sub- ject to C/QPP contributions, EI and QPIP premiums and income tax deductions. Retention bonus versus retiring allowance QUESTION: We are laying off some employees this summer. We have given them notice, but we have asked them to stay on until July 31 to finish a project. We will pay each employee an extra amount (beyond their usual pay) for remaining on staff until the termina- tion date. Is this type of payment a retiring allowance? 1 Employees must provide their employer with a medical certificate if the employer requests it in writing within 15 days after they return to work. 2 For a serious illness or injury, employees with at least 90 days of service may take up to 17 weeks off work without pay in a 52-week period. 3 If the absence is for four or more consecutive calendar days, the employer may require a medical certificate certifying that the employee is unable to work. Employees may also take up to three days off without pay each year to meet responsibilities related to the health, care or education of a person in a close family relation - ship with them. 4 Employees off sick for three or more days must give their employer a certificate from a quali- fied medical practitioner. 5 If an employer requires it, employees who ex- pect to be off for more than three consecutive days must provide a medical certificate attest- ing to the illness or injury. 6 Employers may require "reasonable" evidence for the absence. 7 Employers may require employees to provide a medical certificate stating that they are unable to work due to illness or injury if they request a leave of three consecutive calendar days. 8 Employers may ask employees to provide docu - ments verifying the need for the leave if the length of leave warrants it or if an employee has a history of requesting the leave. Employees may also take up to 10 days of unpaid leave each year to tend to the care, health or education of their child or their spouse's child or because of the state of health of their spouse, parents, sib - lings or grandparents. Other leaves provided under the act respecting labour standards allow eligible employees to take time off work if a fam- ily member has a serious illness or accident or the employee or his or her child is injured due to a crime. 9 The period of leave applies for illnesses or in - juries that are not serious. For serious illnesses or injuries, employees may take up to 12 weeks off work in a 52-week period. In the case of a serious illness or injury where the employee is receiving workers' compensation benefits, the employee may take up to 26 weeks off work in a 52-week period. 10 Employees are entitled to one day's leave with - out pay for every month of employment, up to a maximum of 12 days per year. Employers may request a doctor's certificate as a condition of entitlement. For more information on sick days or on other health-related leaves, contact the applicable labour standards board.

• Cover