Important updates to Legislative Sick Leave and Paid Sick Leave

In 2022, UBC added legislative sick leave in response to the update to the BC government’s amendment to the Employment Standards Act. This legislation entitles employees to 5 days of paid sick time off each year. Today, we have a better understanding of how this legislation applies to our various employment groups, many of whom already have sick leave entitlements through their collective agreement, handbook, and other agreements and policies.

Although total sick leave entitlements are not changing, staff may see changes in how paid sick leave and legislative sick leave are managed in 2023 in Workday. 

The changes described below are in progress, and will be completed in Workday by January 15, 2023.

Legislative Sick Leave in 2022 vs. 2023

We now understand that under this legislation, employees need to have access to 5 days of paid sick time off in the calendar year, not specifically in January. New and recently hired employees need access to 5 days of legislative sick leave within 90 days of their start of employment. Also, the majority of staff who already have access to paid sick leave when their employment starts, no longer need a separate bank for legislative sick leave.

Previously, all staff who were eligible* received a separate bank of legislative sick leave (called Legislative Sick Time Off in Workday) to ensure a balance of 5 days at the start of the calendar year. Staff who accrued paid sick leave had a negative balance of Paid Sick Time Off in Workday in January, as the 5 days they were given in the form of legislative sick leave were deducted from that bank to ensure they didn’t exceed their annual entitlement across both leave types. Staff who did not accrue paid sick leave also received 5 days of legislative sick leave in January.

To ensure accurate sick leave for all employees, the Integrated Service Centre (ISC) is updating Workday to meet these requirements.

*In 2022, only Faculty members, Management & Professional staff, Excluded Management & Professional staff, Service Unit Directors, and Executive roles not in their first year of employment were not given legislative sick leave.

How Paid Sick Leave and Legislative Sick Leave will work in 2023

The amount of leave and the type of leave you will receive will depend on your employment group, if you are in an hourly or salaried position, your employment type (e.g. Auxiliary), and the hours you work (e.g. full-time, varying hours).

Note: In some cases, employees may require an adjustment to their paid sick leave or legislative sick leave in Workday to meet their full entitlement. Employees should contact their Managers to determine if an adjustment needs to be made. Managers can contact HR for guidance.

Employees who will only have paid sick leave:

In most cases, these employees’ existing paid sick leave entitlements meet the requirements of legislative sick leave. When required, their paid sick leave balance can be adjusted to meet those needs.

Employment groups included:

BCGEU Child Care - Regular, BCGEU Okanagan - Regular, CUPE 116 - Regular, CUPE 116 Aquatic Centre – Staff, CUPE 2278, CUPE 2950, Executive Admin, Farm Workers, IUOE 115, M&P, and Non-Union Technicians and Research Associates.

How sick leave is calculated in Workday:

• Hourly employees who accrue paid sick leave at the start of their employment will now receive 1.25 days of paid sick leave for their first month of employment, and then accrue monthly as usual. As their hours per day may vary, new employees’ balances are automatically adjusted at 90 days after hire to equal 5 days, based on hours worked in the first 3 months of employment.
• Salaried employees paid sick leave entitlements are pro-rated based on their FTE. New salaried employees will reach 5 days of paid sick leave at the end of 90 days through their usual monthly accruals.

Exceptions to the above:

• IUOE 115 employees (salaried) receive all of their paid sick leave entitlement at the start of the calendar year or upon hire and do not accrue additional paid sick leave.
• BCGEU Child Care – Regular employees (hourly and salaried) receive part of their paid sick leave at the start of their employment and then accrue paid sick leave monthly after 90 days.

Employees who will have their sick leave split between paid sick leave and legislative sick leave:

Employees who become eligible to accrue paid sick leave after 90 days of employment per their collective agreement will have their total sick leave entitlement split between the two leave types.

Employment groups included: BCGEU Okanagan - Auxiliary, CUPE 116 – Auxiliary

How sick leave is calculated in Workday:

• All employees in these groups are hourly, and their leave is based on a 0.5 FTE.
• New employees will receive their legislative sick leave after 90 days of employment, and have a negative paid sick leave balance of the same amount. As they accrue paid sick leave monthly, their balance will increase and become positive, based on their hours worked and leave taken.
• Current employees who worked more than 90 days in 2022 will have any 2022 legislative sick leave carried over and moved into paid sick leave. They will have both legislative sick leave and paid sick leave banks in 2023.*

*This statement was updated on March 2, 2023 to reflect the final set-up in Workday. 

Note: Employees should use their legislative sick leave before their paid sick leave in Workday.

Employees who will have only have legislative sick leave (i.e. do not accrue paid sick leave):

Employment groups included: BCGEU Child Care - Auxiliary, Student employees (excluding fellowship), CUPE 116 - Aquatic Centre – Student only.

Current employees will have their legislative sick leave reset to 5 days each calendar year. New employees who are not eligible to accrue paid sick time off will have 5 days of Legislative Sick Time Off available by 90 days after hire.

How sick leave is calculated in Workday:

• Salaried employees’ legislative sick leave is pro-rated based on their FTE
• Hourly employees’ legislative sick leave is based on a 0.5 FTE, except for student employees and BCGEU Child Care – Auxiliary employees. Their leave is based on a 1.0 FTE.

We appreciate the patience of the UBC community as we continue to make improvements to how we manage paid sick leave, legislative sick leave, and other types of absence in Workday.

Relevant resources

For guidance on how to view their current balance or request time off in Workday, employees can see View Absence Balance or Request Time Off in the Workday Knowledge Base. See FAQ: Absence and Time Off for Employees for common questions about sick leave and other types of time off in Workday.

Managers who need to adjust an employee’s sick leave balance can see Adjust Employee's Time Off Balance (Maintain Accruals) in the Workday Knowledge Base for guidance on how to make this change.

For assistance with Workday, please visit the UBC Self Service Portal for Workday support. 

If you have questions about your eligibility for or entitlement to legislative sick leave or paid sick leave, please contact your manager. Managers can contact HR for guidance.