# Regulatory Compliance Category > Labour Relations and Legislation Forum >  AWOL and Medical Certificates

## Ankia

Here's the scenario: employee sends manager a text to say she is ill with the ever popular gastro. Manager phones employee to advise that she is expected to go to doctor and still come to work and that sick leave is not authorised. Employee advised she will go to doctor and phone back. She doesn't phone back.

Upon return to work, the "gastro" employee produces medical certificate. We are of the opinion that this is AWOL and will go down unpaid. Are we being too harsh on our own policies here that if you don't follow the absence reporting procedure that you will not be entitled to paid sick leave?

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## Dave A

It's pretty hard to argue unauthorised absence when there is a valid medical certificate.

However, I'd suggest failure to comply with company procedures could be raised as a seperate disciplinary offence. This could merit a caution, written warning etc as appropriate to the offence.

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## tec0

In all honesty you get a lot of abusers and then you get real illness at a very bad time. Illness is not a convenience and cannot be controlled by the stuff or there management. Giving a written warning and disciplinary actions is a bit harsh. And I would argue against the disciplinary actions if it was me. 

I would recommend that you send this person to another doctor for a âsecond opinionâ Also check there history at your company; does this happen every month once every two months. Is it always the same doctor? 

People that are real abusers have patterns that will repeat. I honestly would do my homework because giving somebody a warning because he or she was âsickâ and didnât follow company policy is not enough... You need evidence that this person wasnât* incapacitated* before you can make the warning stick. 

Also did you look at his or her medication? As a âqualifiedâ safety officer I will recommend that you have a look at their medication. Make sure that, that person is âableâ to work with that medication in his or her system. You can phone your local pharmacist to find out if the âmedicationâ will affect the worker in question. 

Remember if that person is using heavy medication and the medication have an effect and this person injure him or herself, you will have to explain.  :EEK!: 


Basically â*DO* your homeworkâ before you take action...  :Wink:

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Ankia (21-Oct-09)

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## Marq

Harsh - man, if that was me that was sick,  I would check out the company policy with regard to resigning and go.

If you are sick - you must go to doc, get certificate and return to work and get authorisation to get sick leave.....come on get real. Here you on deaths door and now you must go back and present yourself to some oke in charge who is what...suddenly a doctor, so you can get him to say ok - you had better go home now and get some rest. Then the rest of the staff get what you got and now the whole company is in trouble. - LOL.

Get some proper relationship going with your staff, trust is a great thing to have at work, so you avoid these kind of hang ups and tensions. You are all going to have heart attacks with this anal retentive attitude - then where will you put your sick leave form?

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## Frankincense

There is a place called Hell....no mercy on the merciless!
 :Clap: 

"Manager phones employee to advise that she is expected to go to doctor and still come to work and that sick leave is not authorised"

So now you wish to carry more authority than a qualified General Practitioner?.... :Shoot:  ....will you pay for her funeral and be the daughter to a bereaved family?

.....just this week an auditing firm supervisor denied a trainee a days sick leave as "not authorized"..next day at work she started bleeding on the loo, and was rushed to hospital for an emergency op. She is suing the firm and judgment in her favour is 100% certain. All is in writing on email.

I hope you are learning something here!

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## Ankia

Thanks for all the input and comments. I guess without the full context of the situation it's a bit hard to comment fairly, and reading my own synopsis does make us sound a bit merciless. 

The context here is repeated absence on Saturdays; continuous failure to inform her manager before shift and poor attitude regardless of manager's efforts. The medication is immodium. I think this particular incident was the last straw on the camel's back. But a valid certificate remains a valid certificate. 

In our environment, we have people being signed off by doctors for various ailments up to 9 times per year per individual. The impact this excessive unplanned absence has on the rest of the team and our customers is costing us dearly. 

Surely you can agree that the General Practitioner that continuously signs someone off for gastro or migraine or flu but doesn't refer the person to a specialist does not have their patient's health as priority, and the employee who - during a meeting with managers who care about the health and workload - admits to not following a healthy diet & doesn't follow any exercise regime or doesn't take preventative measure to ward off the change of season bugs is making no proactive attempts to fulfill their contractual obligation to be at work and making sure they are doing everything REASONABLE to ensure they can be at work. 

Why should the rest of the team take care of themselves and carry the weight of the work for a few that think that they are entitled to take the full 30 days sick leave in (often less than) 3 years?

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## Marq

Ah - OK different story.

Seems then you should do the one letter, two letter, three letter, door -  system. It should be easy enough with bad attitudes and non communication etc. Staff that create a history do not seem to realise that they lead with the chin when it comes to firing issues. The answer should be easy for you. Ignore the medical issues and concentrate on the management issues when processing this.

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Ankia (21-Oct-09), Frankincense (20-Oct-09)

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## Dave A

> The context here is repeated absence on Saturdays; continuous failure to inform her manager before shift and poor attitude regardless of manager's efforts. The medication is immodium.


Years ago I had a staff member that had that pattern - it turned out that the witchdoctor had him on a routine purge once a week. However, it was the staff member's *choice* to do it on a Saturday. When I suggested that it could be done on a Sunday... Well, the idea didn't go down well.

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

If she has produced the sick certificate then you need to pay her the sick leave. A company cannot authorize sick leave, per se. You can and should discipline her for not following company procedure. A warning for first offence.

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

The legislation provides for incidences where a person is ill on a Friday, Monday and/or days before or after a public holiday. As Saturday is a day of work in your company, this would be the equivalent of a Friday. This piece of legislation allows you to take disciplinary action, despite the sick certificate. After this there is the more severe route of incapacity.

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Ankia (21-Oct-09), Dave A (20-Oct-09)

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## Yvonne

A labor lawyer once advised us that we had absolutely no right to query any information regarding the medical aspect of the absence. 

This happened when a new employee was prescribed antidepressants (following a break up of a romance!) which had the side effect which resulted in her inability to remain focused at work, thus she came in some mornings and left before 10am as she "was unable to function", doctor backed it up with a certificate!

Our manager suggested she ask for a re-evaluation of the medication and request that her prescription be replaced with something that had less side effects!  
Our labor consultant advised us that moment of stupidity (trying to give medical advice!) could result in a CCMA hearing and a substantial payment if the employee took it further!  

Presently we have an employee who takes a day off a month to go to the clinic to fill a prescription, and have her blood pressure tested.

Our company provides each employee with a monetary benefit towards a medical aid, which they must arrange themselves. 
Almost all of our employees choose not to subscribe to a medical and keep the money, so why should our company be penalised with a full day off instead of a local doctors visit?
Due to the 30 days of sick leave in a three year cycle, it will be some time before this employee will go onto unpaid sick leave. 

I personally do not agree with the three year sick leave cycle, in my opinion it should be pro-rata on a annual "worked" basis, regardless of how long the employee has been employed, and we should be permitted to use our discretion without fear of creating a precedence for other employees.

I still think we need a lobbying body for employers of SME's!

Yvonne

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

> A labor lawyer once advised us that we had absolutely no right to query any information regarding the medical aspect of the absence. 
> 
> This happened when a new employee was prescribed antidepressants (following a break up of a romance!) which had the side effect which resulted in her inability to remain focused at work, thus she came in some mornings and left before 10am as she "was unable to function", doctor backed it up with a certificate!
> 
> Our manager suggested she ask for a re-evaluation of the medication and request that her prescription be replaced with something that had less side effects!  
> Our labor consultant advised us that moment of stupidity (trying to give medical advice!) could result in a CCMA hearing and a substantial payment if the employee took it further!  
> 
> Presently we have an employee who takes a day off a month to go to the clinic to fill a prescription, and have her blood pressure tested.
> 
> ...


Employees may be entitled to the 30 days, this does not however preclude them from being disciplined. Where there is such absence a decision needs to be made, or differentiation, between misconduct an incapacity. Incapacity would include the anti depressant employee mentioned. It does however require a more formal pocedure and more onus on employee to help. You can send employee on 2 months UNPAID leave, for instance, to deal with the issue. Where the company is contributed o medical it is perhaps best to a) make the contribution directly to a medical aid or b) staff may only use certain doctors, the company prescribes and us the mone to pay these doctors. Both these changes would require a consultation process

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Dave A (21-Oct-09)

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

If she produces a sick certificate but the certificate does not compy with the MASA Rules or she does not go to the doctor immediately she becomes ill you can refuse to pay for the day she never went to the doctor. MASA Rule 19 is quite clear on what has to appear on a doctor's certificate.

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

> If she produces a sick certificate but the certificate does not compy with the MASA Rules or she does not go to the doctor immediately she becomes ill you can refuse to pay for the day she never went to the doctor. MASA Rule 19 is quite clear on what has to appear on a doctor's certificate.


The issue of the certificate itself is quite correct. However an employee who is absent for one day does not need to produce a medical certificate to claim sick leave. However if the day of absence preceeds or is after a weekend or public holiday, then you can compel them to produce a sick certificate, failing which you need not pay them. The other occasion is where the employee is absent for the 1 day, but it has occurred twice within an 8 week period, then again a certificate must be produced failing which you need not pay them.

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## Marq

Just rounded out our policies and procedures that we use for our personnel. Very short and sweet and fairly clear. Perhaps you could use something similar...

Sickness: No excuses will be acceptable. We will no longer accept the Medical Examiner or Doctors statement as proof of illness as we believe that if you are able to go to the Doctor, you are able to come to work. Leave of Absence for an Operation: We are no longer allowing this practice. We hired you as you are, and to have anything removed certainly makes you less than we bargained for. Death, Other than Your Own: This is no excuse. If you can arrange the funeral services to be held late in the afternoon, however, we can let you off an hour early, provided all your work is up to date. Death, Your Own: This will be accepted as an excuse, but we would like at least two weeks notice, as we feel it is your duty to teach someone else your job. Quantity of Work: No matter how much you do, you'll never do enough. Quality of Work: The minimum acceptable level is perfection. Advice from the HR Manager: Eat a live toad first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. Your Manager is Always Right. When the Manager is Wrong, Refer to Rule 8.

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tec0 (23-Oct-09)

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## Dave A

Every time someone adds to this thread, I keep being reminded of this bit:



> I still think we need a lobbying body for employers of SME's!


... that genuinely represents the interests of SMEs!

For a while I thought BUSA was going that route, but in the end it seems not  :Frown:

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

I am afraid most Employers Organizations are to allow representation at CCMA rather than serving interest of employers - this is where Unions are triumphant!

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## tec0

I am reading all of this but again, if you âprovide for a qualified second opinionâ that doctor or specialist can determine âalternative treatment and medicationâ Especially if the person in question can no longer function on the treatment he or she is receiving. 

However if an employee have pure attitude towards other staff and management, keep records, then you can get your HR to âfileâ disciplinary actions with the CCMA and Union âif  applicableâ and allow for a hearing. 

Then you allow for retraining and counselling for 3 months â2 hours every week and add it as an extended lunch for the person in questionâ âBe forthcoming with thisâ Then revaluate this personâs actions and attitude âagain keep recordâ If the person improves then you win. If the person keeps on having a bad attitude; then get HR to reconvene with the CCMA and Union and represent your findings to them also include that you did everything âreasonably possibleâ to improve attitude and work performance.

At this stage the CCMA and Union will have a âlong talk to this person in questionâ because there are records suggesting that he or she is slackingâ Now you suggest that the CCMA and Union must suggest âdisciplinary actionâ this is lengthy I know but it normally works. 

Implement suggested âdisciplinary actionâ and give it 3 more months. If the person in question improves you win! If not reconvene with CCMA and Union and hand over the records and demand that they take action because you are losing money and stuff like that... Then recommend âunpaid leaveâ with a final written warning as a âdisciplinary actionâ. Normally they will comply because of the records that you provided. âIf the CCMA and Union are unreasonable I recommend escalating with legal helpâ         

If the person in question improves you win! Give it 3 months... if not then reconvene with the CCMA and Union and move for dismissal. By now the CCMA and Union will ânormallyâ no longer argue the facts and if you did everything âBY THE  BOOKâ the dismissal will be approved and you can give the person in question âfinal noticeâ and start training a replacement. 

All I can say is âBe Smartâ AND --- >  play it by the book...  :Wink:

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## Dave A

Tec0 - If I read your last post right, we're talking a 12 month process! Did I understand that right?

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tec0 (26-Oct-09)

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## tec0

Twelve months Yes. I know it sounds like forever but there is a good reason for the time. First of I am used to an industrial sector. As you know we have so many laws and step on so many toes when you want to fire someone it is damn near impossible. Nearly impossible...

 So you have to do what is best for the company. See it comes down to liability. If you did anything wrong on your side you will pay dearly for your mistakes no matter how small. So if you get the CCMA involved and the Union âif neededâ then the process will be lengthy but in the end it is worth it because when âyouâ recommends dismissal you as a company can no longer be held liable, because the Union and CCMA was with you on every step making their own recommendations along the way.  :Bananadance: 

It is a long process and I understand that most companies will think that I am crazy. But again just look at the amounts of money that you may lose if the Union and CCMA finds that you did something wrong! You may end up losing thousands and may even face lawsuits!  :Banghead: 

Also it depends on what the person in question did wrong. If the person is guilty and his or her offence is of a criminal nature it will speed things up but always remember âcriminals have rightsâ and representation is a legal must. 

Take your time, do things right and always work with the unions and CCMA because it is easier to deal with them while the proceedings are taking place. Dealing with them âUnion and or CCMAâ after a dismissal, you will need all your ducks in a row because they are relentless!  :Frown:

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## yunus

Your staff member has produced a pattern of absenteeism. 
The correct thing to do is to make it clear to the staff that you now see a clear pattern of absenteeism and  this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated as of now.

 record this attitude change of the company and inform staff that in future such behaviour will receive a 2nd level warning followed by  final then dismissal.

 Keep to your threats , issue 2 warnings and then dismiss. the sick letter on saturdays is  a cover . show the staff their records and their patterns.
If the staff all use a common Practioner then obviously something is amiss (maybe  you need to give him a call)
Compile a dossier for the CCMA if it comes to that.
Your Labour consultant should be informed of the route you wish to take and ensure that all paperwork and correct procedure is employed to achieve your objective.

If you continue being soft your staff will continue to ride over you .
*Its time for you to take a stand And put your foot down*

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

Here's the scenario from both a medical and legal point of view. Gastro or Gastroenteritis as it is properly known usually leaves the patient dehydrated and exceptionally ill. The person usually calls the doctor out on a house call or goes to hospital by ambulance, unless there is someone to take them.  The patient has the right to have the doctor examine him/her or to tell the doctor their signs and symptoms. The medical certificate has to reflect one of the two. Doctors can make mistakes. They are human. For example: You could go in to the doctor and tell him/her your symptoms. The doctor comes up with a diagnosis of Bronchial Pneumonia.  She/he treats you for approximately eleven weeks and then suddenly the Bronchial Pneumonia bursts and you nearly expire from septicemia as a result of a ruptured appendix. It happens. The symptoms are the same.

It is a required practice in the safety act for the employee to notify his/her employer if they are on medication whether long term or short term. It is also their duty to notify their employer of the frequency of the hospital visitation and if they suffer from a long term illness. You'd be in hot water if an employee, let say a machine operator, came to work and collapsed at her working station. She injures herself seriously. At the incident enquiry it is found that the person suffer from Low Blood Pressure and she/he ran out of tablets the day before. You are responsible for the safety of all your employees. The WCA can refuse to pay the claim if they suspect negligence. Your business can pay up to 30% of the claim if found guilty of this negligence.

Even though the employee has the right to a sick leave cycle this is only for incidents of incapacity. Nothing stops the business owner from visiting the employee who is booked off ill to check whether they really are ill or not. If not at home and in bed then you have a serious offense and discipline should be the step.

Even though the law may provide for a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, a day before a public holiday, or the day after a public holiday or the returning to work from leave, the law also states that if an employee if off for another day in the next eight weeks, a doctor's certificate must be produced. Query the diagnosis on each and every certificate. You may have to put an EAP into place depending on the trend.

This is not a matter of being drastic or a bullying tactic. When you, as a business owner, went into business you did so with the intentions of running your own business. In South Africa, many hours of production are lost due to illness and false doctor certificates.

As legislation is their for the employee, due to wrongs done to them (in general) in the past, so too is legislation in place for the employers to challenge doctor certificates to ensure that the diagnosis is correct and the prognosis accurate. A doctor certificate, if handled and followed up incorrectly, can make or break your business. It is a very powerful tool that can cause you utmost grief and pain should you handle it incorrectly.

Get to know all your acts that govern the issuing of and the control of doctors certificates. There are at least nine.

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Dave A (28-Oct-09)

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

> Tec0 - If I read your last post right, we're talking a 12 month process! Did I understand that right?


We have 2 different issues being dealt with or discussed here, and it is important for employers to realize the critical difference, because quite correctly as Tesco says, if you get thsi one wrong, it could cost. Being absent, on a regular basis, albeit it with or without a sick note, could be as a result of one or two things - Is it misconduct, that is just a bad apple, OR incapacity or poor health. Misconduct is easy, do the paperwork, have the hearing. Poor health or incapacity are in themselves 2 different things. But both require a longer process(not neccessarily 12 months) of consulting, attempting to address the situation etc, etc.  I will try and post a basic explanation of these difference - I think it is a critical issue for employers to note. We are often hasty, because of frustration, to act. The employee could be going for TB treatment lets say and because he does not want anyone to know does not bring the certificate, consequently the employer things it is a bad employee, rightfully so, where as if aware of teh situation would handle differently.

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## VirtuallyAssist

Very interesting thread, especially in the light of the report I read yesterday, that fake sick certificates are now being sold without the doctors even examining the "patient". This is causing companies severe financial loss

Just remember that Immodium can be bought over the counter without a prescription - anyone can take their "medication" to work - who is to say they are actually taking it?

Obviously companies have to be aware of this practice and also check the employee's track record - if they regularly get a bout of "gastro" - more investigation needs to take place.

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

Unfortunately TB is governed and controlled by the government. It is illegal to keep your status of TB from your employer. It is a criminal offense. Management controls the daily activities of a TB patient working for them. They have to monitor the employees hospital visitations and medication. As soon as the affected employee misses a tablet or runs out of medication it should be reported, immediately, to the closest clinic.

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

Sick Leave Entitlements:
1. The Company will provide for ___ paid working days in a 36 month sick leave cycle, that is, an amount of paid sick leave equal to the number of days the employee would normally work during a period of six weeks.
2. During the first six months of employment, an employee is entitled to one day's paid sick leave for every 26 days worked.
3. In the event of serious illness or accident, where additional sick leave may be required, refer to the Policy - Serious Medical Incapacity - Temporary or Permanent Disability.
4. To be eligible to receive paid sick leave, an employee will be required to produce a Medical Certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner stating the nature of the incapacity and its duration in respect of
i) any bona fide illness which results in their absence from work for a period of more than one working day, and /or
ii) one day’s absence which is taken the day before or after the employee’s day off or a paid public holiday, or
iii) any eight week period where an employee has been on paid sick leave on two or more occasions without producing a Medical Certificate. The employee will be required to produce a Medical Certificate for each further instance of sick leave within the next eight week period.
5. This shall in no way limit management’s rights to take disciplinary action where the attendance record of any employee indicates a possible abuse of sick leave.
6. A Medical Certificate is only prima facie proof that an employee has been on bona fide sick leave. The Company retains the right to query any Medical Certificate, and where it believes that such Medical Certificate does not justify being paid sick leave, the Company may legitimately refuse to pay the employee sick leave. The requirements of a Medical Certificate are the following:-
The Medical Certificate must state the nature of the medical incapacity; the duration of the incapacity; the date on which the employee consulted a Medical Practitioner; and must be
signed by a Medical Practitioner registered with the South African Medical and Dental Council.
7. Where an employee has been on sick leave for excessive periods, the Company reserves the right to conduct an enquiry into the employees capacity (or incapacity) to perform his job, and to take whatever lawful steps it deems appropriate, including but not limited to the termination of the employee’s contract of employment with the Company.
8. Managers, supervisors and employees are referred to the provisions of section 22 and 23 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, regarding Sick Leave.
9. Employees who have been on sick leave are required to complete the Sick Leave form, and attach any medical certificate to such leave form. Leave forms must be submitted to the ___________________ department.

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Dave A (28-Oct-09)

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

A number of myths exist regarding medical certificates, e.g. 

1.  that employers cannot address employees regarding their absenteeism due to medical reasons until the employees have exhausted their sick leave in a particular cycle
2.  that employees can stay away from work for up to two days, often linked to weekends or public holidays, without being ill, or
3. that medical certificates cannot be questioned.. 


The true facts are that employees must first of all be too ill to work in order to claim sick pay for periods of absence from work. If the employer has proof that the employee was not ill enough not to work, disciplinary action can follow for abuse of sick leave or absence without leave. In both cases the employee cannot claim payment for the period of absence. 

Because the word "day" is not defined in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (the “BCEA”), for purposes of the sick leave provisions, it can be assumed as meaning a "calendar" day. The employer may also require a medical certificate when the employee is absent on a Friday or a Monday because the employee is then absent from work for longer than the two days provided for in section 23 of the BCEA. The same applies when an employee is absent for reasons of ill health on more than two occasions in any 8-week period. The employer will then be able to require a medical certificate for every day's absence due to ill health for the remainder of his or her current sick leave cycle.

Medical certificates only constitute indirect evidence of an employee's illness. As documents "cannot speak for themselves", the employer can question either the authenticity or the content of the certificate if there is reason to do so. In this regard employers would be well advised to use the services of their own in-house medical personnel or that of a consulting medical practitioner before rejecting a certificate. The bottom-line, however, is that all medical certificates must comply with section 23 of the BCEA before they can be accepted, i.e. there must not be any reason to doubt their authenticity and it must be stated clearly that in the practitioner's own opinion, the employee was too ill or injured to work for the entire period of absence. This would require some proof of the fact that the patient was actually examined by the practitioner and an indication that the practitioner was of the professional opinion that the employee was unfit for work for the entire period of absence. A certificate that merely reflects what the employee told the practitioner does not meet these requirements. 

It is recommended that employers, as part of their efforts to combat absenteeism, develop a clear policy regarding absence due to ill health. They must only accept medical certificates that comply with the legal requirements and provide sufficient proof of authenticity and proof of their contents. 

Finally, the policy should state clearly that the employer may set standards for acceptable levels of absenteeism and that if an employee's level of absenteeism is deemed unacceptable, it could ultimately result in dismissal.

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## Frankincense

Yeah hey...seriously.....with over 22000 staff in the business "Nothing stops the business owner from visiting the employee who is booked off ill to check whether they really are ill or not. If not at home and in bed then you have a serious offense and discipline should be the step."


....... :Stupid: 


...let the cash keep rolling in and the 666 flowing!!!...let's end this sh!t!!!!!
 :No:

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

This is a forum. Every one here has a right to his/her opinion. We help each other. If, we as employers have to go to the CCMA based on a mistake we made, we will only have ourselves to blame for not ensuring we had followed procedure if we didn't come to the forum in the first place.

This is a largely debated subject that will continue until it has been exhausted.

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## Frankincense

...Yebo...one would like to hope that the 100's of managerial staff employed to manage the other 1000's don't consistently continue to regularly bungle up internal diciplinaries and dismisals due to lack of HR Labour law expertise & personal vendetta's...as the CCMA case pile reaches the roof, of just another pile of case files, stacked and archived...food for the building cockroaches :Taz: .... usually getting settled before they even enter the CCMA chamber due to internal non compliance....business as usual...not ideal...6 of this...half a dozen of that.... :Wave: 


...but I suppose one notices a good dismisal rate aswell.....it's like pigeon clay shooting...hit  :Boxing:  & miss :Badpc: ......

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## Dave A

> Yeah hey...seriously.....with over 22000 staff in the business "Nothing stops the business owner from visiting the employee who is booked off ill to check whether they really are ill or not. If not at home and in bed then you have a serious offense and discipline should be the step."


You and I both know when it comes to big business, it's all about working with the numbers by using policy. For small business the impact of an individual's absenteeism will generally be less easily absorbed, which might make such a step viable in some instances. 

Especially if the real cause of absence is a little privateering at the employer's expense.

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BBBEE_CompSpec (04-Nov-09)

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## Frankincense

Big Business Rules!!!!
 :Wink:

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## BBBEE_CompSpec

Just when you thought we put this one to bed.

A number of myths exist regarding medical certificates, e.g. 

1.  that employers cannot address employees regarding their absenteeism due to medical reasons until the employees have exhausted their sick leave in a particular cycle
2.  that employees can stay away from work for up to two days, often linked to weekends or public holidays, without being ill, or
3, that medical certificates cannot be questioned.. 

The true facts are that employees must first of all be too ill to work in order to claim sick pay for periods of absence from work. If the employer has proof that the employee was not ill enough not to work, disciplinary action can follow for abuse of sick leave or absence without leave. In both cases the employee cannot claim payment for the period of absence. 

Because the word "day" is not defined in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (the “BCEA”), for purposes of the sick leave provisions, it can be assumed as meaning a "calendar" day. The employer may also require a medical certificate when the employee is absent on a Friday or a Monday because the employee is then absent from work for longer than the two days provided for in section 23 of the BCEA. The same applies when an employee is absent for reasons of ill health on more than two occasions in any 8-week period. The employer will then be able to require a medical certificate for every day's absence due to ill health for the remainder of his or her current sick leave cycle.

Medical certificates only constitute indirect evidence of an employee's illness. As documents "cannot speak for themselves", the employer can question either the authenticity or the content of the certificate if there is reason to do so. In this regard employers would be well advised to use the services of their own in-house medical personnel or that of a consulting medical practitioner before rejecting a certificate. The bottom-line, however, is that all medical certificates must comply with section 23 of the BCEA before they can be accepted, i.e. there must not be any reason to doubt their authenticity and it must be stated clearly that in the practitioner's own opinion, the employee was too ill or injured to work for the entire period of absence. This would require some proof of the fact that the patient was actually examined by the practitioner and an indication that the practitioner was of the professional opinion that the employee was unfit for work for the entire period of absence. A certificate that merely reflects what the employee told the practitioner does not meet these requirements. 

It is recommended that employers, as part of their efforts to combat absenteeism, develop a clear policy regarding absence due to ill health. They must only accept medical certificates that comply with the legal requirements and provide sufficient proof of authenticity and proof of their contents. 

Finally, the policy should state clearly that the employer may set standards for acceptable levels of absenteeism and that if an employee's level of absenteeism is deemed unacceptable, it could ultimately result in dismissal.

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