Sick Leave
Sick leave is an important tool for ensuring the wellbeing of your employees.
If an employee is sick, encourage them to stay home. Not only will it give them a chance to rest and recover, but it will help stop others in your school from getting sick.
Many employees also have provisions allowing them to use some of their entitlement sick leave to care for a dependant, such as a child or a parent.
Sick leave entitlements are found in the applicable Collective Agreement (CA) or the employee's promulgated individual employment agreement, which can be viewed from the People and Employment section of the Ministry of Education’s website.
Deduction and payment of sick leave
The Holidays Act 2003 states that payment for sick leave is only made when it is a day that the employee would normally have worked if they were not sick.
To calculate the correct number of sick leave days taken, refer to the EdPay resource count number of leave daysopen_in_new.
If an employee runs out of sick leave entitlement and still has a valid medical certificate indicating they are not fit for work, they can be placed on sick leave without pay.
In some circumstances, an employee may be able to take paid or unpaid leave at the employer's discretion.
Discretionary leave may need to be approved by the board depending on delegations and policy at your school.
How should employees notify they need to take sick leave?
Employees needing to take sick leave must notify the employer as early as possible before they are due to start work on the day they are sick, or if that is not practicable, as early as possible after that time.
You should have clear procedures outlining the process you would like employees to use when advising they are sick, e.g., phone or text and who they are to contact.
The procedure should not be too rigid, with some flexibility depending on the illness's circumstances.
Requesting medical certificates
Each Collective Agreement outlines the circumstances around when an employer can request a medical certificate.
In general, however, a medical certificate cannot be requested for absences of less than five days.
It is important to be fair and equitable among all staff.
For example, if you request a certificate from one employee but not from other employees in the same circumstances, it may not be a fair and reasonable request.
It is important to consider the cost of visiting a doctor and their ability to get an appointment.
If an employee's sick leave usage concerns you (either too much or too little), the first step is to raise your concerns directly with the employee at a low level.
This generally involves an informal one-on-one meeting where the two of you can discuss the situation and, if appropriate, come up with actions to ensure the wellbeing of the employee and the continuity of learning/operations in your school.
In some of these situations, where there are reasonable grounds, it may be appropriate to ask for a medical certificate earlier than stated in the Collective Agreement or request an employee get a medical certificate for their wellbeing.
This will be at the school's expense.
If you have a particular situation that you need advice on, our Advisory and Support Centre is available to discuss further.
Medical clearance
If an employee has been on sick leave for a significant period, you may want to request a clearance from their doctor stating they are well enough before they return to work.
This is a way to ensure you are supporting the employee's health, safety and wellbeing.
Disregarded sick leave
In specific circumstances, disregarded sick leave allows it to be recredited to an employee’s sick leave entitlement after it has been claimed.
Further information can be found in our article on disregarded sick leave.
The circumstances to which disregarded sick leave may apply are outlined in the employee's applicable Collective Agreement.
ACC implications
EdPay’s article on ACC claimsopen_in_new explains ACC implications.
A workplace accident is fully covered by ACC and does not affect an employee's sick leave.
A non-work accident will affect the employee's sick leave.
Casual relief teachers
A casual relief teacher may be entitled to sick leave if:
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They have been working in the education sector (that is, relieving at any state and state-integrated schools) for more than six months, and
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Had already been booked to undertake relief before becoming unwell.
Questions a principal could ask
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Where is an employee's entitlement to sick leave found?
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How can I approach an employee who is taking regular sick leave?
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When are casual relief teachers entitled to sick leave?
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access this topic’s templates, resources, and references.
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Links from us
Education Payroll