What is Sick Leave?
Simply put, sick leave are one of the paid leave you can take when you are sick. An employee covered by the Employment Act is entitled to paid sick leave, including medical leave issued by a dentist if:
- The employee has worked for the employer for at least 3 months
- The employee has at least attempted to inform the employer of his/her absence within 48 hours
- The sick leave is certified by the company’s doctor, or by a government doctor (including doctors from approved public medical institutions).
It’s important to know that your employer has the discretion to accept medical certificates from private doctors or traditional Chinese medical practitioner. Do check with your HR before consulting a doctor.
Paid Sick Leave Entitlement
The total number of paid sick leave allowed by your employer should be specified in your employment contract; but, the following is governed by MOM:
The max number of paid sick leave include both your non-hospitalization and hospitalization leaves. For example, if an employee has already taken 14 days of outpatient sick leave in that year, the number of days of hospitalisation sick leave that he can take is 46 days (60 – 14 = 46).
You can take half sick leave day as annual leave, but sick leave taken on a half working day (e.g. Saturday) should be considered as one day’s sick leave.
Also check with your HR the company policies regarding reimbursement of medical expenses.