I’m not sure what’s going on, but lately, I’ve received a lot of questions about hospitalisation leave. So, here’s the lowdown.
It’s all in the Employment Act 1955 Section 60(F)(1)(bb):
“An employee shall… be entitled to paid sick leave of sixty days in the aggregate in each calendar year if hospitalisation is necessary… Provided that if an employee is certified by such registered medical practitioner or medical officer to be ill enough to need to be hospitalised but is not hospitalised for any reason whatsoever, the employee shall be deemed to be hospitalised for the purposes of this section.”
Here’s a personal example:
I was hospitalised for pneumonia in 2021 for 5 days (I think). Then, my doctor said I wasn’t ready to return to work and needed two more weeks of rest, but I didn’t need to stay in the hospital – they needed the bed for other patients. So, I was sent home with a Medical Certificate stating I was unfit for duty for those additional two weeks. The entire 5 + 14 = 19 days counted as hospitalisation leave.
Two weeks later, I recovered and returned to work. However, to ensure everything was okay, the doctor asked me to come back a month later for a medical check-up. That follow-up appointment was considered annual leave, not sick leave or hospitalisation leave.
So, in conclusion:
1. An appointment is not a sick leave.
2. To qualify for sick leave, the doctor must certify that you are unfit for duty.
3. To upgrade sick leave into a hospitalisation leave, you must be ill enough to require hospitalisation, as determined by the doctor.
Hope this clarifies!
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
#BebelEmploymentAct #BebelHR #BebelBimbo
P.S. Someone once told me, the safest place to be is the hospital. Truth.
