The Provincial Government has opted to extend the temporary layoff period to 16 weeks due to a large number of people away from work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This measure, it said, will help keep employees connected with their jobs and ease the financial stress on businesses amid the public health crisis.
According to the province, the new COVID-19 layoff guidelines are temporary and will be repealed when they are no longer needed.
Layoff periods will be extended from 13 weeks within a 20 week period before it was considered a permanent layoff, which would require written notice from their employer, and possibly severance pay, depending on how long the employee has been working.
Now, the B.C. Government said that the temporary layoff period is up to 16 weeks, with the consent of the worker. It added that it will allow employers to quickly resume their operations, should the public health crisis be over within that time frame.