HR Toolkit
Effectively Managing Absences without Sick Notes: A Toolkit
This toolkit is presented by Doctors Manitoba and CPHR Manitoba. The purpose is to assist Human Resource professionals and employers of all types with effectively managing absenteeism without sick notes.
A PDF version is available here for printing.
Contents
Acknowledgements
This toolkit and its accompanying attachments were shaped by two years of engagement, incorporating valuable input and feedback from a broad range of experts and stakeholders on the topic of sick notes and absence management.
The materials were developed with the generous in-kind expertise of Tory McNally, Vice President of Professional Services at TIPI Legacy HR+ (formerly Legacy Bowes), with important contributions and insights from People First HR Services and CPHR Manitoba.
We gratefully acknowledge the many other individuals and organizations whose perspectives and insights informed important discussions in this area. Special thanks to Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Manitoba Federation of Labour, Manitoba Employers Council, Keith LaBossiere (TDS Law), Manitoba Public Service Commission, Manitoba School Boards Association, City of Winnipeg, Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and the Canadian Medical Association.
Introduction
Sick notes will soon be restricted in Manitoba.
Everyone faces minor illness or injury from time to time, and sometimes that means employees call in sick to work. As an employer, you have an important role in supporting the health and well-being of your employees, but you also need to ensure that you have the staffing resources needed to run your organization day to day.
Workforce absenteeism can affect productivity, service delivery, and workplace morale. Yet not all absences are created equal. Understanding the distinction between culpable and non-culpable absenteeism is essential for managing attendance fairly and effectively.
Workplaces range significantly in how they approach requirements and policies related to sick days. Historically, many workplaces required employees to visit a doctor and provide medical verification that they were ill and unable to work (a “sick note”). As this toolkit will explain, sick notes are not an effective way to manage sick leaves in a workplace and may provide a false form of verification. Importantly, sick notes also contribute to the significant strain on doctors and the health system as a whole.
Recognizing this, the Manitoba government is restricting sick notes to limited situations, similar to most other provinces and territories. Employers are encouraged to go above and beyond the minimum standards set in legislation to eliminate sick notes completely for short term illness verification, and adopt better policies for sick leave and absenteeism management. By eliminating sick note requirements for short term minor illnesses, businesses can build stronger workplaces while helping to ensure that health resources are available to those who need them most.
This toolkit will provide tips and resources for employers to adopt modern and proven approaches to managing absenteeism that align with both operational needs and employee well-being.
What Exactly is a Sick Note
A sick note is a document to verify an illness or injury resulting in a short-term absence from work, school, or other institution. Sick notes serve the sole purpose of verification.
Sick notes do not refer to instances where detailed medical advice is important and necessary, and can be essential to facilitate safe and timely return-to-work. This can include documents such as accommodation forms, protected extended leave verifications, functional abilities forms, return-to-work documentation, or requirements related to insurance coverage, disability applications, and benefits. These are examples of valid doctors’ notes or medical certificates, not sick notes.
This toolkit is about supporting employers in updating policies and practices to manage illness or injury-related absences without relying on sick notes.
Why Sick Notes Aren’t Helpful
Historically, many employers used sick notes to verify that employees were sick and unable to work. However, research has shown that sick notes are generally not an effective tool for meeting that goal and can have negative unintended consequences. Consider these key facts about sick notes:
They don't work.
Sick notes aren't effective for verifying illness. More than a third of the time, patients often don't have symptoms left to check by the time they see a doctor. They are a false form of verification.
They risk workplace infections.
People with minor illnesses or injuries often just need to stay home to rest and recover – not risk infecting others at work or clinic waiting rooms. Research shows 82% of workers would rather go to work sick than get a sick note.
They can decrease productivity.
Aside from the risk of workplace spread of infections, requiring sick notes rather than focusing on rest and recovery sometimes extend the recovery period. Sick note policies also have the potential to decrease trust and engagement in the workplace.
They add to wait times.
Several medical groups are calling for the elimination of sick notes so that doctors can see more patients. If sick notes were eliminated in Manitoba, over 300,000 doctors’ visits could be freed up. That’s the equivalent of adding 50 doctors to our province.
We all pay for them.
A third of the time patients see a doctor and get a sick note, they don’t need any medical care. That means sick notes cost Manitoba taxpayers an estimated $8 million per year for these unnecessary medical visits. Plus, many workers have to pay out of pocket for a sick note as an uninsured service, and many employers reimburse for them.
Requiring a sick note, especially when symptoms can’t be verified by the doctor, can ultimately limit employers’ options on attendance management in the long run. Additionally, employers must process and track these notes, dedicating resources on administrative tasks rather than focusing on broader workplace culture and attendance strategies.
The following scenarios demonstrate these challenges:
Scenario 1:
John missed two days of work earlier in the week due to a fever and minor flu symptoms. His employer asked him to provide a sick note to verify his illness. John got in to see his doctor the next day and they provided a note based solely on John’s report of his symptoms and illness.
In this situation the symptoms are no longer present, and the physician will rely on the patient’s account of their experience. There is no medical value to this interaction, and the employer receives no further verification than what they received from the employee.
Scenario 2:
Mohinder spent the night vomiting from a virus that had been circulating at his daughter’s daycare. He woke up feeling slightly better, but exhausted and dehydrated. He called his employer to say he was unable to come to work. His employer said he needed to provide a sick note to verify his illness. Mohinder was unable to get in to see his family doctor that day so took the bus to a walk-in clinic and waited three hours to be seen. He saw a doctor who advised him to rest and drink fluids, provided him with a note, and charged him $30. Mohinder was unable to spend his sick day recovering and ended up needing to call in sick again the next day to get the rest he needed.
In this situation, the sick note requirement created a barrier to the employee’s recovery and prolonged his absence from work. It also cost him money and time unnecessarily as there was no need for medical treatment for his illness.
Scenario 3:
Jane has a cold. She is congested, coughing, and exhausted. She calls in sick to work and her employer says she must provide a sick note. She does not have a family doctor and does not want to wait in the clinic for her minor illness that does not require medical attention. She decides to go to work. A few days later two of her colleagues take sick days due to colds they got from Jane.
In this situation, the sick note requirement discouraged the employee from taking necessary sick time, affecting the health of other employees, and creating a broader operational impact on the workplace with the spread of illness.
Moving away from sick note policies creates a win-win-win:
Good for Manitobans
- Better access to care
- Rest and recover when sick
- Eliminate hassle and expense of getting sick notes
Good for Employers
- Improved productivity
- Better employee engagement and trust
- Shift to better and proven methods to manage absenteeism
Good for Doctors
- Reduced administrative burden and burnout
- More time for patient care
- Less spread of illness
- Better allocation of time and resources
Manitoba Sick Time Guidelines
In Manitoba, The Employment Standards Code outlines the rights and responsibilities of most employees and employers in the province (approximately 90%). The Code will soon be updated by the government to eliminate sick notes in most situations. The Code outlines minimum standards, rights, and responsibilities for employee benefits including several types of protected leaves in Manitoba. With respect to sick time, The Code requires that employers must provide at least three days of unpaid leave per year (officially titled Family Leave). While not legally required, many employers offer more extensive sick leave coverage, including paid sick leave.
Sick Note Restrictions Coming Soon
The Manitoba government has announced it will eliminate sick notes in most situations, following consensus reached by the Labour Management Review Committee. The new rules are expected to apply to all circumstances, including the use of paid or unpaid sick leave. In line with the Committee’s recommendations, anticipated legislation means employers will be prohibited from requiring sick notes for:
- Absences of up to 7 consecutive calendar days or less, or
- Fewer than 10 cumulative workdays in a calendar year.
After this, an employer has the option to request a sick note. These anticipated new rules will not limit when medical certificates are required for long term leaves (e.g. parental leave), nor for medical reports required to inform safe work plans, disability eligibility, accommodations, etc.
Legislation to update the Employment Standards Code is expected in Spring 2026.
In federally regulated sectors, the Canada Labour Code outlines minimum standards that limit employers from requesting sick notes. Many other provinces and territories have similar standards limiting sick note requests. In Manitoba, the Employment Standards Code does not currently limit when an employer may request a sick note for a short-term absence.
Regardless of the current or minimum legislated standards that apply for your organization, the best practice is to eliminate the use of sick notes to verify short-term absences related to illness or injury.
Legislative rules and requirements can change over time. As an employer, it is essential that you remain up-to-date and aware of employees’ rights, applicable laws, and employment/collective agreements provisions.
Read more about Manitoba’s Employment Standards.
Return to Top
Culpable vs. Non-Culpable Absenteeism: A Critical Distinction
Employers must differentiate between two types of absenteeism. Culpable absenteeism refers to absences that are within an employee’s control, such as excessive lateness, lack of a legitimate reason for leave, or misrepresented illness. In these cases, employers can take corrective action through coaching, progressive discipline, performance management, or training interventions to address patterns of misuse.Non-culpable absenteeism, on the other hand, includes legitimate, unavoidable absences due to illness, injury, or disability. These instances require employers to approach the situation with an emphasis on accommodation, medical support, and effective workplace policies. Employers must strike a balance between holding employees accountable and recognizing legitimate health-related needs, ensuring fairness, transparency, and compliance with employment standards legislation.
Best Practices for Managing Sick Time
Building a healthy and successful workplace is essential for effectively managing sick leave and other personal absences. Engagement, connection, and trust help to support both productive and effective workplaces and mitigate potential issues.
This means transitioning away from outdated practices like sick notes, which are ineffective at verifying sick-related absences and can reinforce a more antagonistic workplace culture rather than one built on trust and engagement.
Here are some tips for effectively managing sick time and minimizing the risk of misuse of sick leaves, without the use of sick notes.
1. Build a Strong Organizational Culture
Putting time and energy into a healthy workplace culture is an investment in your workplace’s future and success. Trust and communication are foundational building blocks for supporting strong and motivated teams. Workplace leaders have an important role in building a positive culture of trust by ongoing deliberate actions. This can include:
Open communication – As much as possible, create regular opportunities for dialogue and feedback from employees. Be transparent about your organization’s goals and challenges and be open to comments and suggestions received.
Respect and recognition – Foster a respectful environment where every employee feels valued and you recognize employees for their contributions.
Lead by example – Leaders can help build a culture of integrity and transparency by acknowledging issues or challenges and taking responsibility for outcomes.
2. Implement a Clear Sick Leave Policy
Having a clear sick leave policy aligned with your workplace needs is key to effective absence management. Please refer to Attachment 1 included in this toolkit for a policy template.
As your organization considers how best to implement a new sick leave policy, or to amend an existing one, think about the workplace culture you are trying to create or maintain. Also consider how employee absences and related policies affect job satisfaction and morale to create a policy that best suits your organization.An effective sick leave policy should clearly lay out:
- Overall expectations for employees and managers;
- If/how employees are paid for sick time;
- Notice requirements and mechanisms (e.g. email, text, call); and
- Procedures for recording absences.
3. Eliminate Sick Notes and Adopt Proven Alternatives
Sick notes were historically used by employers as a tool to verify that an employee is absent from work for a valid illness or injury. As outlined earlier in the toolkit, sick notes are often not effective at meeting this objective, and can have unintended negative consequences for employees, workplaces, doctors, and the health system as a whole.
There are many alternative approaches that your organization should consider implementing to help manage sick time more effectively:
Trust for Short Absences
Employers can choose to trust employees for short sick leave periods without requiring sick notes or any other evidence unless there is suspicion of misuse. Doing so can help to reinforce an overall culture of workplace trust and communication.
Self-Attestations
Employees can easily provide a signed attestation explaining their illness or injury, avoiding the hassle and expense of obtaining a sick note. This method offers employers equal or greater benefits compared to sick notes, as it creates a record that can be referenced if the validity of the leave is later questioned. In cases of misuse, a false self-attestation serves as documented evidence for potential disciplinary actions. Conversely, if an employee provides a sick note validated by a doctor, it can be more challenging for employers to address any discrepancies. Please see Attachment 2 for a sample self-attestation form that your organization could adopt.
Flexible or Paid Leave Days
Providing employees with sick leave days, flexible wellness days or personal leave days that do not require a sick note can help to enhance workplace culture by recognizing that illness or similar unexpected circumstances do come up for employees. Allowing flexible time off for illness, especially paid time off, can help protect the health and safety of your employees, and support business continuity by reducing cases where workers come in sick and spread illness. Such policies also greatly help to support recruitment and retention, providing overall benefits to your organization.
Track Absences Systematically
Organizations can leverage their payroll or human resources information systems, or manually review records every month or quarter, to identify outliers with high rates of sick time. Suspicious cases or trends could trigger further review or investigation.
Investigate Suspicious Absences
Most employees behave appropriately and responsibly at work and should be trusted. However, if you notice a pattern of repeated or suspicious absences (such as routine sick calls around long weekends) you can take steps to review and address this behavior. This may involve supporting a supervisor to engage the employee about their pattern of sick time. It could involve asking the employee to check-in regularly with updates or a return-to-work interview as needed.
Request Alternate Forms of Evidence
Employees could be asked for alternative evidence that is flexible and reasonable for their circumstance, such as receipts for hospital parking, prescriptions, or purchased medical equipment, confirmation notices for medical appointments, or an accident report in the case of injury. It is possible the employee has a chronic condition with recurring periodic symptoms, which could be approached with a flexible accommodation rather than policing it as sick time.
See more on addressing misuse of sick leave in the FAQ section, as well as sample scripts for supervisors in the attached resources.
4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
No matter what approach and requirements you have in place, sick leave policies and expectations should be communicated and consistently reinforced by managers and employees. This is particularly important in cases where there is a new or amended policy. Expectations and policies can be incorporated into employment agreements, employee handbooks or other internal resources, and/or communicated through emails, newsletters, and staff meetings.
Conclusion
Managing sick time and employee absences is an essential part of any workplace. By shifting towards trust-based, data-driven, and wellness-focused attendance management, employers can build healthier workplaces, improve service delivery, and support the well-being of both employees and the broader community.The resources in this toolkit are intended to give an overview of best practices to support positive and healthy workplaces, and to manage sick leaves without the use of sick notes, which have been shown to be ineffective for employers and a high burden on limited health care resources.
Sick note alternatives, such as self-attestation forms, can provide equal or even better assurance to employers that leaves are valid and that they have the necessary documentation to address situations of misuse.
Thank you for your important role in supporting the health and well-being of your employees and for contributing to improved healthcare services for all.
Further Support
If you need further support to update your HR policies and practices related to absenteeism, work with your in-house human resources department or contact a chartered professional in human resources. Two local Manitoba firms offer excellent independent human resource support and expertise:
Resources for Your Organization
Compilation of External Resources
Manitoba Employment StandardsLabour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada (for federally regulated employees)
Manitoba Human Rights Commission
Common Illness Guidelines (Health Canada)
Sickness Benefits (Service Canada)
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
Health Links
Shared Health – Mental Health & Wellness Resource Finder
Canadian Mental Health Association Manitoba and Winnipeg