How long can i be off sick without losing my job?
Short answer
In Quebec, an employee may be absent from work because of illness, an organ or tissue donation, an accident, domestic violence or sexual violence for a period of not more than 26 weeks over 12 months, without the employment relationship being ended (s. 79.1 of the Act respecting labour standards).
In detail
The 12-month period is calculated from the first absence. Those weeks are without pay, subject to the 2 paid days provided for by the Act.
The maximum length rises to 104 weeks where the person suffers serious bodily injury during or resulting directly from a criminal offence that makes them unable to hold their usual position. The absence begins at the earliest on the date of the criminal offence or, where applicable, at the expiry of the 26-week period, and ends at the latest 104 weeks after the criminal offence.
These rules do not apply to an employment injury within the meaning of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases: the right to return to work is then governed by that other Act. At the end of the absence, the employer must reinstate the person in their usual position, with the same wages and the same benefits, or pay them the equivalent if the position no longer exists.
What to document
The date the absence began, each medical certificate and its date, the exchanges with the employer about the expected length and the return, any requests for an extension, and the count of weeks used. The date of the first absence sets the starting point for the 12 months: it is worth writing down precisely.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Act respecting labour standards (CQLR, c. N-1.1) — Légis Québec
- CNESST (MALNT) — Extended absences for health reasons: length
- Éducaloi — Absences for health reasons
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.