Getting a sick note from a doctor can feel like the end of the conversation when you’re too ill to work. But what happens when your employer questions the certificate, asks for more information or refuses to accept it?
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In the country, a medical certificate is important evidence supporting sick leave, but it is not necessarily immune from scrutiny.
Employers can question a certificate in certain circumstances, particularly where there are legitimate concerns about its validity, authenticity or the circumstances surrounding the employee’s absence.
What does the law say about sick leave?
Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), employees are generally entitled to paid sick leave during a 36-month cycle. During the first six months of employment, the entitlement is calculated differently.
An employer may require a medical certificate when an employee is absent for more than two consecutive days, or when the employee is absent on more than two occasions during eight weeks. If the required certificate is not produced, the employer may not have to pay the employee for that period of absence.
A sick note therefore plays an important role in establishing that an employee was medically unable to work.
Can your sick note be rejected?
Not automatically. The fact that an employer is unhappy with a diagnosis or doubts an employee’s illness does not, by itself, mean the certificate can simply be disregarded.
However, the South African labour law cases show that employers can investigate a certificate where there are reasonable grounds for concern.
Your employer may have legitimate reasons to seek clarification about a questionable medical certificate, but this does not mean the employer automatically has access to your confidential medical information.
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What makes a sick note vulnerable to challenge?
Your boss or the company may have stronger grounds to question a certificate if, for example:
- Dates appear to have been changed or altered.
- Information on the certificate is inconsistent.
- The certificate does not cover the period of absence.
- There are questions about whether the practitioner actually examined the employee.
- The certificate appears to have been backdated or otherwise irregular.
So whatever you do, do not alter the certificate yourself. All you have to do is follow your workplace’s absence procedure and supply the necessary documents when required.
Having a valid medical certificate does not necessarily mean an employee can ignore every workplace procedure.
So, in other words, yes, an employer can challenge your sick note, but that does not mean every sick note can simply be rejected because a manager doesn’t believe an employee is ill.
The key questions are whether the certificate is genuine and compliant, whether it adequately supports the employee’s incapacity, whether workplace procedures were followed, and whether there is credible evidence of sick-leave abuse or dishonesty.
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Featured image: Pexels
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