‘We all end up paying for sick notes through longer wait times to see a doctor and as taxpayers too’
The Manitoba government is preparing to introduce legislation that would eliminate the requirement for employees to provide a doctor’s note for absences of less than a week.
“Based on consensus advice from labour leaders, businesses and employers, we will eliminate the requirement for sick notes that add an additional burden on working families and unnecessary paperwork for doctors,” said Premier Wab Kinew in his throne speech.
The proposed law, expected to be introduced in the next legislative session, will apply to both public and private sector employers in the province, but not to federally regulated workplaces, according to a CBC report.
Sick note after 7 days' absence
Under the new legislation, employers will only be able to request a sick note after an employee has been absent for seven consecutive days. The government is expected to outline the proposal in the throne speech delivered by Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville on Tuesday, according to the report.
The proposed legislation was referred to Manitoba’s labour management review committee, which includes representatives from both labour and business. Both sides express support for the change. Kevin Rebeck, labour caucus chair, told CBC, “Sick notes have been doctors saying, ‘Oh, you were ill last week? What were you ill with?’ There’s not much difference between that and self-attestation forms.”
Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, notes that while some businesses may have concerns about potential abuse of sick leave, there are other ways to address such issues. “No one benefits if you’re having your employees run to the doctor’s office because they’ve got a flu for three days,” Remillard says in the CBC report.
Currently, Manitoba is one of only two provinces without rules limiting the use of sick notes. Other provinces, including Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia, restrict sick note requirements to absences longer than five work days, while Quebec and Ontario set the limit at three days.
Doctors welcome change
Doctors Manitoba welcomes the development, having recommended eliminating sick notes over a year ago.
"We have met with private and public employers, unions, HR experts, and other stakeholders to build consensus about eliminating sick notes,” said Nichelle Desilets, president of the group. “We’ve shown that sick notes aren’t an effective HR tool to verify absences. We all end up paying for sick notes through longer wait times to see a doctor and as taxpayers too.”
According to the group, over 600,000 sick notes are requested in Manitoba each year. A third of the time, patients no longer have symptoms to verify by the time they see their doctor.
“These are unnecessary medical appointments that cost taxpayers over $8 million per year,” notes Doctors Manitoba. “Eliminating sick notes will free up the equivalent of 300,000 patient visits per year.”
Previously, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) called for an end to the requirement for sick notes for short-term minor illnesses, arguing that the practice places unnecessary burdens on physicians and strains an already overstretched healthcare system.
