By Anthony El Salim

Australia Day falls on a Thursday this year, which inevitably means some employees will look to ‘chuck a sickie’ on the Friday after the public holiday to enjoy an extra-long weekend. This can be a frustrating situation for businesses that find their employees calling in sick with some very fortunate timing. It’s important to know where you, as an employer, stands in relation to employees’ entitlements and protections in this circumstance.

When can an employee take personal/carer’s leave?

Permanent employees are entitled to paid personal/carer’s leave under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘the Act’) where they are not fit for work because of illness or personal injury or are required to provide care or support to a member of their immediate family or household who is suffering from an illness or injury or the effects of an emergency. The Act provides unpaid personal/carer’s leave to casual employees and permanent employees who have used all of their accrued personal leave in the same circumstances.

The Act requires employees to give notice of their inability to work as soon as possible, along with information as to how much leave they will require. If they fail to do this, they may not be entitled to paid personal/carer’s leave.

What can employers do if you suspect the sick day is illegitimate?

If you suspect an employee to be taking advantage of their entitlement, you are well within your rights to request a medical certificate to support their claim.

Unfortunately, there are now a variety of services that allow employees to receive medical certificates online, without leaving their homes. If you do receive a certificate that has been issued by an online service, be careful to review the certificate carefully. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for employees to submit fraudulent medical certificates. However, if the certificate is signed off by a registered medical practitioner, then this will be regarded as sufficient proof of evidence.

Taking any kind of adverse action against an employee for taking personal/carer’s leave is prohibited. Doing so may leave you vulnerable to a General Protections claim, as taking this leave according to the Act constitutes exercising a genuine workplace right.

How can I prepare for Australia Day sickies?

You can prepare for the long weekend by making sure all of the above requirements are clear to your employees. Consider developing a leave policy – HR Assured’s software, HRA Cloud has a library of policies, documents, and templates available to clients – consider signing up to HR Assured’s monthly subscription if you don’t have watertight policies in place. If you do, a refresher on your policies and employees’ obligations when calling in sick may be a good deterrent to sickies on 27 January 2023.

Clients of HR Assured can access leave policies on their HRA Cloud account or they can contact the 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service for more information.

If this information has raised any further questions, or you have another matter you need advice on, please clients can reach out to our experts via our 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service.

Not an HR Assured client? If you’d like more information about the benefits of becoming an HR Assured client, contact us today for an informal chat.

Anthony El Salim is a Workplace Relations Advisor at HR Assured. He assists clients with a range of employment relations and compliance matters via the 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service. He is currently studying for a Juris Doctor.