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You are here: Home / Blog / What Does “Protected Leave” Mean?

Blog, Doctor's Notes and Sick Leave, Employment Law, Health and Safety, Performance Management, Topics of Interest, Vacation, Public and Religious Holidays · 11 February 2019

What Does “Protected Leave” Mean?

Under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and/or the Human Rights Code, employees are entitled to “protected” leaves of absences. Some examples are Personal Emergency Leave days, Maternity/Parental leave and Compassionate Leaves.

“Protected” leave simply means that if an employee exercises their right to take one of these leaves, their right to return to their current job and wage are protected under law. This simply means that if an employee is off, the employer can’t make significant detrimental changes to the job or wage that the employee had when they went off work.

Are there “unprotected leaves”? Yes! For example, in cases where an employee has used all of their vacation or sick time, and they request an unpaid leave of absence, this leave is not protected under the ESA and likely would not be protected under Human Rights either.

If you have a topic or question that you would like to see answered here, please contact us!

Filed Under: Blog, Doctor's Notes and Sick Leave, Employment Law, Health and Safety, Performance Management, Topics of Interest, Vacation, Public and Religious Holidays

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dwayne HALL says

    31 July 2021 at 10:07 am

    can an employer give you a attendance point if a Dr. wrote you out of work?

    • Kathryn says

      5 August 2021 at 4:55 pm

      Yes they can discipline workers if they do not comply with requests for information and attempts to return to work. This is a very complex issue, you would be best to ask the Ministry of Labour for guidance; or a lawyer.

  2. Aiden says

    7 December 2021 at 2:53 pm

    I fall ill at work and I have to leave do I just tell my employer I am using protected leave? Can I get an attendance point for leaving because I am sick? Just curious

    • Kathryn says

      15 December 2021 at 2:12 pm

      Hi Aiden, I am not sure what is meant by “attendance point”… but if you mean can they discipline you for going home sick, the answer is NO. Best to see a doctor and get a note explaining your illness, but basically yes you can tell the employer that you are ill and want to use one of your unpaid “sick” days as per the Employment Standards Act. If you have already used up these days, then you can still take the time off work but it is not “protected” leave under the ESA. You are always protected by the Human Rights Code (disability) to take this time off.

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