Eliminating short-term sick notes ‘big step forward’: Doctors Manitoba

Manitoba doctors will no longer be required to issue sick notes for short-term employee absences due to illness or injury, starting Thursday.

The new provincial legislation, which officially passed in June, will only allow employers to request the medical documents when an employee has been absent for more than a week or if they’ve called in sick 10 or more times in a calendar year.

Dr. Nichelle Desilets, Doctors Manitoba board chair, said the legislation will free up time for physicians to concentrate on medical appointments and called the new rules among the strongest in Canada.

“What may be a small change in the labour code can be a big step forward on improving access to medical care for all Manitobans and using our health care resources wisely,” she said during a news conference Tuesday.

A 2024 poll by Abacus Data on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association found about nine million Canadians were required to produce a sick note to their employer for short-term illnesses.

The paperwork has been a longstanding concern for Doctors Manitoba.

The physician-advocacy group estimates its members write more than 600,000 sick notes every year — about one-third of which are issued when a patient doesn’t have symptoms.

It said last year that eliminating sick notes could free up time for an additional 300,000 patient visits and 50 doctors available for care. Doctors Manitoba said writing the notes costs taxpayers about $8 million annually for the additional medical appointments.

To help employers adjust to the changes, Doctors Manitoba and Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Manitoba created an online tool kit that includes signage for workplaces and health-care facilities to explain the new rules.

Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said the changes will remove a hurdle for workers when they have an illness.

“Manitoba workers will no longer have to worry about doing anything other than recovering when they are sick,” she said.

The province will focus on educating businesses rather than enforcing penalties as employers learn and adjust to the new policy over the next several months, Marcelino said.

The workplace safety and health department will monitor the measures through the worker complaint system that’s already in place, she said. Businesses who violate the rules will be fined $500.

Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, applauded the new measures.

“It means (workers) don’t have to go through the hassle of finding time to go to a doctor’s office for an illness that doesn’t warrant the visit, and doctors can be freed up to deal with more pressing medical issues than writing sick notes,” he said.

Seorhin Yoo, a senior policy analyst for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said Manitoba businesses have had time to prepare as the province and Doctors Manitoba gave a “fair bit of notice.”

She said many small businesses could face staffing issues with the new regulations.

“I would suspect there would be a little bit of a challenge for some employers in Manitoba who are already experiencing shortages of labour and now they’re having to deal with shortages of employees,” Yoo said.

Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said companies understand the need to reduce pressures on the health-care system. He said the province consulted with the business community extensively when creating the policy, through the Manitoba Labour Management Review Committee.

“We’re talking about a slight change in terms of when a sick note is required. These aren’t mass system overhauls,” Remillard said, noting larger businesses may need more resources adapting due to the number of employees.

He said education is crucial for businesses as some employers might not be immediately aware of the changes.

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca