B.C. safeguards time off for workers to get vaccinated: labour minister

Photo: The Canadian Press

A dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is given to a recipient at a vaccination site in Vancouver on Thursday, March 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Job-protected leave has been written into British Columbia's Employment Standards Act to give workers time off to get their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Labour Minister Harry Bains says the safeguard will ensure that no one will lose their job if they need time away to get vaccinated.

The changes allow part-time and full-time workers to take as much time as needed to travel and receive the vaccine or to take a dependent family member to get their shot, though no specific time has been set out.

Bains says he know that most businesses understand the importance of having their employees vaccinated to provide a safe place for workers and their customers.

The regulatory changes also include expanding job-protection leave for reasons related to COVID-19, aligning with federal government sickness and caregiver benefits.

Those changes would allow a worker in the province to take leave if they need to care for other family members because of COVID-19 while their job remains protected.