British Columbians asked if sick day program should have 3, 5 or 10 days of leave

British Columbians are being invited by the government to have their say on three proposed options for permanent paid sick leave as the Province looks to implement a permanent program.

B.C. residents are being urged by the government to respond to an online survey that asks how many days of paid sick leave should be a part of the program: three, five and 10 days of paid sick leave.

The options have been posted by the Province as part of an online engagement and are available for residents to access here.

“One of the most critical lessons from the pandemic has been the importance of people staying home when they are sick,” Bains said. “No one should have to choose between going to work sick or losing wages. Paid sick leave is good for businesses, good for workers and good for our communities. We’re asking for input on the next step toward making paid sick leave a permanent reality for British Columbia.”

Between August 5 and Sept. 14, the government collected data from more than 26,000 surveys, ultimately providing feedback about a permanent paid personal illness and injury leave program, with the hopes of creating an option that would be fair, balanced and reasonable for everyone.

“Over the past several weeks, thousands of workers and employers have completed surveys to give us valuable information on their current sick-leave benefits, if any, and what is needed,” said Harry Bains, Minister of Labour. “Informed by those surveys, we are inviting British Columbians to once again have their say.”

The most recent engagement will be available for response until October 25, according to the government.

According to the B.C. government, an estimated 50 per cent of B.C. employees do not have access to paid sick leave, meaning more than one million workers in B.C. will benefit from receiving new paid sick leave.

To leave a comment on the engagement site regarding the sick leave program, visit: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/paidsickleave/

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