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Specified Circumstances in Which Sick Note Cannot Be Requested - Regulation Part 7.02, Section 45.033

Last updated on November 12, 2025

Contents:

Summary
Text of Legislation
Policy Interpretation
Related Information

Summary

This section specifies the circumstances that apply to a health-related leave under sections 49.1 and 49.2 of the Act.

Text of Legislation

45.033 (1) For the purposes of the definition of "specified circumstances" in section 49.2 (1) of the Act, the circumstances specified in relation to an employee's health-related leave are that

(a) the health-related leave is for a period of no more than 5 consecutive days, and

(b) in the calendar year, the employee has taken no more than one other health-related leave for a period of no more than 5 consecutive days.

(2) In calculating a period of health-related leave under subsection (1) of this section,

(a) each type of health-related leave taken under Part 6 of the Act counts as a separate health-related leave, and

(b) the period of health-related leave is considered to be taken in the calendar year in which the leave begins.

Policy Interpretation

Subsection (1)

For health-related leaves as defined in section 49.2(1), a sick note cannot be requested where both these circumstances are met:

  • The leave is for 5 days or fewer
  • The leave is the first or second health-related leave in the calendar year

Subsection (2)

If an employee takes multiple types of health-related leave in a calendar year, each leave is considered a separate health-related leave for the purposes of determining whether a sick note may be requested.

For example, if an employee takes 4 days off due to their own illness under section 49.1 and immediately afterwards takes 3 days because their child becomes sick and they request family responsibility leave under section 52, each period is a separate leave. As each separate leave was less than 5 days in duration, an employer could not ask the employee for a sick note in this circumstance, as long as the employee has not taken any prior health-related leaves in that calendar year.

If a health-related leave straddles the beginning of a new calendar year, the leave is deemed to have occurred in the year in which it began.

Related Information

Related sections of the Act or Regulation

ESA