Introduction
It is hard to disagree that people of all professions sometimes can get sick or just require an additional day off to become productive again or avoid developing a disease. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to ask one’s employer about sick leave in advance. Many workers can inform their managers only hours or even minutes before or after their shift starts. Is it a reason for employers to fire or disqualify such staff members for not following the procedure, or are these situations relatively legal? The purpose of this paper is to find the answer to this question by referring to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.
Main body
To begin with, there are relatively straightforward requirements for taking sick leave. According to the Ministry of Labor, Training and Skills Development (2021), even though “an employee is required to tell the employer in advance before starting a leave,” they can also do it after starting the leave (para. 7). Additionally, in that case, they still have the right to take the leave, and “employers cannot threaten, fire or penalize in any way an employee who takes or plans on taking a sick leave” (Ministry of Labor, Training and Skills Development, 2021, para. 10). Therefore, especially if there is no operational impact, and an employee does not lie about their reason for taking sick leave, they cannot be disqualified for not following the procedure.
Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, one may say that these rules seem rather fair and reasonable. It is not always possible or convenient for workers to inform their managers about their intention to take sick leave, and sometimes this intention appears right before the beginning of their shift. Additionally, Employment Standards Act provides an opportunity to tell the employer after starting the leave. Therefore, workers should not be punished or fired for not following the procedure correctly.
Reference
Ministry of Labor, Training and Skills Development. (2021). Sick leave. Ontario. Web.