The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is calling for the elimination of workplace sick notes for short-term minor illnesses, a move it says could prevent up to 12.5 million unnecessary health-care interactions annually.
A recent survey conducted by Abacus Data found that approximately one-third of working Canadians were asked by their employers to produce a sick note for a short-term absence at least once in the past year.
“Sick notes are not a health systems issue, they’re a human resources issue,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the CMA. “We understand that organizations have policies in place to manage their human resources, but when 6.5 million Canadians don’t have access to a family doctor and patients wait far too long for specialty care, physicians need to focus their time caring for patients who need medical care. We need to be there for patients who need us when they need us.”
The CMA’s 2021 National Physician Health Survey reported that 53 per cent of physicians feel highly burned out, with administrative burden being one of the main contributors. The association argues that sick notes burden physicians with unnecessary administrative tasks, detract from patient care, exacerbate health care system inefficiencies and inequities, and may contribute to increased spread of viral illnesses.
The CMA’s call to eliminate sick notes encourages employers to reconsider their sick leave policies. By adopting alternatives such as self-certification and flexible leave policies, organizations could help reduce strain on the health care system and support employee well-being.
In a new position paper, the CMA recommends legislative changes to restrict the requirement for sick notes and promote these alternatives. The approach aims to alleviate the administrative burden on health care providers, improve patients’ access to care, and enhance the overall efficiency of the health care system.
Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of Canadians indicated their support for legislation to restrict requests for sick notes for short-term leave, according to the Abacus Data survey.
The survey was conducted with 1,500 working adults in Canada from Oct. 7 to 10, 2024, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
