According to Statistics Canada, the stress levels of Canadians have doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadians have faced fear for their health, finances, and particularly their employment. In a 2021 report by Statistics Canada, 94 per cent of Canadians reported experiencing one or more impacts related to the pandemic. 

The report showed an increase in those struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles. With that in mind, employees experiencing a decline in their mental health may be in fear for their job. 

However, in this blog, I plan to teach you about stress leave and employment in Ontario to give you a better idea of what options are available.  

What is stress leave? 

Stress can have a significant impact on your mental and physical wellbeing. Monitoring your mental and physical health is important for employees both at work and in their regular daily lives. 

Stress can be just the beginning of other mood-related issues that can negatively impact other areas of your life, such as physical and mental health, relationships and employment. Stress can cause a person to experience other negative moods, such as depression and lack of motivation. 

Because of this, stress is deeply rooted in mental health and wellness, and is associated with the legal term “sick leave.” If stress is severe enough, it can be regarded as sickness and could entitle someone to sick leave, under reasonable circumstances.  

Those who experience severe stress may be eligible to take sick leave under the Employment Standards Act 2000 or under a policy included in their employment contract. 

Am I eligible to take sick leave? 

An employee is considered eligible to take sick leave for reasons related to physical or mental illness, injuries and medical emergencies. The reason for leave doesn’t need to be connected back to the employee’s work and can be caused by internal or external factors. Stress leave can be considered under similar types of leaves such as family caregiver leave. 

Employment Standards Act and Sick Leave

According to the Employment Standards Act of 2000, an employee who has been employed for at least two weeks is eligible for leave without pay due to personal illness, injury or medical emergency. Also, an employee is entitled to sick leave up to three unpaid days each calendar year due to illness, injury, or medical emergency. They can also take half-sick days, where the employee is paid for their hours worked.

Sick Leave and Employment Contract 

If there are no provisions about sick leave in an employee’s contract, they are entitled to three unpaid sick days under the Employment Standards Act. However, if an employee takes a leave under an employment contract that provides more (paid leave, longer leave, minimal notice), then the terms of the contract apply rather than the Employment Standards Act. 

It is the responsibility of the employee to let their employer know about their sick leave, either orally or in writing. Some employment contracts may have specifically paid/unpaid days for stress leave instead of including it as sick leave. 

What if I need more than three days? 

Typically, three days of stress leave may be insufficient to truly take care of one’s mental health needs. Luckily, the Ontario Human Rights Code requires employers to accommodate an employee’s disability up to the point of “undue hardship.” They cannot legally discriminate against an employee based on a disability. If an employee has legitimate medical documentation to support their medical issues, an employer must accommodate them up to the point of undue hardship. 

Of course, there is a lot more to the topic of stress leave, but hopefully this is enough to get you started. Don’t hesitate to reach out for legal help, whenever you’re considering taking leave from work or facing other job-related legal concerns.