Finance minister promises review of sick notes, but says getting rid of them isn't the answer

P.E.I.'s finance minister says she supports looking into whether the province should change its requirement that government employees provide sick notes when off work ill, and is open to reviewing the law allowing other employers to do the same.

But Finance Minister Jill Burridge said on Tuesday she doesn't believe getting rid of the notes entirely is the way to go.

Her comments follow questions from Green MLA Matt MacFarlane on Tuesday, the second straight day he raised the issue in the legislature. This time, he spoke about a constituent whose employer requested a doctor's note, so she had to visit several clinics with her sick child to get one.

According to MacFarlane, the constituent in question works for the province's biggest employer: the P.E.I. government itself.

"Last year she got the flu and took a few days off then," he said. "As so often happens, her young child caught the same flu; after the five-day mark, the payroll department demanded a sick note."

MacFarlane went on to say the mother saw "no option" but to take her sick child to five walk-in clinics hoping to "find a piece of paper." It took her three days.

"Do you support the removing of the need for sick notes from our Employment Standards Act?" he asked the minister.

Burridge, who is also minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, said she's "certainly" going to look into it.

"As a mom, I can appreciate that circumstance," Burridge replied, "and I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone have to go through that.

"I've committed to look into this, absolutely."

'Balance' needed, minister says

But after Tuesday's question period, Burridge said stopping employers from requiring sick notes isn't the solution. Instead, she suggested such medical certificates can enable employers to confirm workers are actually sick.

She said the province could strike a better "balance" between allowing for that, versus the demands it places on the health care system.

"I don't think it would be the best idea to just wipe them," she said. "There are, in certain circumstances, requirements for that.

"To wipe out sick notes, I don't think would be responsible."

'Burdening our system for a note'

Eliminating the need for sick notes is something many health-care workers have been seeking for years in Canada. 

In Nova Scotia, employees no longer need to provide a sick note in many cases. A spokesperson for the province previously said doctors in Nova Scotia spend an estimated 50,000 hours a year writing medical certificates for employees.

MacFarlane also asked about sick notes during question period last Friday.

During that exchange, he'd gotten a commitment from P.E.I. Health Minister Mark McLane to support a change in the Employment Standards Act, to remove the ability for employers in the province to require a doctor's note from workers who miss three consecutive days to sickness.

On Tuesday, McLane told CBC News again that he still supports getting rid of sick notes. He'd also said he had heard from employers over the weekend concerned about the province doing that, and like Burridge, he said there could be a "balance" in the process.

"Maybe the discussion could be about time — of whether three days is appropriate," McLane said. "Maybe should we extend it?"

But ultimately, the health minister said he would support a move to free up health care resources.

"I don't think we want sick people unnecessarily in doctor's offices for whatever reason," he said. "Especially [with] anything that could be infectious.

"We want to have our providers providing care, and not providing paperwork."

While the Employment Standards Act allows employers to ask workers for a sick note after three consecutive days of illness, it's up to the individual employer to decide whether it implements such a policy. 

According to the provincial law, "The employer may require the employee to provide the employer with a certificate signed by a medical practitioner certifying that the employee is or was unable to work due to illness or injury."

New union contract could change rules

As for the P.E.I. government's requirement that its own workers provide sick notes, Burridge said one way to implement change would be to put the conversation to the P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees.

That union's civil service agreement expires next year and would be good grounds, she said, for negotiations around trying to find a better balance in the requirements, without necessarily getting rid of sick notes altogether.

"That is a great opportunity to really look at this, and talk to the members within that union and their leaders to see what they think about that," Burridge said.