Why a group of Canadian doctors says workplace sick notes need to go

Many Canadians need a sick note for their employer or school if they are off due to medical reasons, a policy a group of doctors is trying to change.

Calling out workplaces and others who require these notes even for brief absences – some as short as a single day – the Canadian Medical Association is urging the requirement be dropped, at least when it comes to short-term minor illnesses.

With a shortage of family doctors in Canada, sick notes are an added burden to the burned-out physicians, the group representing Canada’s physicians said in a statement released Monday. The CMA said eliminating them for minor health issues could prevent as many as 12.5 million “unnecessary” health-care visits in a year.

CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer called these notes “a human resources issue,” saying, “We understand that organizations have policies in place to manage their human resources, but when 6.5 million Canadians don’t have access to a family doctor and patients wait far too long for specialty care, physicians need to focus their time caring for patients who need medical care.”

About one-third of working Canadians said they were asked by their employers to produce a sick note for a short-term absence at least once in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Abacus Data on behalf of the CMA.

The CMA said it isn’t defining a particular number of days as “short term.” It refers to those with common, uncomplicated and short-term health conditions as ones that they can manage on their own without a health-care professional.

The same poll found 72 per cent said they support legislation to restrict requests for sick notes.

As well, the results of a 2021 CMA survey suggested administrative tasks including the writing of these types of notes were among the key reasons that 53 per cent of physicians said they felt highly burned out.

To ease the stress on doctors and allow them to focus on patients with more serious health issues, the CMA said it recommends the government make legislative changes to restrict the need for sick notes for employers and educational institutions. Canadian doctors suggested other options, such as signed declarations from employees and flexible leave policies, could be implemented instead.

The survey involved a random sample of 1,500 working adults in Canada from Oct. 7 to 10 through online panels. The margin of error for a comparable random sample of the same size is +/- 2.53%, 19 times out of 20, according to the CMA.

In Ontario, Bill 190 includes a proposal that would ban employers from demanding a certificate from a health-care provider for sick leave. The bill is currently under debate at third reading, the final stage before a vote.

With files from CTV National News Medical Correspondent Avis Favaro