CANADA
Business groups wary of calls for paid sick day laws as COVID-19 looms
BUSINESS COMPLAINS ABOUT ONE SIZE FITS ALL LEGISLATION
WHEN LACK OF PAID SICK LEAVE IS THE REAL ONE SIZE FITS ALL
As fears of COVID-19 renew calls for government-mandated paid sick leave in Nova Scotia, some business groups say it's best to leave it up to the employer.
the province's labour code says employees are entitled to up to three days of unpaid sick leave each year. It doesn't require employers to give their staff paid sick days, so such leaves are often based on contracts or collective agreements.
The federal government announced Wednesday it will waive the one-week waiting period for employment insurance to assist workers and businesses affected by the novel coronavirus and explore additional measures to support other affected Canadians, including income support for those not eligible for EI sickness benefits.
On a provincial level, the Nova Scotia NDP is calling on the government to revisit tabled legislation that would allow all employees up to six days of paid sick leave each year.
While groups like the Nova Scotia Health Coalition, the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and the Halifax Workers' Action Centre want to see legislation mandating paid sick leave for all workers, not everyone is on board with the idea.
Jordi Morgan, the Atlantic vice-president for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), believes the government shouldn't get involved in legislating sick day policies.
"Forcing businesses into a one-size-fits-all model for paid sick days makes them less able to offer their employees that kind of flexibility when they need it," he said.
There are alternatives if paid sick days aren't possible, said Morgan.
He said more than 90 per cent of CFIB's members offer some sort of flexible work arrangement for their staff, and a "significant" number of employers would allow their employees to work at home if needed.
"Those are all things that allow people to be able to continue to work, if they're able to work, in a situation where it's not going to put at risk other employees and their business," he said.
Unfair for small business
Not everyone is able to work from home. Last week, CBC News spoke with three people in Nova Scotia who have gone to work at a food industry job while sick.
In 2013, more than half of American food workers surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they've gone to work sick. Lack of paid sick leave was one of the most common reasons given for why.
Gordon Stewart, executive director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, said mandating paid sick time would unfairly impact smaller operations, which might not be able to afford to both cover the sick employee's shift and pay them.
"If you're a small company, it's very difficult to absorb that cost," he said.
He said sick days are often one-to-two-day events, and people in the food and beverage industry are more likely to miss work because of sprains and cuts instead of communicable illnesses.
Stewart said more than 65 per cent of restaurants in Nova Scotia are independently owned, and they make an effort to "accommodate as much as possible." This could mean offering up extra shifts to staff to make up for the ones lost.
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