Ontario has extended paid sick days, until July 31, 2022, for reasons related to COVID-19. Employees can continue to access this paid leave to get tested, vaccinated, self-isolate, or care for a family member. Extending the COVID-19 paid leave program will help more workers take time off to get their booster shots and help more parents take time to get their children vaccinated.
To support employers, Ontario will continue reimbursing them for providing this support to their workers.
In addition, the province is taking action to protect jobs and businesses by extending temporary changes to the Employment Standards Act that prevent temporary layoffs of non-unionized employees from becoming unwanted terminations, which can trigger payments and force businesses to close. This measure will now be extended until July 30, 2022.
With the extension of the program until July 31, 2022, employers will have 120 days after their employees are paid to submit their application to the Worker Income Protection Benefit Program.
Employers and workers can call the program’s dedicated hotline at 1-888-999-2248 or visit Ontario.ca/COVIDworkerbenefit to get more information and updates about Ontario’s paid sick days.
