Paid sick leave, higher wages, more recycling: P.E.I. legislative changes on Oct. 1

Some Islanders will be earning a bit more starting Tuesday, as the minimum wage is set to increase for the second time this year.

The lowest amount an hourly worker can earn will jump from $15.40 to $16 at the start of the month. This follows an increase on April 1 from $15 an hour.

But that isn't the only change taking place as the calendar page turns over to October.

The province's paid sick leave legislation also comes into effect, meaning some employees will now be eligible for up to three paid sick days per year.

MLAs first started discussions about sick days in 2022 when the Green Party put forward an unsuccessful bill to mandate 10 paid leave days for all Islanders.

Previously, employees were only entitled to one day of paid sick leave, and three unpaid days, after working for more than five years for the same employer.

In 2023, the Liberals put forward a bill for five days of paid sick leave. The governing Progressive Conservatives worried this would cost businesses too much. After some debate, the legislation was amended to three days.

Eligibility for those days depends how long an employee has been working.

Workers are entitled to one day of paid sick leave after 12 months of continuous employment. That increases to two days after 24 months, and to three days after 36 months.

P.E.I.'s Employment Standards Act was amended to say that workers must be paid their regular wage for the hours they would have worked that day.

Seasonal workers, gig workers and temporary foreign workers won't benefit from the change, and neither will employees who already get three or more paid sick days each year as part of their employment package.

Employees who work for three months for the same employer will be entitled to three unpaid sick days a year. Once they're eligible for paid leave days, those will be given first.

The one-year period for eligibility doesn't necessarily have to fall within the calendar year, either. It could begin from an employee's start date, or another period that the employer chooses.

The employer can ask for a "medical certificate" if an employee takes three consecutive sick days, and there's no requirement for employers to carry the days over from one year to another.