The end of paid sick days for COVID-19
|
|
Ontario's IDEL program was created to support both employers and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic by:
|
- giving paid and unpaid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19, and
- letting employers put employees on a long unpaid layoff if there was not enough work available because of COVID-19. This layoff rule ended July 30, 2022.
|
Through the IDEL program, employees could get up to 3 paid sick days between April 19, 2021, and March 31, 2023. The most they could get paid was $200 a day.
|
What options do employees have now that paid IDEL is over?
|
Unpaid IDEL
|
Employees still have an unlimited number of unpaid sick days through IDEL.
|
Employees can use these unpaid days if they have to miss work because:
|
- they're getting a COVID-19 vaccine or recovering from side effects caused by the vaccine
- they have COVID-19
- they have to self-isolate or quarantine because they might have COVID-19
|
Employees can also take these sick days to care for a family member if one of the reasons above applies to them.
|
And they can take these sick days if their employer orders them to stay home because they might spread COVID-19 at work.
|
The government has not said when unpaid leave will stop being available.
|
|
Sick leave
|
Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) gives most employees 3 days of sick leave each calendar year. Employers do not have to pay employees for these days off.
|
But workers might have the right to paid sick days in:
|
|
Other options
|
|
|
|
Getting legal help
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related resources
|
|
|
|
Forward this email
|
If you found this information helpful, please forward it to a colleague or friend. They can subscribe here for regular updates from CLEO.
|