The abuse of sick leave is costing employers millions if not billions of rands every year in South Africa. To address this let’s look at what constitutes a VALID medical certificate that would justify that the employer pays the employee when he is sick or ill.
Section 23 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act deals with proof of incapacity and states:
“23. (1) An employer is not required to pay an employee (see last week’s newsletter) …… and, on request by the employer, does not produce a medical certificate stating that the employee was unable to work for the duration of the employee’s absence on account of sickness or injury.
(2) The medical certificate must be issued and signed by a medical practitioner or any other person who is certified to diagnose and treat patients and who is registered with a professional council established by an Act of Parliament.”
From this section of the Act, there are two requirements for a medical certificate to be a valid medical certificate;
It must state that the employee was unable to perform their normal duties because of illness (or an injury) AND it must be based on the professional opinion of the medical practitioner. In other words, a certificate that states that the practitioner “saw the patient” or “was informed by the patient” is notconsidered to be a valid medical certificate since the practitioner did not declare in his or her professional opinion that the employee was unable to perform their normal duties because of illness (or an injury). Such certificates are merely an indication that the practitioner saw the patient, for example a check-up, or that he/she was informed that the patient was unfit for duty.
The second requirement is that the certificate must be issued by a medical practitioner. A medical practitioner is described in the definitions of the Act as: ”. . .. a person entitled to practise as a medical practitioner in terms of the Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974);”
In terms of the Act the following professionals are medical practitioners:
·Medical practitioners that are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
· Dentists that are registered with HPCSA
· Psychologists with a master’s degree in educational, Counselling or Clinical Psychology that are registered with the HPCSA
· Visit the HPCSA website for other professional boards: HPCSA
How do I know if my medical certificate is valid?
If you are in doubt about the authenticity of a medical certificate, you can check the legitimacy of the certification. You may contact the GP or medical practice that issued the medical certificate, but you should be aware of the limits of the information you can request.
Should you require assistance we are a phone call or email away.
Have a great weekend. Please stay healthy, really healthy.
