Attendance, sick leave and vacation: employer resource hub

A practical starting point

1. Identify the kind of absence

   Separate vacation requests, illness, other protected leave and unexplained absence. Do not assume that the same response or documentation is appropriate for every situation.

2. Check the governing jurisdiction

   Use the guide for the employment standards that apply to the worker. Check the source and effective date before relying on a leave entitlement or a medical-note requirement.

3. Write down the workplace process

   Explain who employees should contact, how they should report an absence and where managers should record it. Keep sensitive medical information out of routine attendance notes.

4. Review before making a decision

   Consider whether the situation raises accommodation, privacy, contractual or collective-agreement questions. Get appropriate advice for a complex individual case rather than treating a tracker as a legal decision.

Useful tools and next steps

• Vacation and attendance tracker

  Organize vacation and attendance records; check the tool's scope before entering information.

• HR compliance checklist

  Connect your attendance procedures to the wider workplace-policy review.

Related reading

Select the article relevant to your jurisdiction. Check its sources and dates before making a workplace decision.

• Vacation Pay in Ontario Explained: 4%, 6%, Examples, Final Pay, and Employer Mistakes

  Plain-English Ontario vacation pay guide for employers. Learn ESA 4% and 6% rules, five-year threshold, final pay, 2024 agreement update, examples, and common mistakes.

• Free Canadian Termination Calculator: Estimate Notice, Severance Pay, Vacation Payout, and Termination Costs

  Use this plain-English guide to understand how Canada Policy Manual's free termination calculator helps estimate termination pay, severance pay, vacation payout, mass-termination considerations, and common-law notice risk across supported Canadian jurisdictions.

• Manitoba Sick Note Rules 2026: Employer Guide Before October 1, 2026

  Starting October 1, 2026, Manitoba employers face new legal limits on sick note requests. This plain-English guide covers both thresholds, reimbursement duties, accepted health professionals, examples, policy wording, and an HR checklist.

• Employee Leave Entitlements Across Canadian Provinces: A Comprehensive Guide for 2026

  Maternity and parental leave entitlements in Canada are governed by each jurisdiction's employment standards legislation, while the federal Employment...

• BC Paid Sick Leave: Eligibility, Proof, and Policy Wording

  British Columbia requires employers to provide 5 paid sick days per year to eligible employees under the Employment Standards Act. This comprehensive guide covers the 90-day eligibility threshold, what counts as reasonably sufficient proof, average day's pay calculations, interaction with 3 unpaid sick days, and includes two sample policy wordings for your workplace.

• Why Seven Provinces Now Offer 27 Weeks of Medical Leave — and What Employers Need to Know

  Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario all provide 27 weeks of job-protected illness leave. But EI sickness benefits cover only 26 weeks. Here is how to manage the gap.

• The End of Sick Notes? How Saskatchewan and BC Are Changing Employer Expectations

  Saskatchewan and BC now restrict when employers can demand medical notes for short absences. Here's what employers can and cannot require — and how to update your workplace absence policies.