All you Need to Know: Sick Leave
- Staff members who cannot perform their duties because of illness or injury or whose attendance is prevented by public health requirements shall be granted sick leave.
- It is the responsibility of staff members to inform their supervisors as soon as possible of any absence or expected absence on account of illness or injury. Thereafter, they shall regularly inform their supervisors of any extension of absence and its expected duration.
- A staff member absent from duty because of illness or injury and who has:
(a) either exhausted his/her entitlement to uncertified sick leave; or
(b) has been absent from duty for a period of more than three consecutive working days; shall produce a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner.
- Certified sick leave requires the approval of the Medical Service. Staff members are required to forward to VMS a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner stating the nature of his/her illness and the probable duration of his/her incapacity.
- In cases where VMS deems it necessary to obtain more information on the nature of the illness, the Medical Service will obtain it directly from the medical practitioner treating the staff member (with the permission of the staff member) or request the staff member to obtain it from the medical practitioner.
- The certificate above shall - except in circumstances beyond the control of the staff member - be produced not later than the end of the twentieth working day following the initial absence from duty of the staff member, or on the day he/she returns to work, whichever comes first.
- No certificate needs to be submitted if a certificate from the Medical Service covers the absence of the staff member. Such certificates shall not cover a period of absence longer than three consecutive days including the day of issue.
- When sickness of four consecutive working days or more occurs within a period of previously approved annual leave, sick leave may be approved on production of an appropriate medical certificate by a registered medical practitioner or medical institution.
