Stewards Network: Sick Leave, Medical Certificates, Medical Examinations
Published by Patrick April 15th, 2008 in Applying the Collective Agreement, Steward's Network Tags: Steward's Network.Another in a continuing series of articles & handouts that will be of interest to PSAC stewards … read more of them in the Steward’s Network section of the site.
”Do I have to advise my employer of the nature of my illness?”
“Can the employer force me to provide a doctor’s certificate or demand that I undergo a medical examination?”
The following document provides you with some well established principles in these and other related areas. From a current examination of the case law on sick leave, medical certificates and medical examinations, the following principles will serve as a guide.
We should begin with the basic premise that the employer has the right to insist on a medical certificate as a condition of granting sick leave. In the case of most collective agreements, the employer’s right to impose such a requirement is explicit. Where a collective agreement is silent on this point, the employer could successfully argue that its residual management rights (i.e., all rights not modified by collective agreement language) permit it to require proof of sickness. If a collective agreement specifies (as some do), that the employer could only require a medical certificate after so many days of absence in a given year, then the employer’s right would be restricted.
Continue reading in the Sick Leave, Medical Certificates, Medical Exams and Related Issues - Some Principles handout (pdf), prepared by the PSAC Education Section.