In an effort to ease family physicians workload, both Ontario and Quebec are removing employers ability to ask for sick notes for absences under 3 days.  Quebec has actually implemented possible penalties of $10,000 to $1,000,000 and starts Jan. 1, 2025. 

Ontario announces the end of sick notes

On April 24, 2024, Ontario’s Health Minister announced that employers would no longer be permitted to request that a sick employee provide a doctor’s note to justify their absence. This change is part of new legislation proposed by the Minister of Labour, and is part of a larger initiative to reduce paperwork for physicians.

Under the current provisions in the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”), employees who have been employed for at least two consecutive weeks are entitled to a minimum of three days per year of sick leave. The ESA currently allows employers to require employees to provide “evidence reasonable in the circumstances” that the employee is sick. Historically, this has included the option of a doctor’s note.

The amendment abolishing “sick notes” applies to employees when using the three days of statutory sick leave under the ESA. Moving forward, employers can still require employees to provide different forms of evidence supporting their illness, such as a signed self-attestation, but such evidence cannot involve physician intervention.

READ ARTICLE

Bill 68: When And How Can An Employer Request A Medical Certificate

As of January 1, 2025, employers will no longer be able to require their employees to provide a document attesting to the reasons for their absence due to illness (e.g. a medical certificate) to justify the first three (3) periods of absences due to illness lasting three (3) days or less over a twelve (12) month period. Bill 68 does not provide for any exception allowing the employer to request a document justifying the absence during these periods, regardless of whether the absence falls at a specific time of the year (for example, before or after a statutory holiday)¹. The objective of this amendment is to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare professionals, who would otherwise have to spend time writing medical bills for short-term absences.

READ ARTICLE

I’m pleased that it looks like employers are going to get a reprieve from the larger than average past increases in the dental fee guide. The average increase for 2025 is looking to be less than half of 2024 (4.5%).

This should translate to a 2-3% LOWER increase than the past, assuming employees use dental at the same level as in the past.  Of course increased utilization and claims can drive costs higher, even with this small increase. 

Changes to the 2025 Suggested Fee Guide for General Practitioners

For 2025, there have been non-standard changes to the suggested fees. The overall weighted average change based on the frequency of procedures occurring in the average Ontario general-dental practice is 2.03 per cent.

2025 Weighted Increases by Fee Guide Section
Diagnostic  2.2%
Prevention  1.2%
Restoration  2.6%
Endodontics  2.6%
Periodontics  1.3%
Prosthodontics – Removable 2.4%
Prosthodontics – Fixed  2.2%
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery  2.4%
Orthodontics  1.5%
General Services (Adjunctive)  2.9%
Overall  2.03%

Effective January 1, 2025, the Ontario government amended the Employer Health Tax Act to eliminate the special filer provisions and change the way the exemption amount is determined for associated employers in the year of acquisition.

Read our Associated Employers webpage to learn more.

The British Columbia Pay Transparency Act (“PTA”) came into effect November 1, 2023, and requires that salary or wage information be included on all publicly advertised job postings.  Ontario is following suit in the coming year.  In the meantime, if a job could be applied for from someone in BC (think remote work), then this requirement is already in place.

I found an article from McMillan that may be helpful in understanding the requirements.

In this bulletin, we take a closer look at the new requirements for employers related to publicly advertised job postings, effective January 1, 2026, as well as the requirement to provide newly hired employees with specific employment information, effective July 1, 2025. Once in force, these requirements will apply to employers with 25 or more employees.

READ FULL ARTICLE

We share information with clients, both at renewal and throughout the year, about their plan usage as well as changes happening in the industry.  We even post the average rate changes our clients are seeing on our site at; https://www.mainstayinsurance.ca/our-philosophy/  Below is a recent report of interest.

In Canada, the average health benefits cost trend for 2025 is estimated to be 7.4 per cent, up from five per cent in 2024, according to a new report by Aon.

It found the top medical conditions driving health benefits plan costs are diabetes, autoimmune diseases (excluding diabetes), mental health, lung disorders/respiratory and cardiovascular and weight loss.

https://www.benefitscanada.com/benefits/health-benefits/canadian-health-benefits-cost-trend-increasing-to-7-4-in-2025-report/

Each year there are numerous changes to employment law. WV does an annual employers’ webinar to get caught up on the latest challenges and developments, including new case law, legislative changes, new best practices for employers, new litigation strategies, plus more.  Check out the link below for a slide deck from them covering….

Legislative Amendments

i. Employment Standards Act – Minimum Wage

ii. Employment Standards Act – Increased Fines

iii. Employment Standards Act – Temporary Help Agency and Recruiter Licencing iv. Employment Standards Act – Medical Notes

v. Employment Standards Act – Vacation Pay

vi. Employment Standards Act – Job Postings

vii. Occupational Health and Safety Act – Remote Workplaces

viii. Occupational Health and Safety Act – Digital Harassment and Digital Sexual Harassment

ix. Canada Labour Code – Termination Entitlements x. Digital Platform Workers Rights Act

https://wvllp.ca/media/WVLLP-Annual-Employment-Law-Update-Nov-2024.pdf

AON does an annual report estimating future benefit costs, for Canada and the world.  They are anticipating continued higher than normal inflation in benefits.  We track and share our clients average increases each year (on our site below) and generally don’t hit this high a level of inflation.  Our recent history shows average increases of about 4% over the past 10 years, increasing to 4.5% over the past 5 years.

Our Philosophy

We’ll continue to work with you to maintain a fairly priced benefit plan, but wanted to let you know that your employees increasing usage will be a factor in the coming years, and as new treatments are introduced and drugs released.  Reach out any time you’d like to look at makign changes to either enhance coverage or reduce costs.

“In 2025, we anticipate a return to more typical inflationary conditions, with the Bank of Canada projecting that inflation will be well under control,” said Joey Raheb, senior vice president and Canadian national leader for growth and client engagement for Health Solutions at Aon. “However, our concerns are now shifting towards continued economic slowdowns, which will undoubtedly influence plan sponsor decisions. While we have yet to witness a full-scale pullback on spending, employers are exercising caution and continuously reviewing their plans for efficiency in delivery and optimal medical efficacy. Discussions are expected to continue to be dominated by GLP-1 drugs and chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Alongside these, efficient plan design that allows employers to deliver programs that meet the needs of a diverse workforce while keeping costs sustainable will remain a focal point.”

The top medical conditions driving medical plan costs in Canada are:

1. Diabetes
2. Autoimmune Diseases (excl. Diabetes)
3. Mental health
4. Lung disorder/respiratory
5. Cardiovascular & Weight loss

In its global report, Aon forecasts medical plan costs across the world will rise on average 10.0 percent in 2025, this figure is just shy of the projected increase for 2024 of 10.1 percent, which represented the highest increase forecasted in 10 years.

READ THE REPORT

For Ontario Employers, the following clip from an E2R newsletter may be of interest.

The Working For Workers Five Act, 2024 has received Royal Assent.  Most of the new legislation makes common sense (clean washrooms?), but sharing it in the off chance any of these may apply to your firm. 

• Sick notes: Employers are now prohibited from requesting a medical certificate in relation to the sick leave provisions under the ESA (the entitlement still being three unpaid days). Note: Organizations like the Canadian Medical Association are lobbying for changes that would put even greater restrictions on an employer’s right to request medical validation of absences due to illness.

• Fines go up: The maximum fine for an individual who violates the ESA has gone from $50,000 to $100,000.

• Telework/remote work location in private residence: This is a significant one, as there was some debate on this, but it is now clear that the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) applies to telework/remote work performed in a private residence. However, such locations will not be deemed an ‘industrial’ establishment.

• Enhanced definition of Workplace Harassment and Sexual Harassment: The definition now captures harassing behaviours that occur virtually through the use of information/communication technology.

• Electronic Posting under OHSA: Employers may now satisfy the ‘posting’ requirements related to the joint health and safety committee, the workplace health and safety policy and a copy of the OHSA (and explanatory materials) itself in a readily accessible electronic format (we are uncertain how this will impact the bulletin board industry!). The obligation to post this in English and the majority language of your workplace continues.

Coming soon:

• Clean Washrooms for Workers: Employers/constructors will be required to ensure that washroom facilities provided for worker use are maintained in a clean and sanitary state and they will be required to keep a cleaning log/records in this regard.

There are also amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 with regard to wildland firefighters/investigators coverage for PTSD and provisions coming soon on coverage for primary-site skin cancer for firefighters/investigators with at least 10 years of pre-diagnosis service.

If you would like to discuss any of the above with regard to your business in greater detail, we recommend reaching out to speak to an e2r™ Advisor. We are here to help.

READ ARTICLE

As a Mainstay client/partner, you’re welcome to be our guest at the CGIB seminar on Wednesday November 6th (all day) in Vaughan, ON.  Details on the speakers and event are on the website below. 

All seats are by reservation only.  Please send us a note if you are interested in attending, and we will book you a spot at our expense.  Not a client yet? or a past client that misses attending these events?, reach out and let’s have a chat.

https://cgib.glueup.com/event/cgib-november-2024-seminar-toronto-96796/