Page 4 - KZN Business Sense 9.3 Aurelia Albert eBook
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MEDICAL AID CERTIFCATES - A FREE PASS?
Johan van Deventer, employee did in fact attend
KZN Regional the wedding in George. The
Manager, LabourNet employee was found to have acted
dishonestly, and his dismissal was
here upheld by the Labour Court.
is a It is advisable to formulate a
Tcommon policy in the workplace governing
misconception sick leave for employees and
among giving guidance to employees
employees on what activities are acceptable
that a medical when they are booked off sick.
certificate is It should also address what steps
a free pass employees should take if they
to get out feel better during the time they
of work and do whatever they are booked off. At the very
please for the duration of their least, they should inform the
time off. This, however, is not employer that their condition has
the case, and the purpose of a court found that the employee enough to work. His dismissal time to attend the wedding. improved, so that the company
medical certificate booking an had acted dishonestly in absenting was deemed substantively and The employee argued that the may decide whether they should
employee off is to allow them himself from work on the basis procedurally fair. company could not challenge return to work.
time to rest and recuperate from that he was too ill to perform his In another case, NEHAWU his claim that he was ill at the
their illness. Using this time off duties, but then travelled quite obo Matras v Commission time, as he submitted a valid In all instances, the
to attend other leisure activities, a distance to watch the match, for Conciliation, Mediation medical certificate which had consideration will always be what
such as attending concerts or knowing full well that he would and Arbitration and not been disputed, and the is fair to both parties, and both
going on extended trips, would be paid for the day. The employee Others (JR1970/17) [2021] company had failed to call the employer and employee should act
defeat the purpose of the sick had claimed that he felt better at ZALCJHB 285, an employee had medical practitioner as a witness in good faith when dealing with
leave and could be considered an the time he attended the match, been booked off sick for three to challenge the legitimacy bouts of illness.
abuse, and possibly dishonesty. to which it was stipulated that days, during which time he had of the employee’s claim. The
he should then have returned For any further information or
The situation was most aptly to work, rather than attending travelled from Potchefstroom court, however, pointed out assistance in this regard, please do not
canvassed in Woolworths recreational activities at the to George to attend a family that the medical certificate was hesitate to contact us.
(Pty) Ltd V Commission for employer’s expense. member’s wedding. The employer hearsay evidence, and the onus T: +27 (0)31 266 6570
Conciliation, Mediation & suspected that the employee had was on the employee to verify C: +27 (0)82 786 7480
Arbitration & Others (2022) 43 The court held that this was obtained the medical certificate the document by calling the E: johanvd@labournet.com
ILJ 839 (LAC). the case even in the absence of fraudulently by misrepresenting witness once the employer cast W: www.labournet.com
a policy dictating what his illness to the medical doubt on its legitimacy. The
In this case, an employee had employees recovering from practitioner to be booked off. This arbitrating commissioner hence
taken sick leave on a particular illness may and may not do. It suspicion stemmed from the fact correctly gave little weight to the
day, only to travel one hour from was held that if the employee felt that the employee had previously medical certificate and relied
Jeffrey’s Bay to Port Elizabeth to well enough to travel and attend spoken to his manager about on compelling circumstantial
support his local rugby team. The the match, he was also well possibly putting in leave for this evidence to conclude that the
WHAT IS A BRAND? SUBSCRIBE TO THIS
Pavlo Phitidis, Co-founder & CEO, Aurik time to understand the values of team can help you scale your WEEK@WORK
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uilding a brand takes effort and what matters most to them you want your customers to
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with your first engagement in the of focus and can dilute your brand. you continue to grow and build complexity for our approach to
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affinity for the customers that who match the activities of the Johan Taljaard SUBSCRIBE
T: +27 (0)31 880 2244
matter is as important as an job that needs to be done, and E: johan@aurik.co.za
affinity for the product. Take the then focus on values. An excellent W: www.aurik.com
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