B.C. to give all workers up to three days of paid sick leave until end of 2021

With no federal paid sick-day program in sight, as the province was hoping for, B.C. has started its own stop-gap for those without sick pay until they can access federal money. Liza Yuzda reports.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With no federal paid sick-day program in sight, as the province was hoping for, B.C. has started its own stop-gap for those without sick pay until they can access federal money.

All workers in B.C. will received up to three days of paid sick leave until end of 2021 in an effort to support those affected by COVID-19.

Labour Minister Harry Bains introduced the legislation on Tuesday, saying it would be effective until Dec. 31.

“Having paid sick leave is good for businesses, good for workers, good for our communities and will help our economy recover faster,” Bains said in the legislature.

Under the new legislation, workers will be covered if they have symptoms of COVID-19, are self-isolating, and are waiting for tests. The amendments to the Employment Standards Act also mean employers will be required to pay the workers their full wages.

The province says it will then reimburse employers who don’t have an existing sick leave program up to $200 a day for each worker. WorkSafeBC will be in charge of administering these reimbursements on behalf of the province.

The goal, Premier John Horgan says, is to take the pressure off workers who would otherwise not have money coming in as they get a COVID-19 test or stay home while applying for federal sickness benefits.

“The legislation provides for three days of paid leave, sick leave. That allows workers to make that choice, knowing that they’re not going to have an interruption in their salary,” he said.

In addition to the three days of sick pay this year, the legislation is also expected to create a permanent paid sick leave for workers who can’t get back to their jobs because of illness or injury.

That program is set to begin Jan. 1, 2022. Details about this plan are set to be finalized after consultations with stakeholders.

Concerns about how quickly businesses will be reimbursed

Anita Huberman with the Surrey Board of Trade says many businesses were already making it easy for workers to stay home when sick, but this program helps everyone.

“I’m just … calling all employers to really take care of their workforce in the middle of waiting for reimbursement, in the middle of employees having to apply for the federal government program,” she said.

Huberman is concerned about workers who might not be eligible for the federal sickness benefit and how long businesses have to wait to get their money back.

“It remains to be seen how smooth this is going to transition. But we are watching it very carefully and wanting to make sure, as we call for, expedient reimbursement back to the employer,” she said.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is welcoming the program, with President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson echoing Huberman’s concerns.

“It is … critical that the administration of the process provides small businesses quick reimbursement,” Anderson said.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) feels the same.

“It is critical that the reimbursement of three paid sick days, at $200 per day, is paid back to employers quickly and they are not having to wait weeks for the reimbursement,” the CFIB said in a statement.

The province has promised it will be a smooth process.

Sick program doesn’t go far enough, advocate says

Three days is paltry, in the view of economist Alex Hemingway with the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

While the province argues this program acts as a bridge to a federal sick leave benefit, Hemingway says there are gaps.

“Three paid sick days is not adequate, when we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” he said. “We shouldn’t be short-changing that right to paid time off, when we know how critical it is to ensure that workers stay home when they have symptoms, and that they have real certainty about what their pay is going to be when they do that.”

Hemingway isn’t very confident that the permanent program will offer much to workers beyond 2021.

“When you look at other jurisdictions, even right near us — Washington state, Oregon — even prior to the pandemic, they had five employer-paid sick days as a right of employment. The fact that we’re not even living up to that standard is concerning,” he argued.

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