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(File photo/Province of B.C./Flickr)
Up to three hours

B.C. approves paid leave for workers to get Covid shot

Apr 28, 2021 | 12:05 PM

The B.C. government has implemented changes to give workers up to three hours of paid leave to get each dose of their Covid-19 vaccine.

The province says both full-time and part-time employees can get the employer-paid leave, and the measure is retroactive to April 19, 2021.

The changes were made to the Employment Standards Act.

“Guaranteeing paid leave for workers to get vaccinated is an important way to keep workers safe, while reducing risks to businesses. Our government believes it’s in everyone’s interest to remove all barriers to a worker getting vaccinated when they are eligible to do so,” said Harry Bains, Minister of Labour.

The legislation came after feedback from the business community, labour organizations, Indigenous partners and other stakeholders. The legislation improves on the regulatory change made on April 1, 2021, that provides unpaid job-protected leave for workers to take the time they need to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. This unpaid leave remains in place to supplement the new paid time off, for example to accompany dependant family members to get vaccinated or in the event a worker needs more than three hours of paid leave to travel to their vaccine appointment.

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