Employment lawyer discusses issues surrounding workers on medical leave, and more
Human resources professionals commit a number of “missteps” when it comes to dealing with employees on medical leave, one expert told Canadian HR Reporter.
“Oftentimes when an employee is going off ill, you will frequently get back a prescription pad note from a doctor saying: ‘Off on medical leave, are set to return on X date’. And that's all that the note said,” said Krista Siedlak, partner at Turnpenney Milne, told host Jeffrey Smith in an episode of the Canadian HR Reporter podcast titled “The Top 5 HR Missteps.”
“And oftentimes employers just accept that note in goodwill and move on while the person is off. But an employer needs to understand that they are entitled to better information than that.”
The podcast episode is available here for free.
While employers may not be entitled to a worker’s diagnosis, “they're entitled to know their prognosis and or any limitations that the employee may have returning to work,” said Siedlak.
“So when you do get that prescription pad note – or maybe if you've gotten a couple of them in a row because the person has been off for an extended period of time – then, as an employer doing your due diligence, you're well within your rights and it would be prudent for you to send the employee a note explaining that they've been off for a certain period of time – and that you're hoping for information to help them and assist them while they're off in their returned to work.”
The issue of sick notes has been making waves in the news. Recently, Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s minister of health, announced that Ontario will prohibit employers from requiring sick notes in an effort to reduce paperwork for physicians. The government’s change is intended to give physicians more time for direct patient care and comes as part of new legislation tabled by the minister of labour in coming weeks, says the CBC.
Earlier this month, Prince Edward Island’s top ministry of health official said he is supporting the removal of sick notes requirements for workers to take a medical leave.
The handling of the issue of sick notes is one of the five most common missteps that Siedlak sees in her practice that HR makes – whether on their own or at the behest of organizational leadership.
Siedlak, in the The Top 5 HR Missteps, also talks about how they can mitigate the legal risk for their organizations. Listening to the podcast now for free right here.
