Stress leave in Canada is medically supported time away from work when stress, anxiety, depression, burnout symptoms or another mental-health condition prevents you from working. For a serious condition, employees can have up to 27 weeks of job-protected medical leave in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and federally regulated workplaces.
EI sickness benefits are separate. Eligible employees who are unable to work for medical reasons can receive up to 26 weeks of EI sickness benefits, equal to 55% of average insurable earnings up to $729 per week in 2026.
Your employer also has human rights obligations when your mental-health condition amounts to a disability. That can require additional time away, modified duties, reduced hours or a gradual return to work—even after a fixed statutory leave ends.
On This Page:
- 1. How Long Is Stress Leave?
- 2. Who Qualifies?
- 3. Is Stress Leave Paid?
- 4. Doctor Notes & Taking Leave
- 5. Accommodation & Returning to Work
- 6. Can You Be Fired on Stress Leave?
How Long Is Stress Leave in Canada?
For a serious medically supported mental-health condition, statutory job-protected medical leave can reach 27 weeks.
Ontario, Alberta, BC and federally regulated workplaces now all provide a form of medical or serious illness leave of up to 27 weeks for qualifying employees who cannot work because of their own health condition.
That does not mean everyone who feels stressed automatically receives 27 weeks off. The longer leave is designed for a genuine medical condition that prevents you from working and normally requires medical documentation.
What if you only need a few days?
Short-term sick or medical leave can cover brief absences caused by stress or mental-health symptoms.
The number of short sick days and whether they are paid differ provincially. For example, Ontario provides three unpaid ESA sick days, BC provides five paid and three unpaid illness or injury days after the qualifying period, and federally regulated employees can earn up to 10 paid medical days.
If you need weeks or months rather than a few days, the longer medical-leave and disability-accommodation rules become more important.
Can stress leave last longer than 27 weeks?
Yes. Twenty-seven weeks is not necessarily the maximum amount of time an employee with a disability can be away from work.
Employment standards legislation sets minimum statutory leave rights. If your mental-health condition is a disability and you remain medically unable to return, your employer can have a separate duty to accommodate you beyond that period to the point of undue hardship.
Who Qualifies for Stress Leave?
You can qualify for medical leave when stress or a related mental-health condition makes you medically unable to perform your job.
Conditions and symptoms that can support a medically necessary absence include:
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Severe burnout symptoms connected to a medical condition
- Other mental-health conditions that prevent you from working safely or effectively
The focus is not whether you use the words “stress leave.” The important question is whether your health condition creates a legitimate medical need to be away from work.
Does the stress have to be caused by work?
No. Your medical-leave rights do not normally depend on your employer being the cause of your condition.
Stress can arise from work, family circumstances, trauma, illness or a combination of factors. If the resulting medical condition prevents you from working, medical-leave and accommodation rights can apply.
If workplace harassment, discrimination or another serious workplace issue is contributing to your condition, separate employment-law rights can also arise. See our guides to workplace harassment and workplace discrimination.
Is ordinary workplace stress enough?
Simply disliking your job or feeling temporarily stressed does not automatically create a medical-leave entitlement.
The legal protection becomes much stronger when a healthcare professional confirms that your health is affected and you are unable to work or need specific medical restrictions.
Is Stress Leave Paid in Canada?
Extended statutory stress or medical leave is generally unpaid by the employer, but EI sickness benefits and workplace disability plans can replace part of your income.
In 2026, EI sickness benefits provide:
- Up to 26 weeks of benefits
- 55% of average insurable weekly earnings
- A maximum of $729 per week
See our EI Sickness Benefits guide for eligibility, medical certification and application rules.
Can short-term or long-term disability pay you?
Yes. A workplace short-term disability or long-term disability plan can provide income if your mental-health condition meets the policy’s disability test.
Stress by itself is not the issue. The insurer will usually focus on the medical condition, its symptoms and how those symptoms prevent you from performing your job.
A disability-benefit claim and your employment-law right to remain away from work are related but separate. An insurer denying benefits does not automatically mean your employer can force you back to work.
Can you use paid sick days first?
Yes. If your contract or workplace policy provides paid sick days, those benefits can help cover the beginning of a stress leave.
Some employees then move to short-term disability or EI sickness benefits if the absence continues.
Do You Need a Doctor’s Note for Stress Leave?
For an extended stress leave, expect to provide medical documentation confirming that you are unable to work and how long the restriction is expected to last.
The detailed documentation rules differ for short statutory sick days. For example, Ontario employers can’t require a doctor’s note simply to use the province’s three ESA sick days.
Longer leaves are different. A medical certificate is normally central to establishing that you need an extended absence.
Does your employer need to know your diagnosis?
Your employer does not automatically need your complete diagnosis or medical history.
For accommodation and return-to-work purposes, the employer can normally seek information about:
- Whether you are medically unable to work
- Your functional restrictions or limitations
- How long those restrictions are expected to last
- Whether modified duties or reduced hours are appropriate
- When you are expected to be able to return
Give your employer enough medical information to support your leave and accommodation request, but do not assume you need to disclose every detail of your mental-health treatment.
How do you go on stress leave?
Speak with your healthcare provider, obtain appropriate medical documentation and tell your employer that you need medical leave.
- Get medical advice. Explain your symptoms and how they are affecting your ability to work.
- Obtain documentation. For an extended leave, ask for a certificate confirming that you cannot work and the expected duration.
- Notify your employer. Put the leave request in writing when possible.
- Apply for income benefits. Review EI sickness, short-term disability or long-term disability coverage.
- Keep medical information current. Updated restrictions can be needed if your return date changes.
What Happens When You Return From Stress Leave?
You do not always have to return immediately to your full pre-leave duties if medically supported restrictions remain.
Your employer’s duty to accommodate can require a reasonable return-to-work plan.
Accommodation can include:
- A gradual return to work
- Reduced or adjusted hours
- Modified duties
- Temporary changes to workload
- Time for medical appointments or treatment
- Other reasonable changes that address documented restrictions
Does your employer have to accept your preferred accommodation?
No. Your employer must provide reasonable accommodation, but you are not automatically entitled to the exact arrangement you prefer.
You must cooperate in the accommodation process. If more than one reasonable option addresses your medical restrictions, the employer can choose an effective solution.
Can your employer make you return before you’re ready?
Your employer can’t simply override valid medical restrictions and require you to return because it wants you back at work.
If your medical information says you remain unable to work, keep your documentation current and respond to reasonable requests for updated information.
If you can return with restrictions, participate in a reasonable accommodation plan rather than refusing all return-to-work options.
Can you travel while on stress leave?
Travel is not automatically prohibited during stress or medical leave, but it should be consistent with your medical restrictions, treatment and recovery.
Before travelling, see our guide to travelling while on medical leave.
Can You Be Fired While on Stress Leave?
Your employer can’t fire, discipline or punish you because you properly take protected medical leave or because you have a mental-health disability.
A genuine termination for a completely unrelated reason can still occur in some circumstances. But your illness, leave or need for accommodation cannot be used as an unlawful reason to end your employment.
Warning signs include an employer:
- Complaining about your medically supported absence
- Demanding that you return despite current restrictions
- Disciplining you for disability-related absences
- Refusing to discuss accommodation
- Threatening termination if you do not return immediately
- Firing you shortly after receiving your leave or accommodation request
What if your employer says you’ve been off too long?
There is no automatic rule that your employer can fire you simply because you have been away for a certain number of weeks.
If your condition is a disability, the employer must consider accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
A long absence can eventually raise more complex issues about whether you will be able to return to the essential duties of your job, but your employer cannot skip the accommodation process simply because a statutory leave period has ended.
Are you owed severance if you’re fired?
If your employment ends, your full termination, disability and severance rights need to be reviewed separately.
A termination connected to a protected leave or mental-health disability can involve employment-standards and human-rights remedies in addition to ordinary termination compensation.
If you are terminated, don’t sign a release before having your full severance package reviewed—you may be owed as much as 24 months’ pay.
Stress Leave by Province
The practical national rule is that serious medically supported mental-health conditions can qualify for up to 27 weeks of statutory medical leave, with additional disability accommodation where required. Provincial pages handle the exact short-term sick days, eligibility and documentation rules:
- Stress Leave Ontario
- Stress Leave Alberta
- Stress Leave BC
- Federally Regulated Employees — up to 27 weeks of unpaid medical leave plus up to 10 earned paid medical days under the Canada Labour Code.
Stress Leave Canada FAQs
How long can you take stress leave in Canada?
A serious medically supported mental-health condition can qualify for up to 27 weeks of statutory medical leave in Ontario, Alberta, BC and federally regulated workplaces. Human rights accommodation can require additional leave beyond that period where appropriate.
How much does EI pay for stress leave?
EI sickness benefits can pay 55% of average insurable weekly earnings for up to 26 weeks, to a maximum of $729 per week in 2026.
Can you take stress leave for burnout?
Yes, when burnout symptoms are part of a medically supported condition that makes you unable to work. Simply feeling overworked does not automatically create a medical-leave entitlement.
Can you take stress leave for anxiety or depression?
Yes. Anxiety, depression and other mental-health conditions can support medical leave and disability accommodation when they affect your ability to work.
Can your employer contact you during stress leave?
Yes. Reasonable communication about medical documentation, expected return dates and accommodation is allowed. That does not mean your employer can pressure you to perform work while you are medically unable to do so.
Does stress leave have to be unpaid?
No. The statutory extended leave itself is generally unpaid, but employer sick pay, short-term disability, long-term disability or EI sickness benefits can provide income.
Can your employer force you to resign because of stress leave?
No. Don’t resign simply because you need medical leave or accommodation. If your employer says it cannot hold your job, get advice before giving up your employment and severance rights.
Get Help With a Stress Leave Problem
Mental-health conditions deserve the same legal seriousness as physical health conditions. If you are medically unable to work, you should not have to resign simply because you need time to recover.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-unionized employees deal with denied stress leave, mental-health accommodation, pressure to return early, failed return-to-work plans and termination during or after medical leave.
If your employer has refused accommodation, changed your job or ended your employment because of a medically supported mental-health condition, our employment lawyers can protect your rights and secure the full severance pay and compensation you are legally entitled to receive.