ManitobaA new online toolkit will make it easier for workplaces to wean off sick notes, as looming legislation would eliminate their need for employees with minor, short-term illnesses, Manitoba’s health minister says.Coming legislation to cut notes will make province’s rules Canada’s strongest: Doctors Manitoba presidentCBC News · Posted: Dec 12, 2025 6:49 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.A new toolkit to prepare Manitoba employers for upcoming changes to sick note requirements was released Friday. (CBC)A new online toolkit will make it easier for workplaces to wean off sick notes, as looming legislation would eliminate their need for employees with minor, short-term illnesses, Manitoba’s health minister says.The toolkit, developed by Doctors Manitoba and human resource experts, is designed for private and public employers of any size and is available for free online.Legislation to eliminate sick notes for short-term absences from work in Manitoba will be introduced next year, Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said.Under the proposed legislation, employers will only be able to request a sick note after seven consecutive calendar days of absence, or 10 days of work within a year.”For employers, sick notes mean extra paperwork without improving how absences are managed,” Marcelino said at a Friday news conference.The toolkit will give employers “straightforward, usable tools — from policy templates to self-attestation forms — to help manage absences in a way that is based on trust, clarity and good communication,” she said.Saskatchewan, B.C. and Nova Scotia, along with federally regulated workplaces, don’t require sick notes for absences under five work days. Quebec and Ontario have similar legislation, where the limit is three days of work.Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Nichelle Desilets says the new legislation will make Manitoba’s rules the strongest in Canada.”Sick notes have been a long-standing and routine practice for supervisors and HR experts for decades, but our research also shows that they aren’t an effective practice much of the time,” Desilets said at the news conference.”Much of the time, patients are no longer sick or no longer have symptoms for the doctor to assess, so a sick note isn’t really doing anything to offer verification or accountability.”Over 1,500 sick notes a dayThe new legislation will apply to public and private businesses, but not federally regulated workplaces, a government source told CBC News last month.More than 600,000 sick notes are currently requested annually in the province — many of which aren’t medically necessary, Desilets said. Doctors Manitoba estimates the practice costs taxpayers about $8 million per year.”That’s over 1,500 sick notes each and every day,” Desilets said. “I wrote two this morning before driving here.”Webinars will be held over the next few months to support employers through the change, she said.Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Nichelle Desilets says the new legislation will make the province’s rules the strongest in Canada. (Submitted by Doctors Manitoba)Ron Gauthier, CEO of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Manitoba — which is helping Doctors Manitoba present the new toolkit — says the move to scrap some sick notes is about building trust between employers and employees.”COVID really brought this to light, where people were working from home, they were trying to do their best and delivered beyond what was required of an employee,” he said.”So it was really to continue building on that trusted relationship.”Gauthier says more than 100 of his members have already signed up for the first webinar session.Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says the move will free up more time in clinics and emergency departments across the province.”Every Manitoban knows the frustration of booking a doctor’s appointment not because they need the care, but because they need their workplace to get that doctor’s note,” Asagwara said at the news conference.”We know that this does not actually help patients, it doesn’t help doctors, and it slows down access for people who truly and really need it.”The new toolkit will give employers “practical tools” needed to adjust their policies, they said.”It’s important that folks access and use it to their advantage and get ahead of the legislation that is going to be introduced.”WATCH | Doctors Manitoba helping businesses transition away from sick notes:Doctors Manitoba helping businesses transition away from sick notesThe organization that represents Manitoba’s doctors has released a toolkit to help businesses prepare to manage employee absences once the province bans sick notes for short-term absences.With files from Ian Froese
New toolkit intended to help Manitoba employers transition away from sick notes
