On April 15, 2025, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill 11, which seeks to amend the Employment Standards Act (“ESA’) by removing the ability of employers to request sick notes from employees for short-term absences from the workplace. This proposal is aimed at reducing the administrative burden on health-care practitioners in British Columbia.

Currently under section 49.1(2) of the ESA, employees are obligated to provide employers with “reasonably sufficient proof” of their entitlement to leave if requested. The proposed amendment introduces a new section – Section 49.2(2) – Sick Note Not Required – which will stipulate that:

(a) Employers are prohibited from requesting a specified health record from an employee in relation to health-related leave

(b) Employees will not be required to provide a specified health record to their employer for health-related leave

The complete amendments can be seen here.

This change is expected to simplify the process for both employers and employees, while alleviating the strain on healthcare providers.

Additionally, the BC government has outlined plans to establish regulations that will define what constitutes a “short-term absence” and specify the circumstances under which an employer may request formal documentation. These regulations are expected to be implemented in the fall of 2025.

For more details, the full news release from the BC Government is available here.