When Do You Need a Sick Certificate?

Many employers in Australia will require a sick certificate when you call out of work at the last minute, or if you are using a few days of medical and carers leave at once. When you need to get a doctor’s note will often depend upon your employer’s policies and how much they trust you, but there are some general guidelines.

Fair Work regulations

If you are going to take illness or carers leave then you need to let your boss know as soon as you reasonably can. This doesn’t mean you need to see into the future, but your employer probably shouldn’t find out by calling you half an hour after you were meant to come in.

While you have a certain amount of days off for personal or carers leave every year, that doesn’t mean that you get to take that many “no questions asked” last minute days off. Your boss is allowed to ask you for proof that you were unable to come to work – such as a sick certificate.

There is no set minimum number of days off before you can be asked to prove that you can’t work, and in fact you can be asked for evidence even if you only miss half a day. Most workplaces won’t ask for a sick certificate for half a day off, of course, but legally they are allowed to. A common policy is to ask for some documentation for three or more days in a row off.

If you can’t provide adequate documentation (a statutory declaration will also work as evidence) then your employer does not need to pay you for your time off, and you can be subject to disciplinary action. A statutory declaration or doctor’s note must be accepted, unless your employer can prove that you were reasonably able to work.

Can a sick certificate be challenged?

A note from a doctor that you are unable to work can only be overturned if your boss finds another medical professional who can counter the claim, or can prove that you could have worked. This has happened, for example when a Melbourne man called in with an illness and got a sick certificate, however it turned out he had flown to Perth that day to go to a football game.

The man’s employer had fired him when they found out that he attended to football match, and he sued for wrongful dismissal because of the doctor’s note. The court ruled that, despite providing the note, he had breached employment standards and could be terminated as a result of misconduct.

In reality challenges to sick certificates are very rare, given the high burden of proof and sheer effort required to overturn them. In the example above the man had already told his colleagues that he was going to the match and booked tickets ahead of time, and arranged for the doctor’s note before the game. He also told his boss what he intended to do, so it was not difficult for the company to make a case.

It is generally considered unreasonable for your employer to contact your doctor or try to come with you to a medical appointment. It’s important to remember that even if your note is accepted, if you aren’t entitled to leave or you have run out of leave you don’t need to be paid for the time out.

When does a sick certificate not apply?

If you are taking time off work for an elective medical appointment (for example a routine check-up or elective surgery) then your employer does not have to count it as personal and carers leave (although of course you can still count it as part of your annual leave). A lot of people don’t realise that your workplace does not need to give you time off for appointments.

Any recovery time you need, however, is covered by a sick certificate. This means that you can’t get a note from your doctor to force work to give you time off or medical leave to have surgery (such as getting your wisdom teeth out) but you can take the next day off to recover.

Who can issue a sick certificate?

Confirmation that you were unable to work on a particular day doesn’t actually have to be from your GP, although they are usually your best port of call. If your absence is for mental health, for example, your psychologist can write a note for you. In the wisdom teeth example above, your dentist will be able to help you out.

Even pharmacists can write sick certificates for people – although in this case it will need to be clear why you got them to do it rather than a GP. As long as the medical professional who writes your note is involved in your treatment it will be very difficult for your employer to reject it.

You can even get doctors to send you sick certificates after a video consultation! This can make your illness a lot easier on you, as you don’t need to drag yourself to a waiting room and try to get a last minute appointment.