Sick and Serious Illness or Injury Leaves: legislation changes for workplaces

Sick and Serious Illness or Injury Leaves: legislation changes for workplaces

Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act

Amendments will come into effect 1 January 2025.

Bill No. 464, the Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act, is an omnibus bill which amends multiple pieces of legislation: Workers’ Compensation Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act and Labour Standards Code. The amendments to the Labour Standards Code enhance the current sick leave provisions and establish serious illness or injury leave.

Sick Leave and Family Responsibility Leave

The amendments entitle employees to 5 days of unpaid sick leave per calendar year (in addition to the 3 unpaid days for medical appointments and family illness leave currently in the Labour Standards Code).

Serious Illness or Injury Leave

The amendments establish an unpaid 27-week leave for serious illness or injury (this aligns with EI sickness benefits of 26 weeks, plus 1 week EI waiting period). 

  • employees must be employed with their current employer for at least three (3) months to be eligible for serious illness or injury leave
  • the 27-week leave is available to eligible employees within a given 52-week period
  • the up to 27 weeks of leave do not need to be taken consecutively, but must be taken in minimum periods of at least one week
  • if an employee takes four (4) or more non-consecutive periods in a 52-week period, the employee must wait six (6) months from the date their most recent period of leave ended before taking serious illness or injury leave again, unless the employer agrees to allow the employee to take the new 52-week period sooner
  • employees must provide medical confirmation of eligibility, if requested by their employer, in accordance with a form approved by the Director of Labour Standards. The form will be available online or by contacting Labour Standards when this leave comes into effect.

Example – Four or more non-consecutive periods of leave

Starting on January 1, 2025, an employee takes intermittent periods of serious illness leave of 4 weeks duration each. If each such period was taken a month apart, by the end of the fourth period, seven months will have elapsed (4 weeks’ leave, 1 month at work, 4 weeks’ leave, 1 month at work, 4 weeks’ leave, 1 month at work, 4 weeks’ leave = 7 months). At this point, the employee will still have 11 weeks of leave available (27 weeks of entitlement - 16 weeks taken = 11 weeks remaining). These 11 weeks of leave can be taken in the time remaining from the 52-week period that started on January 1, 2025. Once the 52-week period ends, whether or not the remaining 11 weeks of leave entitlement were taken, the employee will need to wait 6 months before beginning a new 52-week period in which 27 weeks of serious illness leave can be taken, unless the employer agrees to allow the employee to start the new 52-week period sooner.

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