Bill 8 ushers in changes to unpaid leave

The legislation introduces protective measures for workers facing difficult circumstances

BY Rachel Ranosa 10 Jan. 2020

Bill 8 – which amends the Employment Standards Act – aims to bolster support for workers who are 1) seeking assistance during a difficult time in their lives or 2) seeking redress of grievances and recompense for breaches committed by their employers.

The amendment, as proposed by the British Columbia government, covers a wide range of concerns. The most important changes, however, focus on:

The awarding of additional leaves of absence for workers experiencing personal difficulty, i.e. caring for a sick family member or recovering from domestic violence
The extension of the period during which workers can claim owed wages
The enhancement of the collective agreement process

The legislation, therefore, touches on the following areas:

Improving ways for workers to receive assistance, especially if they deem their rights have been violated
Adding protective measures in the workplace for people facing difficult personal circumstances
Ensuring workers receive just compensation

Bill 8 also specifically calls for children and youth to be protected from performing dangerous work.

Unpaid leave
Employees who are tasked with caring for a critically ill family member will be given up to 36 weeks of unpaid leave when looking after a child and up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave when caring for an adult patient. Meanwhile, workers who are recovering from domestic violence are entitled to take either 10 non-consecutive days or 15 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave.

Recovering unpaid wages
Employees who are owed wages will have a grace period of 12 months to claim their unpaid earnings. In some extreme cases, the recovery period can also be extended to 24 months.

Collective agreements
Bill 8 also returns to a practice set in place prior to 2002 in which the Employment Standards Act was deemed inapplicable to collective agreements if their components satisfied the requirements outlined in corresponding sections of the ESA. With this move, an arbitrator will have to determine whether provisions in the agreement as a whole ‘meet and exceed’ ESA requirements.