June 2024 – I’ve resurrected this article from the blog archives, as now I find myself in a very different position – today I employ three staff, so am on the “other side” of all things HR!
It’s a bit of a minefield being a small business owner with a team (though the upside is that it does mean my business is expanding!). There’s recruitment, training, building team culture, PDRs, payroll – and then there’s all the legal requirements around contracts, hours worked, leave, etc.
For example, according to the Fair Work Australia website, apparently legislation does not cover using sick leave entitlements for medical appointments unless you are unable to work due to illness. For example, if your sore neck prevents you from going to work, then by all means take the day off and see your chiropractor.
It’s funny to see how my mindset has changed in the nearly 10 years since I first wrote this blog post! See for yourself …
First Published November 2015:
I feel very lucky to have my own business these days, because when it comes to taking sick leave, the boss is amazingly understanding … actually, the boss is just plain amazing, full stop 
!
However it hasn’t always been that way.
Not long before I left my last employer, I attended a team meeting where the boss advised that sick leave was no longer to be used for medical appointments. There were horrified glances around the table – surely this couldn’t be serious?
The Case for Using Sick Leave for Medical Appointments
I mean, it’s not like we go to the doctor for fun, people!
Of course you can guess what happened in response to this new ruling.
Up until then, employees would take an hour or two of sick leave to see their doctor, dentist, chiropractor or other health professional, before coming straight back to work.
But with the ban on using sick leave for medical appointments, people simply called in sick and took the whole day off. I think management shot themselves in the foot with that little directive …
So what was behind this change to company policy? Rumour had it, that it was in response to one particular employee taking regular time off (eg once a fortnight), for chemotherapy. CHEMOTHERAPY.
Personally, I think it was awesome that this employee (if the rumour was actually real) even kept coming to work regularly despite battling cancer, and should have been given carte blanche in regard to using sick leave for medical appointments – or pretty much anything they liked, as they obviously had a serious or even terminal illness!
Using sick leave for medical appointments? I say YES! If we have a medical appointment, it’s usually either because we are:
- a) legitimately unwell at that point in time; or
- b) there is some health issue which if not addressed, could develop into a much larger or more serious issue.
Besides – good luck finding a doctor or specialist that is open on the weekend!
I’m curious – what’s the arrangement where you work? Do you use sick leave for medical appointments?!
14 April 2016 Update: Just stumbled across this piece of legislation about sick leave for medical appointments, on the Fair Work Australia website, and apparently it is not part of sick leave entitlements to use sick leave for medical appointments unless you are unable to work due to illness. For example, if your sore neck prevents you from going to work, then by all means take the day off and see your chiropractor.
