HR glossary · Leave, health and benefits

Paid sick days

Paid sick days are sick days the law makes you pay. Only some places require them, such as federally regulated employers, British Columbia and Quebec.

Also called: paid sick leave, paid medical leave, sick pay

What paid sick days means

Paid sick days are days off for illness or injury that the employer must pay for under employment standards law. They sit on top of, or inside, the job-protected sick leave the employee already has.

Only some jurisdictions require paid sick days, and the numbers vary widely. Where the law does not require them, sick leave is unpaid unless your own policy or benefits plan says otherwise. Many small employers choose to pay a few days anyway, because it helps keep sick people at home.

The rules have changed often in the last few years, so check your province's page before you set or change a policy.

How it works

Check when the right starts. Paid sick days often depend on length of service. In British Columbia, the 5 paid days start after 90 consecutive days of employment. In Quebec, the 2 paid days apply after 3 months of uninterrupted service. Federally regulated employees earn 1 day of paid medical leave for each month of employment, up to 10 days in a calendar year.

Check what the paid days can be used for. Federal medical leave covers illness, injury, organ or tissue donation, medical appointments and quarantine. Quebec's 2 paid days are a single yearly total shared among absences for sickness, an accident, organ or tissue donation, domestic or sexual violence and a criminal offence.

Pay the days on the regular pay day and show them on the pay statement as sick pay. Keep a record of days earned and used for each employee, and check your province's rules before deciding whether unused days are paid out when someone leaves.

If your own policy is more generous than the law, write down how it works: how many days, when they start, whether they carry over, and what proof you will ask for. Make sure your proof rules respect your province's limits on sick notes.

A common mistake is applying another province's rule. Paid sick days follow the province where the employee works, not where your head office is.

Paid sick days by province

Here is whether the law requires paid sick days in each jurisdiction we confirmed.

Where the work is done	The rule
Federal	Yes. Up to 10 days of paid medical leave a calendar year, earned at 1 day per month of employment.
British Columbia	Yes. Up to 5 paid days a calendar year after 90 consecutive days of employment, plus 3 unpaid days.
Saskatchewan	No. The Saskatchewan Employment Act does not provide for paid sick leave.
Manitoba	No. The 3 days of family leave, which cover personal illness, are unpaid.
Ontario	No. The 3 sick days a year are unpaid.
Quebec	Yes. 2 paid days a year after 3 months of uninterrupted service, shared among absences for sickness, accident, organ or tissue donation, domestic or sexual violence and a criminal offence.

We could not confirm current paid sick day rules for Alberta, the Atlantic provinces or the territories. Several of these changed recently, so check with that office.

Example: First paid sick day at a Kelowna bike shop

Jess runs a 6-person bike shop in Kelowna, British Columbia. Her new mechanic Raj started on 1 March. On 15 April he calls in sick for a day; on 10 June he is sick again for 2 days.

In April, Raj has worked fewer than 90 consecutive days, so British Columbia's paid sick days do not apply yet. Jess records the day as unpaid. By June he has passed 90 days, so she pays the 2 days as sick pay on his next pay statement and notes that he has 3 paid days left for the year.

Payroll in the Staffkin HR Suite

The Staffkin HR Suite has a payroll module for recording pay, including sick pay. Book a demo to see whether it fits your business.

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Questions about paid sick days

Do I have to pay sick days in Ontario?

No. Ontario's 3 sick days a year are unpaid under the Employment Standards Act. You can choose to pay them under your own policy.

How many paid sick days do federally regulated employees get?

Up to 10 a calendar year, earned at 1 day for each month of employment.

Do unused paid sick days carry over?

Check your province's rules and your own policy. Many statutory entitlements reset each calendar year.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.