Sick Leave
Who is entitled?
Employees are entitled to paid outpatient sick leave and paid hospitalisation leave if they:
- are covered by the Employment Act (including managers and executives),
- have worked for the employer for at least 3 months, and
- informed or tried to inform the employer within 48 hours of their absence.
Medical certificate
To qualify for paid sick leave, the employee must be certified unfit for work by a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act or the Dental Registration Act. Paid hospitalisation leave applies when a hospital doctor certifies that the employee needs hospital care, for example when warded or after day surgery.
Employers do not have to grant paid sick leave or pay consultation fees for cosmetic procedures, although company policy may cover them.
Entitlement
After 6 months of service, employees are entitled to:
- 14 days of paid outpatient sick leave a year, and
- 60 days of paid hospitalisation leave a year, which includes the 14 days of outpatient sick leave.
For example, an employee who has used all 14 days of outpatient sick leave can still take up to 46 days of hospitalisation leave.
New employees with 3 to 6 months of service get prorated leave:
Completed months of service | Outpatient sick leave (days) | Hospitalisation leave (days) |
3 | 5 | 15 |
4 | 8 | 30 |
5 | 11 | 45 |
6 and thereafter | 14 | 60 |
Sick leave entitlement is not tied to probation. Sick leave is paid at the employee's gross rate of pay.
