Employee Handbook Update 2018

SICK LEAVE
IS THERE A DOCTOR
IN THE HOUSE?
If you work in excess of twenty-four (24)
hours per month and a five (5) day week,
and you are absent from work because of
illness or injury, you are, under normal
circumstances, entitled to sick pay as
provided for by labour legislation.
What does this mean?
You are entitled to thirty (30) days sick
leave in a three (3) year sick leave cycle.
This equates to ten (10) days per year in a
three (3) year sick leave cycle. Within the
first six (6) months of employment, you
are entitled to one (1) day’s sick leave for
every twenty-six (26) days worked.
Do I need to hand in a
doctor’s letter?
Proof of incapacity (injury or illness) is
required when you are:
• Away for more than two (2)
consecutive days, or
• Away on more than two (2) occasions
during an eight (8) week period.
The IIE’s Varsity College reserves the
right, at any time, to review individual
circumstances and request a doctor’s
certificate, and to verify any certificates
or letters submitted. Failure to comply
with the above will result in unpaid leave
being deducted.
Will I be paid for sick leave?
Under normal sick leave circumstance, you
will be paid for sick leave taken. You must
apply for any sick leave taken and where
relevant, the originals of all letters and/or
certificates must be attached.
Whom do I tell?
It is important that you make every effort
to notify your line manager by way of a
telephone call or the way that your campus
Principal has agreed. This could be by way
of an SMS; however should you not receive
a reply to the SMS you will need to continue
to make an effort to communicate with your
line manager.
What is unauthorised
absenteeism?
Following an unauthorised and unreported
absence of beyond five (5) working days
by an employee, it will be assumed that
the employee has deserted/abandoned the
employment of The IIE’s Varsity College,
and has no intention of returning to work.
This will also apply to an employee who
may need to leave the workplace to consult
a doctor and as a result of this is booked off
work and fails to report the outcome. Any
unauthorised absenteeism is regarded as a
breach of the Disciplinary Code and will be
dealt with in accordance with the code and
procedures. Please familiarise yourself with
the code and procedures which are available
from your HR Department.
10 Items of
Information that
MUST Appear on
a Valid Medical
Certificate:
• The name, address and qualification of the practitioner;
• The name of the patient;
• The date and time of the examination;
• Whether the certificate is being issued as a result of personal observations by the
practitioner during an examination, or as the result of information received from the
patient and which is based on acceptable medical grounds;
• A description of the illness, disorder or malady in layman’s terminology, with the
informed consent of the patient, provided that if the patient is not prepared to give such
consent, the medical practitioner or dentist shall merely specify that, in his or her
opinion based on an examination of the patient, the patient is unfit to work;
• Whether the patient is totally indisposed for duty or whether the patient is able to
perform less strenuous duties in the work situation;
• The exact period of recommended a sick leave;
• The date of issuing of the certificate of illness; and
• A clear indication of the identity of the practitioner who issued the certificate which
shall be personally and originally signed by him or her next to his or her initials and
surname in printed or block letters.
• The certificate should be Legible!