As of November 12, 2025, new amendments to the British Columbia Employment Standards Act, limit an employer’s ability to ask for medical notes in certain scenarios. This bill is part of a trend that has already played out elsewhere in Canada, where the Provincial Government seeks to reduce the workload of physicians and other medical professionals by limiting requirements for certain medical certificates. The BC Minister of Labour is quoted as saying that “unnecessary medical appointments take time away from patients who need to see their doctors and nurses, don’t help people get better any faster and risk further spread of illness.”
The Canadian Medical Association has been, for over a year, calling on provincial governments to reduce or eliminate mandatory sick notes. The CMA has noted that sick notes burden physicians with unnecessary administrative tasks, detract from patient care, exacerbate inefficiencies, and may contribute to increased spread of viral illnesses. The CMA has published a policy on this matter which is available via the CMA website. It is not surprising that provincial governments are listening given ongoing challenges in the healthcare sphere, and it is very likely that such rules will be spreading to other provinces. Ontario, for example, has already adopted similar rules which we discussed in our previous blog post.
What Are the New Rules
British Columbia employers are not permitted to request a medical certificate or sick note from employees who request a “health related leave” that is five consecutive days or less and the employee has not taken more than one health-related leave for a period of five consecutive days or less during the calendar year.
Employees will, therefore, be able to take a health-related leave that is five days or less without the employer being permitted to ask for a medical note and employees could do so twice in any given calendar year.
The ability of employers to ask for medical notes for leaves longer than five days remains intact. In addition, these changes do not affect the employer’s ability to request medical documentation in respect of any return to work following a medical leave, including situations where the employer may need a certificate of fitness to return to work, or documentation relating to accommodation requirements post-leave.
In addition, the employer is not prohibited from asking for medical notes in respect of maternity, paternity, circle illness, critical injury, and compassionate care leave.
Next Steps
Employers in BC should be reviewing their policies, handbooks, and other documentation to ensure that they are in line with these latest requirements. Employers will need to adapt their processes and ensure that staff that handles sick leave requests are made aware of these latest changes.
If you need assistance reviewing your policies, please contact us anytime. At Bridge Legal & HR Solutions we can help you untangle and understand the web of obligations that applies to your employment relationships. To find out how we can help, contact us through our contact form or call us at 647-794-5442.
