Sick Leave Protocol for CUPE 3338 Members (Continuing) - Relaunching effective July 1, 2023
Absences of more than 5 days (35 hours)
For extended absences more than 5 continuous days, the University may require a medical note satisfactory to the University.
Absences of 4 weeks or more
For extended absences that will extend, or have extended to 4 weeks or more, the supervisor will advise their staff that the University requires an Attending Physician Statement (APS) completed by the employee’s medical practitioner. The APS form must be submitted directly to the Organizational Health and Well-Being (OH) office as soon as possible during or after the 4 week period.
The supervisor will stay in touch with their employee during their sick leave and will refer them to the OH office.
OH staff will connect with the employee to offer support and resources if applicable. They will stay in touch for the duration of the sick leave.
Absences totaling 4 occurrences AND 14 days (98 hours) in any 12 month period
The threshold for casual sick leave is 4 occurrences (full or partial sick days) AND a total of 14 days (98 hours) in the preceding 12 month period.
The direct supervisor will receive a system-generated email when the threshold is reached and will discuss this with the employee. If the employee has not disclosed the existence of a chronic illness which has impacted their sick leave, the supervisor will provide a letter confirming their discussion. The letter will indicate that medical certificates will be required for all future sick leaves for the next 6 months, and that they have been referred to the OH office.
Once the 6 months has expired, the Supervisor will advise the employee in writing that medical certificates will no longer be required for each sick leave.
We encourage you to review the Q&A page in detail as it explains the new protocol and provides examples.
If you have any questions regarding the new protocol, please contact the Organizational Health office org_health@sfu.ca, or your applicable HR Business Partner Team or CUPE representative info@cupe3338.ca.
Employment Standards Act of BC: Bill 11 Update on MEDICAL NOTES:
On November 12, 2025 the BC government passed a regulation setting out the “specified circumstances” in which employers are prohibited from requesting a medical note under Bill 11 of the BC Employment Standards Amendment Act. This new rule is expected to ensure that those who are sick can stay home to recover, while reducing the unnecessary administrative burden on physicians.
The Bill specifies that employers are not permitted to request (and employees cannot be required to provide) medical documentation to support a sick leave (or “health-related” leave) IF:
- The leave is less than 5 consecutive days AND
- The employee has not taken more than one other health-related (sick) leave for a period up to five consecutive days in the same calendar year (meaning you cannot request a medical note for an employee’s first two health-related leaves up to five consecutive days in the same calendar year).
This is retro-actively effective to November 12, 2025 for the remainder of this calendar year and then will re-set January 1st of each calendar year thereafter. Supervisors should have awareness/knowledge of their own applicable employees’ circumstances (ie., previous sick or health-related leaves each year).