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Sick Note Not Required - Act Part 6, Section 49.2

Last updated on November 12, 2025

Contents:

Summary
Text of Legislation
Policy Interpretation
Related Information

Summary

This section prevents an employer from requiring an employee to provide a sick note from a health practitioner for a short-term health-related leave.

Text of Legislation

49.2 (1) In this section:

"health practitioner" means the following:

(a) a medical practitioner;

(b) a person who is authorized under the Health Professions Act to practise the designated health profession of nursing;

(c) a person who is authorized to practise a designated health profession, within the meaning of the Health Professions Act, that is prescribed for the purposes of this definition;

(d) a person who is authorized, in another jurisdiction, to practise a health profession that is equivalent to a designated health profession that may be practised by a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

"health‑related leave", in relation to an employee, means leave or other absence from work that is related to the health, illness or injury of the employee or a prescribed individual, other than leave under sections 50, 51, 52.1 and 52.11 and a type of leave or other absence from work specified in the regulations;

"specified circumstances" means the circumstances specified in the regulations in relation to health‑related leave taken on a short-term basis;

"specified health record", in relation to health‑related leave, means a note, document or other record that is produced by a health practitioner at the request of the employee or prescribed individual for the purposes of proving a fact or circumstance in relation to the health‑related leave.

(2) Without limiting sections 52.12 (5) and 52.13 (6) and subject to the regulations, if the specified circumstances apply to an employee's health‑related leave,

(a) the employer must not request that the employee provide a specified health record to the employer in relation to the health‑related leave, and

(b) the employee is not required to provide a specified health record to the employer in relation to the health‑related leave.

Policy Interpretation

Section 49.2 states that an employer may not ask for a written note from a doctor, nurse, or other designated health professional when an employee takes leave from work because of their health, illness or injury, or because of the health, illness or injury of a member of their immediate family.

Section 45.033 of the Employment Standards Regulation prohibits employers from requesting notes for the first 2 absences of 5 days or less in any given calendar year.

While the Regulation does not bar an employer from asking for a note on an employee’s third or subsequent absences, employers are still only permitted to request reasonably sufficient proof of illness or injury under section 49.1(2). As is discussed in more detail in that section, requesting a note from a health professional will likely not be reasonable where an illness is relatively common, like a cold, flu or debilitating menstrual cramps, and short in duration. In these circumstances, if the employee possesses and agrees to provide a pharmacy receipt (for example, over-the-counter pain relief medication, tensor bandages, or generic health-related products), this may be reasonable and sufficient objective proof of illness. In most cases, an employee’s verbal or written confirmation should likely be sufficient to reasonably prove they needed to be absent.

Regardless of whether an employer establishes a blanket policy requiring sick notes on third and subsequent absences, the individual circumstances respecting an employee's leave must be examined to determine what may be reasonable. As a statutory entitlement, employers should not deny an employee's health-related leave when the employee makes a good faith effort to demonstrate that they are unable to work. 

Employers are permitted to request written notes from health professionals if a note is necessary to assess the employee’s fitness to return to work or any accommodations that may be necessary for their return to work.

This section does not apply to leave taken under sections 50 (maternity), 51 (parental), 52.1 (compassionate care) or 52.11 (critical illness or injury).

Example

An employee gets a cold and takes December 27-29 off work. Their school-aged child gets a flu and the employee takes January 4-7 off to care for them. In October of the same year, the employee is ill again and takes October 17-18 off work.

This section bars the employer from asking for a sick note for their leave in December: it was the first health-related leave that year, and was only 3 days. The employee can't be required to provide a sick note for the leaves in January or October either: the first was a health-related family responsibility leave for 4 days, and the second was an illness or injury leave for 2 days.

The employer may ask for a sick note if the employee takes a 3rd health-related leave in the same year. Depending on the nature of the leave, however, a sick note may not be a reasonable request. A cold does not typically require a doctor or clinic visit, so requiring the employee to attend a clinic and potentially pay for a note would likely be an unreasonable use of their time and the time of a health professional. The employee's confirmation of their illness, or a receipt for purchase of cold medication, would likely suffice in these circumstances.

Terms and conditions of employment protected

Section 54 provides that an employer cannot terminate an employee or change a condition of employment without the employee's written consent as a result of a leave under this Part. See also s.56 for an explanation of the effects of leave under this Part on employment and benefit payments. If the employer's business operations have been suspended or discontinued at the time the employee's leave ends, the employer must comply with s.54(2) when operations resume.

In the event of a contravention under this Part of the Act, the director may order a remedy in a determination under s.79(2). The determination will include an escalating monetary penalty, subject to s.98.

Employees covered by a collective agreement

Where there is a collective agreement, disputes respecting the application, interpretation, or operation of Part 6 must be resolved through the grievance procedure, not through the enforcement provisions of the Act.

Related Information

Related sections of the Act or Regulation

ESA

ESR