Short Term Illness and Injury Plan for B.C. government employees

Last updated on May 14, 2024

The Short Term Illness and Injury Plan (STIIP) is a benefit for employees who are unable to work because of an illness or injury due to physical and/or mental health concerns.

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Eligibility

All regular employees are covered.

To find out about specific eligibility requirements for other groups, such as auxiliary or part-time employees, submit an AskMyHR (IDIR restricted) service request. Use the categories Myself (or) My Team or Organization > Leave & Time Off > Sick Leave. Add 'STIIP' in the subject line.

Employees on sick leave must:

  • Submit a doctor’s certificate when asked
  • Remain under the care of a medical doctor and fully participate in any treatment they recommend
  • Participate and cooperate with rehabilitation planning and return-to-work planning
  • Not be engaged in any work for profit

Length of leave and pay

STIIP benefits are set according to your length of service and employee type.

Regular employees

  • Less than three months of service (Stage 1)
    Maximum of six days per calendar year at 75% regular rate of pay

  • Three to six months of service (Stage 2)
    Maximum 15 weeks* at 75% regular rate of pay for first six days (or remaining portion of the 6days listed above), 66% for days thereafter

  • With 6 months or more of active service (Stage 3)
    Maximum six calendar months at 75% regular rate of pay

*Cannot exceed maximum weekly sickness benefit set by employment insurance.

Employees unable to return to work after the maximum benefit period has expired will need to apply for general leave without pay or long term disability benefits.

Employees who return to work after being absent because of illness/injury and within 21 calendar days again become unable to work because of illness/injury, are considered to still be within the original STIIP period.

Auxiliary employees with benefits

The maximum benefit period for auxiliary employees who qualify for benefits is seven months at 75% of the regular rate of pay.

Auxiliary employees without benefits

Auxiliary employees without benefits who have worked at least 400 hours in the same ministry without loss of seniority receive a weekly indemnity.

The weekly indemnity provides 60% of normal average straight-time earnings for a maximum of 15 weeks.

The benefit waiting period in each case of illness will be seven calendar days.

Top-up pay

Stage 3 STIIP benefit may be supplemented, or topped up to 100% of regular pay, by using other available time allotments such as:

  • Vacation credits
  • Exclusion supplementary credit
  • Compensatory time off

Enter your top-up option directly into Time and Leave.

A full-time regular employee only earns vacation credits for a given month if they've received at least 10 days (70 hours) pay at straight time rates in that month.

To prevent miscalculations and unnecessary over-payments from occurring, take into account that your vacation will be prorated. 

Employment Standards Act Paid Illness and Injury leave

Employment Standards Act Paid Illness and Injury leave (ESAPII) refers to paid leave due to illness or injury arising from amendments to the Employment Standards Act. 

Subsequently, collective agreements were amended to bring them in line with the Employment Standards Act.

All employees who have been employed for at least 90 days shall be entitled to up to five instances of Employment Standards Act Paid Illness and Injury leave (ESAPII) in each calendar year.

The intention is to make sure impacts to pay don’t affect an employee’s decision to take time off from work when ill.

These five instances of paid ESAPII leave are inclusive of the period of STIIP or weekly indemnity that would follow each instance of illness.

Employees must request ESAPII leave when on an absence due to illness or injury. It doesn’t happen automatically.

 

What does an 'instance' mean?

An instance refers to any period of time an employee takes sick leave. Under ESAPII, employees are entitled to five instances of leave, which is equivalent to five paid days. However, not all instances of ESAPII are full workdays. For example: 

  • Scenario one: An employee comes to work, and three hours into their shift feels unwell and takes the remainder of the day as sick time. They can take four hours of ESAPII sick time, and this would use up one of their instances of ESAPII. They can’t roll the remaining three hours over to another sick day. They enter this into Time and Leave and the four hours they were away from work are paid in full under ESAPII. The employee could also choose to take the sick time as STIIP which is paid out at 75% and save the ESAPII instance for another day.
  • Scenario two: An employee wakes up sick in the morning and takes the entire day off. This uses up one instance of ESAPII. They enter this into Time and Leave and the hours they are away from work are paid in full under ESAPII. 
 

How do I request ESAPII?

ESAPII is intended to work with the existing Short-Term Illness and Injury Plan (STIIP). However, the Employment Standards Act requires employees to request the leave as it doesn’t occur automatically.

An ESAPII leave code is now available in Time and Leave.

 

What does this mean for time reporting and pay? 

All employees are entitled to the equivalent of five paid days of ESAPII leave, or five instances of sick leave. There is no carryover from one year to the next and employees can’t carryover hours from one instance of ESAPII to the next.

All time reporting for ESAPII must have the actual hours of leave recorded. A full shift is reviewed and adjusted to make sure the instance of ESAPII is paid out and the employee does not lose compensation because they are ill or injured.  

 

What happens if I have already submitted a service request to MyHR to claim ESAPII leave?

You do not need to submit a new service request as it will be processed.

 

I am a regular excluded employee who has been employed in the BC Public Service for at least 6 months. Does this leave impact me?

No. After six months of employment, all regular excluded employees are entitled to the annual 10.5 hours of supplementary credit for sick leave top-up (S57 bank), which in combination with the 75% of pay base benefit provides 100% of pay for up to six days of sick leave. As such, there are no changes to sick leave for regular excluded employees.

 

I am a regular excluded employee who has been employed in the BC Public Service for less than six months. Does this leave impact me?

Yes. To comply with the requirements of the Employment Standards Act, regular excluded employees are now eligible for the annual 10.5 hours of supplementary credit for sick leave top-up (S57 bank) after being employed for 90 days, which in combination with the 75% of pay base benefit provides 100% of pay for up to six days of sick leave.

 

I am an auxiliary excluded employee. Does this leave impact me?

It depends. All excluded auxiliary employees with over 1,827 hours of service (auxiliary with benefits) are entitled to the annual 10.5 hours of supplementary credit for sick leave top-up, which in combination with the 75% of pay base benefit provides 100% of pay for up to six days of sick leave. As such, there are no changes to sick leave for these employees.

Excluded auxiliary employees with less than 1,827 hours of service (auxiliary with no benefits) are now eligible for the new ESA leave after 90 days of employment, as are included auxiliary employees with less than 1,827 hours of service.

 

Can I request to use an ESAPII instance instead of taking a STIIP day? 

Yes, employees eligible for ESAPII leave may request an absence due to illness or injury be taken as ESAPII instead of STIIP. Some auxiliary employees receive weekly indemnity benefits in lieu of STIIP benefits. The five instances of paid ESAPII leave are inclusive of the STIIP or weekly indemnity period. 

See article 31.8 of the BCGEU Collective Agreement for further details about indemnity benefits. 

 

Do I have to use ESAPII instances before I use STIIP? 

No, employees can choose when to request ESAPII or STIIP. However, employees must request ESAPII leave for an absence due to illness or injury as it doesn’t happen automatically. Some auxiliary employees receive weekly indemnity benefits in lieu of STIIP benefits. The five instances of paid ESAPII leave are inclusive of the STIIP or weekly indemnity period.  

See article 31.8 of the BCGEU Collective Agreement for further details about indemnity benefits. 

 

New: If I pick STIIP leave, can I go back and change to ESAPII?

No. Once you’ve made your choice of either STIIP or ESAPII, your choice is irrevocable. This is also true if for other leaves taken. You cannot go back and reverse that leave and replace it with ESAPII.

In 2022, a one-time opportunity was provided to employees to reverse previous leave taken and replace it with ESAPII. This was because eligibility for ESAPII started later in the year, rather than on January 1.

 

Is a doctor’s certificate form needed to request an ESAPII instance? 

Your supervisor may request a doctor’s certificate form if they require additional information regarding your illness or injury and your ability to be at work. Depending on the circumstances, a doctor’s certificate form may not be required. The STIIP plan outlines when a doctor’s certificate form may be needed. 

 

How do ESAPII absences impact the STIIP requalification period?

ESAPII absences impact the STIIP requalification period the same way as STIIP absences. Employees who return to work after being absent because of illness or injury and become unable to work again because of illness or injury within 21 calendar days, are considered to still be within the original STIIP period.  

See Appendix 4 1.3 Recurring Disabilities in the BCGEU Collective Agreement for further details. 

 

Other benefits

Existing benefits, like extended health and dental, and pension contributions continue without interruption, as if you were still working.

Reporting other income

If you're on STIIP or long-term disability and are receiving any other income as a result of illness or injury, you're required to report it to MyHR. 

This includes:

  • WorkSafeBC
  • Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC)
  • Private insurance
  • Employment insurance (EI)
  • Canada Pension Plan
  • Income assistance

Submit an AskMyHR (IDIR restricted) service request, using the categories Myself (or) My Team or Organization > Leave & Time Off > Sick Leave. Add 'STIIP' in the subject line.

Health, safety and sick leave resources

The BC Public Service is committed to a culture that supports employee safety and health.

Whether you're managing your own health, or looking for information to support your team, we have the resources and supports that you need.