By Cheryl Jahn

Paid sick leave coming

Nov 24, 2021 | 4:13 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Paid sick leave will be standard for workers in British Columbia beginning Jan. 1, 2022, with a minimum of five paid sick days each year.

B.C. becomes the first province in Canada to legislate this level of paid time off for workers who fall ill. This new workplace protection applies to all workers covered by the Employment Standards Act, including part-time workers.

“Many of the people who lack paid sick leave are the same workers we depended on most during the pandemic,” says Harry Bains, Minister of Labour. “Lower-wage workers who help us get our groceries, prepare our food at restaurants, and make sure we have the services we need deserve a basic protection like paid sick leave.”

The Province consulted with workers and employers around B.C. to find out what currently exists in the way of paid sick leave and to gather feedback on three options – three, five or 10 days of paid sick leave – to come into effect in the new year.

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More than 60,000 people participated in the engagement. Feedback from the workplaces that already provide paid sick leave found that most workers take between zero and five days of sick leave each year.

But the announcement right not have could come at a poorer time.

“What’s most challenging is that this is another encumbrance on small business across BC when small businesses are trying to navigate circuit breakers in the North, evolving restrictions provincially and an unknown economic future and a broken supply chain,” says Todd Corrigall, CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.

He says that is particularly true for those businesses already struggling to find staff.

by Cheryl Jahn

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Paid sick leave coming

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