Sick Leave Entitlement
It is Allotment, Entitlement & Proper Use! On a daily basis, I listen to HR Professionals and business owners who complain or question the legitimate use and entitlement of Sick Leave. A random review of several Caribbean Countries was done, namely Belize, Haiti, St. Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago. In each country, the entitlement per annum for a worker/employee is 16, 15, 12 and 14, respectively, with an overall average of 14.25 days. Getting the average out of the way, the most critical issue being faced by employers is the legitimate or illegitimate use of this type of leave. If not outlined in the laws in various companies, they provide some guidelines for taking such leave. Some of these guidelines are listed below: • If an employee takes more than two (2) consecutive days, they should submit a medical certificate from a registered
• How to penalize staff who exceed their Sick Leave? • How can I get my employees to be honest when taking Sick Leave? • Should I always request a medical certificate? • And many more As employees, we should be honest about taking Sick Leave. As
medical professional.
employers, we are forced to bear the cost of paying for days not
• Upon resumption of duty, the employee must get fitness to
medical certificates has arisen as doctors are selling Sick Leave
work certificate. • A stipulated amount of leave can be taken as certified and uncertified leave. And many more. Many HR professionals and business owners are asking the following questions:
worked, where there was no productivity. Then, the issue of fake certificates, and there is no redress for employers as they are not in a position or certified to say whether the employee is sick or not. So many questions surrounding Sick Leave; however, it is dependent upon the integrity of the parties involved. By Kimberly Chan-Boodram
