We have had an employee take a day off work to attend a medical appointment, but it does not appear that he was unwell, and when we asked him about it the next day he said he had to go to a specialist’s appointment, but has not provided us with a medical certificate. Is the employee entitled to paid personal leave to attend a medical appointment?
Understandably, it is common for an employee to request time off work to attend a medical appointment however this visit does not necessarily provide the worker with the right to access their personal leave entitlement.
An employee’s entitlement to personal leave comes from the Fair Work Act 2009 (the FW Act). However, it may be supplemented by the terms of any industrial instrument (such as a modern award or Enterprise Agreement) that provides a more beneficial entitlement. This following response will focus on the provisions of the FW Act only.
An employee’s entitlement to personal leave under the FW Act does not unequivocally cover every medical appointment. Section 97 of the Act provides that an employee may take paid personal leave if the leave is taken because the employee is not fit for work because of a personal illness or injury affecting them.
In many cases an employee does not attend a medical appointment because they are too ill or injured to attend work. The visit may just be a check-up, a general dentist appointment, a physio session, or a Specialist’s appointment. In these instances, the employee would not be entitled to access paid personal leave under the FW Act.
In regards to medical appointments employers should determine if paid personal leave is applied. There may be some circumstances, such as a dental appointment, that although the employee was not ill or injured before the appointment, they may well be rendered unfit to work because of the appointment, e.g. employee had a tooth extracted. In such circumstances, it is reasonable for the employer to require the employee to provide a medical certificate to prove unfitness to work.
Of course, an employer can choose to be more generous to their employees and allow them to access their personal leave for these types of appointments. They may also allow an employee to make up any time they were absent from work or use paid annual leave. To ensure employees understand when they can and cannot access their personal leave it is good practice to address alternative options in a company policy.
Please contact the Ai Group Workplace Advice Line on 1300 55 66 77 if you have any questions about personal leave or to discuss any workplace matter.
