many progressive business owners have been paying for sick days for years. for example, “i have always paid six days even when i didn’t have to pay sick days; part-time employees get the same as full time employees for benefits,” says ron kronebusch, owner of ottawa-based kmp-events canada.
as a business owner, i think that three days is a good start. it will enable employees to take time off to get vaccinated and tested, with the peace of mind of not losing their pay. i hope that this will help stop the spread of the virus. but are three days enough if someone is truly sick and must stay home? critics are pushing for a minimum of 10 days, but who is going to pay for it?
“we have a few paid sick days, paid time to get vaccinated/appointments, extended health benefits, stringent safety protocols, and unlimited job protection if staff need to be off,” says kyla cullain, co-founder of buildable. “[but] as small business owners that value a high living wage for our staff, adding on 10 employer-paid sick days, with already limited supports in a pandemic, would be a monstrous cost. we’ll figure it out — but for the majority of us who are not amazon, this will be another hit to those genuinely trying their best to do everything right.”