Strict restrictions on sick notes effective Oct. 1 come with reimbursement deadlines, end routine sick note requirements
Manitoba HR leaders are facing a firm compliance deadline around employee sick day documentation on Thursday. As of Oct. 1, amendments to The Employment Standards Code in the province restrict when employers can require employees to provide sick notes – and physician advocates warn the changes will fail to deliver their intended benefits unless workplaces rebuild how they manage employee absences from the ground up.
The legislation, jointly recommended by labour and employer groups, signals a significant shift in how absence verification is expected to work across Manitoba's workplaces – one that demands more than a policy update.
Under the new rules, an employer may only require a sick note in two circumstances: first, where the employee's absence continues for more than seven consecutive days; and second, where the employee has been absent due to illness or injury for more than 10 scheduled workdays in the same calendar year. Partial days of absence may count towards the 10-day threshold.
The amendments also expand the range of health professionals who may provide acceptable medical documentation, including physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists and midwives.
Changes to attendance management policies
For HR leaders, this demands a fundamental review of any attendance management policy that treats the doctor's note as a default – including for a single sick day. Policies that automatically trigger a documentation request upon any illness-related absence are now non-compliant.
"These changes strike a better balance for employers and employees while allowing physicians to focus more of their time where it matters most: caring for patients," said Elisabeth Saftiuk, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce in Winnipeg, in a news release.
The amendments emerged from a multi-year process involving physician groups, employer associations, unions, and government – a level of consensus Doctors Manitoba describes as yielding the strongest and clearest sick note limits in Canada.
One provision in the legislation carries consequences that some HR teams may not yet have fully registered. Where a sick note is properly required, the employer must reimburse the employee for any reasonable amount charged by the health professional. Employees must provide proof of the expense within 30 days, and the employer must reimburse within 30 days of receiving that proof. If reimbursement is not made on time, the outstanding amount is treated as wages owed under The Employment Standards Code.
The practical implication is significant. A legitimate sick note request is no longer a passive administrative act – it sets off a defined timeline with financial and legal consequences for non-compliance. HR leaders will need to establish internal procedures to capture, process, and pay reimbursement claims – infrastructure many organizations may not yet have in place.
Rebuilding absence management without the doctor's note
For people and culture leaders, the deeper challenge is structural. Absence management frameworks built around routine sick note collection must be rebuilt around calendar-year absence tracking – monitoring the 10-day cumulative threshold across a workforce throughout the year, accounting for partial days, and maintaining accurate records in the event that an employer's request is later scrutinized.
To support employers through the transition, Doctors Manitoba and CPHR Manitoba have jointly produced a free HR toolkit.
Ron Gauthier, Chief Executive Officer of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Manitoba in Winnipeg, was clear about what the transition demands from HR professionals. "Eliminating sick notes for short-term minor illnesses will ease pressure on health care, build trust in workspaces, and improve absence management," Gauthier said. "Between the sick notes toolkit and dedicated member learning opportunities, HR professionals will be equipped with the knowledge to lead this transition," Gauthier said in the Doctors Manitoba news release.
Trusting employees and freeing up doctors
Dr. Alon Altman, President of Doctors Manitoba in Winnipeg, cautioned against treating legislative compliance as the finish line.
"Doctors Manitoba has developed these resources for employers because the experience in other provinces has demonstrated that simply changing the rules doesn't stop unnecessary sick notes from being requested," Altman said in the release.
Dr. Nichelle Desilets, Chair of the Doctors Manitoba Board of Directors and past president, noted the significance of the province's position within the national landscape. "Manitoba has moved from worst to first when it comes to limiting sick notes," Desilets said in the release. "Every sick note request takes time out of a physician's day, so eliminating most sick notes frees up doctors' time to see more patients."
For HR leaders across Canada, Manitoba's Employment Standards Code reforms are part of a broader national trend toward trust-based absence management – a direction multiple provinces are now moving in, and one that Manitoba's legislation has moved decisively to lead.
