MEDICAL CERTIFICATES

According to the Ethical Rules of Conduct of the HPCSA (Rules 15; 16(1); 16(2) and Section 23 of
the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act no 75 of 1997)

1. An employee is obliged to furnish a legitimate medical certificate if

the employee is absent from work for more than two consecutive
days or on more than two occasions during an eight-week period.
2. There is a distinction between medical certificates that
recommend a period of sick leave and certificates of medical
attendance.
A certificate of attendance is NOT A VALID MEDICAL
CERTIFICATE, it merely serves as a confirmation that the practitioner
saw the patient or was informed by the patient that he/she was ill.
3. A doctor may only issue a VALID MEDICAL CERTIFICATE for SICK
LEAVE if the patient is truly medically unfit to perform his or her
normal duties. They may NOT be issued for routine check-ups,
examinations, tests, collecting medicine from the pharmacy or
visits to specialist medical practitioners.
The medical certificate must state that the employee was unable to
perform his or her normal duties because of illness (or an injury) and
that his diagnosis is based on the professional OPINION OF THE
MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.
4. A certificate shall be granted as a RESULT OF PERSONAL
OBSERVATION or DIAGNOSIS by the practitioner during a
CONSULTATION or EXAMINATION, or as a result of
information which has been received from the patient and which
is based on acceptable medical grounds.
5. A certificate for Backdated periods may be issued if, in the
DOCTORS PROFESSIONAL OPINION, the patient was actually
unable to perform his or her normal duties during the backdated
periods.
6. EXTENDED SICK LEAVE may ONLY be issued after a FOLLOW
UP VISIT where the doctor has consulted and physically examined
the patient. An ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATE must be issued.

7. The medical certificate must be the ORIGINAL personally and

originally signed MEDICAL CERTIFICATE. Faxing or emailing is
unethical.
8. Employers HAVE the right to CONTACT a medical practitioner
to validate a medical certificate.