Fair Work Act helps fix Sick Leave Anomaly
There are some overall positives arising out of the introduction of the Fair Work Act and the NES in particular.
One area where the NES is a major improvement over the NES is in the area of personal leave - or sick leave as it used to be called. Under most 'pre-reform' awards (i.e. the awards that existed prior to Work Choices), there had been a general requirement to prove to the employer's reasonable satisfaction that they had in fact been unable to attend work due to the illness or injury.
Work Choices Rules on Medical Certificates
Comments
Dear Anonymous,
We agree with your approach of pushing back on doctors certificates where there is some doubt about their legitimacy, particularly where employees have been made aware beforehand of your expectations.
Under the Fair Work Act, an employee must, if required by the employer, give the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the leave is taken becaue the employee is not fit for work because of a personal illness, or personal injury, affecting the employee.
We think you can legitimately ask for more detail than "medical condition".
We also think your "reasonableness" as an employer can be subject to the nature of your business.
You should also be aware there are no specific modern award provisions that also affect the evidence requirements.
Call us on 1300 55 66 37 if you would like to discuss this more.