Reminder: Ontario’s New Long-term Illness Leave Provisions Come Into Force June 19, 2025

On June 19, 2025, the new long-term illness leave provisions of Bill 229, Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 will come into force.

These provisions will add a new unpaid 27 week leave of absence (in a 52 week period) for employees who cannot perform their duties because of a serious medical condition.  

As discussed in our previous summary of Bill 229 (see here), employees will be entitled to this leave if:

• the employee has at least 13 weeks of consecutive service; and
• the employee provides a medical certificate from a “qualified health practitioner” which (a) states that the employee has a serious medical condition and (b) sets out the period during which the employee will be unable to perform the duties of their position.

An employee who meets this eligibility criteria will be unconditionally entitled to unpaid leave, regardless of whether they qualify for enhanced paid leave benefits which may be provided by their employer (e.g. STD and LTD benefits).

As a result, employers will want to ensure that their procedures for managing employee leaves are updated so that eligible employees are not denied this leave.

Employers may also wish to amend their existing leave policies to reflect this change. For example, employers may wish to:

1. Add a description of this new statutory leave to their existing policies (where an employer’s existing policies reference and itemize an employee’s minimum statutory leave entitlements); or
2. Amend their policies to clearly state that employees will be entitled to this new unpaid statutory leave in accordance with statutory requirements, independent of any enhanced employer benefits.  

In reviewing existing leave policies, employers should consider the following aspects of these new leave provisions:

• Eligibility Requirements: Existing eligibility and evidentiary requirements for paid long-term illness leave may differ from the eligibility requirements outlined above.
• Reinstatement Rights: As with other statutory leaves, an employee who takes this long-term illness leave will be entitled to be returned to their previous position or a comparable position upon the completion of their leave.
• Additional Leave Periods: if an employee’s condition persists after a 52 week period, an employee will be entitled to a further 27 weeks of unpaid leave. This may differ from existing employer policies for paid leave.   

Our team will continue to track changes to leave policies in Ontario and across Canada. Should you have any questions regarding this change or the impact it may have on your existing leave policies, please contact a member of our Labour & Employment team.