Sick leave is governed by Section 22 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), and “is not an automatic right since proof of illness is required to prove ill health,” said Abigail Moyo, spokesperson of the trade union UASA.
“A worker must submit a sick note from a medical professional to the employer to receive payment for sick leave.”
Valid sick note
“To be paid for your absence for more than two consecutive days (section 23 of the BCEA) of being off ill, a worker must see a registered medical professional,” Moyo explained.
These medical professionals must be registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HSCPA) and include general practitioners, specialists, chiropractors, psychologists and dentists. If any of these types of medical professionals issue a medical certificate, they warrant that they examined the patient on a particular day and that they have been found to be unfit for work for a specific day, days, or week.
While the doctor may stipulate or include the diagnosis of the patient’s medical condition at the time of the medical examination, neither the medical practitioner nor the employee (patient) has to include or reveal what illness the patient may be suffering from. It is the prerogative of the patient to allow the medical professional to include it or not. However, Moyo said, “It is encouraged that the employee allows the doctor to state the medical diagnosis transparently.”
Unfortunately, some illnesses (such as HIV/Aids) may come with a certain stigma attached. Since some employers may not view a specific illness as empathetically as another employer, the patient can request that the medical professional exclude the nature of the illness from the medical certificate.
Some employers, however, may question the validity of a medical certificate if they believe it has been acquired through unethical means. Employers are warned to tread this line very carefully though.
Woolworths v CCMA and Others
In this matter before the Labour Appeal Court, Lorain Maseko was questioned about two sick notes submitted to her employer, a Woolworths store in eMalahleni. Woolworths relied on evidence gathered by private investigators, which merely cast suspicion on the dismissed employee that the sick notes were bogus and that one Dr Frepong was issuing fraudulent sick notes.
“Surely it cannot be that a doctor who is otherwise qualified as a doctor, who dabbles into some illegal activity or other illegal activity of selling medical certificates, is somehow assumed to be disqualified from examining people and booking them off sick, untainted by the issues of illegally selling medical certificates,” said Judge Mbulelo Jolwana.
Word of advice
To ensure the medical certificate is authentic, Moyo advised, it must reflect the doctor’s details on the heading, in addition to the following:
Specific doctor’s initials and surname Practice number Physical address, the contact details of the practice, such as a telephone number If several doctors are in one practice, their partnership would state the full name of the partnership followed by the word “Incorporated”.
