Germany is banning sick days without a note. What are the rules across Canada?

Germany banning sick days without doctors’ notes. (File image by www.kaboompics.com via Pexels).

Germany has banned workers from taking sick leave, even just one day, without a doctor’s note.

Germany’s new law requires workers to give their employers a doctor’s note on the very first day of their illness. The move goes against the grain of work culture and rules here in Canada.

“I do not think that is fair,” said Brett Calanchie, a Saskatoon resident who has never had to obtain a sick note.

“I would not want to do that because it would be hard to make it to the doctor’s office if you are so sick that you cannot work.”

Canadian rules around sick notes vary from province to province.

Manitoba recently passed a bill that prevents employers from asking for sick notes unless employees are absent for more than a week.

Most provinces have restrictions on what employers can ask for during periods of short-term illness.

In provinces like Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, employees cannot be required to obtain a doctor’s note unless their absence surpasses five consecutive days.

Alberta does not have any restrictions in place.

Time spent writing notes ‘adds up’

The Canadian Medical Association has been advocating for years to eliminate doctor’s notes for short-term illnesses.

Sick notes take about 10 minutes to complete, according to CMA past-president Dr. Margot Burnell.

On average, a Canadian doctor can receive more than 130 requests every year, she added.

“That adds up to a lot of hours for physicians across this country that could be better spent looking after individuals and their loved ones with more acute care needs,” Dr. Burnell told CTV News.

Burnell said when people are sick with viral infection, it is best not to go into a clinic or doctor’s office to get a note.

“If they go, they are more likely to spread whatever they have to other people,” she said.

The German government has previously complained of absenteeism being too high. Officials said the new rules are expected to boost productivity.

Julian Barling, Borden Chair of Leadership at Queen’s University Smith School of Business, disagrees with the notion.

“There is a fundamental mistake when we equate time at work with productivity,” he told CTV News.

“You can go to work and be entirely unproductive.”

Barling said it is very unlikely that provinces will reverse any of the restrictions they have on sick notes.