BC Employer Paid Sick Leave

Permanent employer-paid sick leave in British Columbia

The BC government has signaled it will introduce permanent employer-paid sick leave in January 2022 for any personal illness and injury, and this will replace any provincial COVID related leave for employees. The BC government recently released a survey that presents a range of possible models for the new paid sick leave entitlement.

• Option A: Establish a minimum of 3 employer-paid days per year for illness/injury leave
• Option B: Establish a minimum of 5 employer-paid days per year for illness/injury leave
• Option C: Establish a minimum of 10 employer-paid days per year for illness/injury leave

Methodology: BC Sick Leave survey

To understand how BC small business owners feel about the plan proposed by the BC government to introduce permanent employer-paid sick leave, CFIB sent out survey to all its BC members on October 12, 2021. The survey was cut off on November 16, 2021 and received a total of 1,160 responses from business owners across BC.

For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Results obtained so far are preliminary.

Key Results

• Nearly 2 in 3 BC SMEs do not support the implementation of permanent, employer paid sick leave in any capacity. This figure is highest among hospitality businesses (84%).
• In addition to increased costs associated with implementation of the policy, BC SMEs are concerned about:
  • Abuse of the policy (79%)
  • A diminished benefits offering for fulltime employees (47%)
  • Difficulty filling required shifts (42%)
• A majority of BC SMEs (60%) support providing permanent, employer paid sick leave to full-time
  employees.
• There is limited support for part time (22%), contract (5%), casual (5%), and workers under 18 (21%).

Read the full report.

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