Ontario employees do not have a general Employment Standards Act right to a set number of personal days that can be used for any reason.
Your employer can choose to provide paid or unpaid personal days through an employment contract or workplace policy. Ontario law separately gives eligible employees job-protected leave for specific reasons, including illness, family emergencies and bereavement.
If you need a day off, identify why before assuming you need your employer’s permission. A discretionary personal day can require approval, while an ESA-protected leave can’t simply be refused because your employer would prefer you to work.
On This Page:
- 1. How Many Personal Days Do You Get?
- 2. What Can You Take Time Off For?
- 3. Are Personal Days Paid?
- 4. Can Your Employer Deny a Personal Day?
- 5. Personal Days vs. Other Leaves
- 6. What Happened to Ontario’s 10 Personal Days?
- 7. FAQs
How Many Personal Days Do You Get in Ontario?
There is no standard number of personal days that every Ontario employee receives.
If your employer provides personal days as a workplace benefit, your employment contract or policy determines:
- How many days you receive
- Whether the days are paid
- What reasons they can be used for
- Whether advance approval is required
- Whether unused days carry over
One employer might provide three paid personal days each year. Another might provide none. Both arrangements can comply with the ESA because Ontario does not require employers to create a general personal-day benefit.
Are full-time employees entitled to more personal days?
No statutory rule gives full-time employees a particular number of personal days. Any employer-provided entitlement depends on the workplace plan.
Do part-time employees get personal days?
The Employment Standards Act does not create general personal days for either full-time or part-time employees. If your employer offers them, check whether its policy covers part-time staff.
What Can You Take a Personal Day Off For in Ontario?
If your employer provides personal days, the workplace policy determines what you can use them for.
A broad personal-day policy might allow time off for:
- Personal appointments
- Moving
- Family matters
- Important personal errands
- A mental-health day
- Other personal obligations permitted by the policy
Some of those situations can also fall under a statutory leave. If they do, your legal rights are determined by that leave rather than simply by the employer’s personal-day policy.
Can you take a personal day for a family emergency?
You can use an employer-provided personal day if the policy allows it, but you can also have a separate statutory right to family responsibility leave.
Eligible employees receive up to three unpaid, job-protected days each calendar year for an illness, injury, medical emergency or urgent matter involving specified family members.
Can you take a personal day for mental health?
Yes, if your workplace policy allows it. If a mental-health condition makes you unable to work, you can also have statutory sick-leave, medical-leave or disability-accommodation rights.
See our guide to stress leave in Ontario.
Are Personal Days Paid in Ontario?
Ontario employers do not have to provide paid personal days unless a contract, policy or another legal entitlement requires them.
If your employer promises paid personal days, the terms of that benefit determine how they work.
By comparison, Ontario’s common short-term ESA leaves are generally unpaid:
- Sick leave provides up to three unpaid days.
- Family responsibility leave provides up to three unpaid days.
- Bereavement leave provides up to two unpaid days.
One important exception is domestic or sexual violence leave. Eligible employees can receive up to 10 days and 15 weeks of protected leave each calendar year, with the first five days paid.
Do unused personal days have to be paid out?
Not under a general ESA personal-day rule. Whether unused employer-provided personal days carry over or are paid out depends on the contract or policy that created the benefit.
This is different from statutory vacation pay, which has its own ESA protections.
Can Your Employer Deny a Personal Day in Ontario?
Yes, an employer can refuse a discretionary personal-day request if no contract, policy or statutory leave gives you the right to take that day off.
For example, if you simply want a Friday off for a personal errand and your workplace does not provide personal days, you normally need your employer’s approval for the absence.
The answer changes when the reason qualifies for a protected ESA leave. An employer can’t turn a legally protected absence into a discretionary request simply by calling it a “personal day.”
Can your employer ask why you need a personal day?
Yes, particularly when the employer needs enough information to determine whether the request fits its personal-day policy or a statutory leave.
That does not mean your employer is entitled to unlimited private information. Statutory leaves have specific rules about what evidence can be requested.
Can you just call in and say you are taking a personal day?
Not if the day is merely an optional workplace benefit that requires approval. Follow the employer’s notice and approval process.
What Is the Difference Between Personal Days and Sick Days?
Personal days are usually an employer-provided benefit, while Ontario sick leave is a statutory right for an employee’s own illness, injury or medical emergency.
| Type of Time Off | Ontario Minimum | Typical Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| General Personal Days | No ESA minimum | Depends on employer policy |
| Sick Leave | 3 unpaid days | Your own illness, injury or medical emergency |
| Family Responsibility Leave | 3 unpaid days | Qualifying family illness, emergency or urgent matter |
| Bereavement Leave | 2 unpaid days | Death of a qualifying family member |
For a complete overview of Ontario’s statutory leaves, see our Ontario leave of absence guide.
Can a paid personal day also count as an ESA leave day?
Yes, in some situations. If your workplace provides a paid personal day that can be used for the same reason as an ESA leave, using that day can also count toward the applicable statutory entitlement.
For example, Ontario’s official guidance explains that an employee who uses a paid contractual personal day because their child is sick can also be treated as having used one family responsibility leave day.
Can your employer make you use a personal day when you are sick?
Your employer can have a paid-leave plan that overlaps with ESA sick leave, provided employees still receive at least their minimum statutory rights.
Check the policy carefully to understand whether paid personal and statutory leave balances overlap.
What Happened to Ontario’s 10 Personal Emergency Leave Days?
Ontario’s 10-day Personal Emergency Leave was repealed effective January 1, 2019.
For a period in 2018, the ESA provided employees with 10 Personal Emergency Leave days, including two paid days.
That system was replaced in 2019 with separate entitlements for:
- Three unpaid sick days
- Three unpaid family responsibility days
- Two unpaid bereavement days
Do federally regulated employees in Ontario get personal days?
Yes. Federal employees have different personal-leave rights under the Canada Labour Code.
Federally regulated employees can receive up to five personal leave days each calendar year for specified family, educational, citizenship and urgent matters. After three consecutive months of employment, the first three days are paid.
Federal rules can apply to employees working for banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, railways and certain interprovincial transportation businesses. The Ontario ESA rules described on this page do not govern those employees.
Learn more in our guide to personal days for federally regulated employees.
Personal Days Ontario FAQs
How many personal days do employees get in Ontario?
There is no general statutory number. Your employer can provide personal days through a contract or workplace policy.
Are employees entitled to two paid personal days in Ontario?
No. The two paid Personal Emergency Leave days existed in 2018 and were repealed effective January 1, 2019.
Are personal days paid?
Only if your employer’s contract or policy makes them paid, or another specific paid-leave entitlement applies.
Can my employer say no to a personal day?
Yes, if it is a discretionary absence. Your employer can’t refuse a qualifying ESA-protected leave simply because it does not want you to take time off.
Can I take a personal day for an appointment?
Yes, if your employer’s personal-day policy permits it. A medical appointment related to your own illness can also engage statutory sick or medical-leave rights.
Can I use a personal day for a sick child?
Yes, if the policy permits it. You can also qualify for up to three unpaid family responsibility leave days.
Can I be fired for taking a personal day?
Your employer can’t punish you for taking a protected ESA leave. An unapproved absence that is not legally protected can create discipline issues.
The key question is not simply whether you need a “personal day.” It is why you need the time away. That determines whether you are relying on an optional workplace benefit or a job-protected Ontario leave.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP advises non-unionized Ontario employees dealing with denied statutory leave, discipline over absences, disability accommodation and termination connected to protected time away from work.