New serious illness or injury leave in British Columbia

As of November 27, 2025, provincially regulated employees in British Columbia are entitled to a new unpaid leave of absence for serious personal illness or injury (referred to in this update as “serious illness leave”). This new leave has been added to BC’s Employment Standards Act (the ESA).

Important details of the new serious illness leave include the following:

• It is available to an employee who cannot work due to serious personal injury or illness. 
• There is no service requirement – it is available from the outset of employment.
• An employee may take up to 27 weeks of leave within a 52-week period. 
• Leave must be taken in units of one or more weeks. Partial weeks count as full weeks.
• As with all ESA leaves of absence, employees must be returned to their previous positions, or to a comparable position, when the leave ends.

A certificate from a health practitioner is required for an employee to qualify for serious illness leave. This certificate must confirm:

• The employee’s inability to work for medical reasons.
• The date on which the employee’s inability to work began or is expected to begin.
• The date on which the employee is expected to return to work. 

This certificate requirement contrasts with short-term illness or injury leave under the ESA. As of November 12, 2025, British Columbia employers are prohibited from requesting sick notes for that short-term leave. See our update “British Columbia sick note restrictions now in force.”

Serious illness leave in context

Serious illness leave is only one of several legislated protections for injured or ill employees in British Columbia. Complementary or overlapping protections include:

• Employment insurance benefits. Serious illness leave under the ESA is unpaid, but it is designed to match the available benefits under federal Employment Insurance benefits. Employees who qualify for serious illness leave may separately qualify for EI sickness benefits to provide them with financial support while they are off work. EI sickness benefits can provide up to 26 weeks of financial assistance to an employee who cannot work for medical reasons.
• Disability accommodation. While serious illness leave under the ESA is capped at 27 weeks within a 52-week period, employers also have a separate obligation under BC’s Human Rights Code (the Code) to take all reasonable and practical steps to accommodate employees with disabilities. This “duty to accommodate” does not have a temporal limit. Instead, employers must accommodate until the point of “undue hardship.” Whether an ongoing absence amounts to “undue hardship” depends on the specific circumstances of the employee’s disability, the nature of the employee’s duties and resources available in the workplace. 

If employee absences extend beyond the 27-week maximum of serious illness leave, it is possible the employer must continue to accommodate their absences pursuant to the duty to accommodate. Employers should seek legal advice in determining whether the duty to accommodate is triggered, and whether undue hardship has been reached.

The NRF E&L team is available to assist in any matters relating to ESA leaves, EI benefits or accommodation under the Code.