WORKING FOR YOU
Taking time off A Chamber perspective on sick time and mental health support
KATHLEEN MacEACHERN SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, HALIFAX CHAMBER
E
ach year, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce submits a policy resolution to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. If adopted, the Canadian Chamber would then look to add the issue to their portfolio of advocacy work. This year our resolution focused on sick days and mental health, and the necessity for paid sick time provided by the Federal government. We are hopeful that we will soon see a movement towards mandated paid-sick time, but until we do, we hope our resolution can bring this issue to the forefront of government dialogues and business meetings across Canada.
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2021 CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RESOLUTION If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that our health is never to be taken for granted. Businesses rely on healthy people not only to work for their organization but to consume their goods and services. Prior to COVID-19, employees would often go to work sick, especially if paid sick-time was not available. We know employees want their workplaces going forward to be a safe space where employers take health seriously and mitigate the risk of exposure and spread. Recently, the Government of Nova Scotia implemented up to four paid sick days for COVID-19 related illnesses. “We want employees to stay home if they are feeling unwell and follow public health protocols to help reduce the spread of COVID,” said Premier Iain Rankin. “Paid sick leave means they won’t have to make a difficult decision between their health and the health of others, or their financial well-being.” While Nova Scotians are optimistic about this program, it is a shortterm solution for a larger, long-term and NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021
potentially ongoing problem. The Federal Government needs to take a more significant role in providing paid sick leave for Canadian employees to keep workplaces healthy and safe, post-pandemic. It might be hard to believe but “Canada ranks in the bottom quarter globally when it comes to providing paid sick leave for workers on the first day of illness, according to the DWHN report.” Mandated sick days are legally required only in Quebec and PEI, leaving many Canadian employees (and employers) at risk for having to attend work sick. If left unchecked, this situation could be detrimental to not only the health of employees but the employer’s business as well. It is no secret that both our physical and mental health are important for healthy and thriving organizations and it is well known that the two are linked. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It states that “there is no health without mental health.”
