As Saskatchewan’s provincial government rolls out phase two of its vaccine delivery plan, the province is also amending its occupational health and safety regulations to allow employees to receive paid time off from work to get vaccinated for the coronavirus.
According to a press release, the amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 establishes that during the coronavirus pandemic employees are entitled to three consecutive hours leave during work hours to receive a coronavirus vaccination, to more than three consecutive hours if the employer determines the circumstances warrant a longer break from work and they won’t lose any pay or other benefits while receiving the vaccination.
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“We want to ensure that everyone in the province gets vaccinated,” said Don Morgan, the province’s labour relations and workplace safety minister, in the release. “The amendment today ensures workers also have paid time off during the work hours to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The new regulation came into effect March 18.