The written policies of my organization allow staff to take up to three months paid sick leave. I have requested one day off each week for ten weeks to attend a rehabilitation program that was suggested to me by my doctor. In requesting the sick leave, I was given a form for my doctor and me to complete. This form requires me to sign off on having my doctor speak to my employer. The form also requests information that I am not comfortable sharing, namely a diagnosis. What information should, reasonably, be shared in requesting a sick leave? If my employer turns down my request, what steps should I take?

There is no legal requirement for Canadian employers to provide sick benefits. Organizations that have them generally limit them to 2-3 weeks, since they can be combined with other statutory benefits such as Emergency and Family Medical Leave, or short-term and long-term disability plans. Without a copy of your organization’s policy to check exclusions and inclusions, we will assume it is pure sick time.

An employer has the right to ask for information, and it is standard to have an employee and their physician complete a document when sick time exceeds three days. Your signature is required under privacy legislation and your physician would want that in any case. Privacy laws vary across the country, but normally access to medical information is quite restricted without explicit approval to release one’s personal health information. The key to your concern is the word “diagnosis”. While the employer has the right to some basic information – it only has the right to a PROGNOSIS, not a diagnosis.

In other words, the doctor can indicate the likely outcome in terms of when he/she expects a patient to return to work and whether accommodation will be required. Since you are not off work, the doctor would indicate whether or not the treatment is expected to be completed at the end of ten weeks. Technically, your doctor should know this and most will no longer provide a diagnosis, even if asked. If you talk to your physician about this, your mind may be put at ease about what your employer will be told.

What to do should your employer deny the request is a little more difficult to answer, primarily because it depends on the reason they provide you with at the time. Most employers are ready to be flexible once they have the information they need (and have followed the required processes, if this is an insured benefit), so you may be worried for no reason. However, if this happens, your options are to contact your provincial Ministry of Labour to discuss your rights under Employment Standards legislation, and/or your Human Rights Commission. You may be in a position to lodge a complaint, but understand that this is a serious step that will not likely improve future relations with your employer. The public servant may require copies of your policy and other data, so they can advise you of next steps.

By all means, talk to the government and learn your options, but before you file a complaint, bring that information back to your employer. If your supervisor is not receptive, raise the issue with whoever handles human resources for your organization, or the next level up from your supervisor. Senior staff may be more receptive to accommodation since they are generally more concerned about liability, risk management, cost of hiring a replacement, and the organization’s reputation, than a line manager is.

Regardless of the level of support you end up receiving from your employer, we hope the rehabilitation is fully successful.

Since 1992, Jane Garthson has dedicated her consulting and training business to creating better futures for our communities and organizations through values-based leadership. She is a respected international voice on governance, strategic thinking and ethics. Jane can be reached at jane@garthsonleadership.ca.

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