Division 4 of Part IV of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) is short and its conditions are cumulative. Section 64 excludes casual employees and piece-rate employees.
Section 65(1) — the three conditions
(a) has served an employer for a period of not less than six months; and
(b) is absent on account of illness or injury, other than illness or injury arising out of or in the course of his employment; and
(c) produces a certificate of a medical practitioner or other acceptable medical certificate to his employer,
is entitled to be paid sick leave at the rate of six days in each year.
Illness or injury arising out of or in the course of employment is deliberately carved out of sick leave because it belongs to the workers’ compensation scheme, which is a different and generally more generous regime. Section 6 of the Act confirms that the Employment Act does not relieve an employer of any duty or liability imposed by any other law.
If you were hurt at work, do not simply take sick leave. Report the injury, ask for the workers’ compensation forms, and keep the medical records.
The certificate — and who decides if it is acceptable
In the event of a dispute as to whether a medical certificate other than a certificate of a medical practitioner is acceptable, the decision of a labour officer is final.
This matters a great deal outside the main centres. The Act contemplates certificates from sources other than a registered medical practitioner — an aid post, a health centre, a health extension officer — and puts the decision on acceptability with a labour officer, not the employer. An employer that rejects a health centre certificate should be asked to refer the question to a labour officer.
Note that authorised officers under section 8 include medical officers (registered medical practitioners) and medical assistants (medical aids, medical assistants and health extension officers of the Public Service), which indicates how broadly the Act reads medical authority. The same “acceptable medical certificate” formula appears in section 40(1)(d)(iv) on repatriation, again with a labour officer’s decision being final.
Section 65(4) — the 72-hour rule
An employee who absents himself on sick leave:
(a) without producing an acceptable medical certificate; and
(b) without informing or attempting to inform the employer of his absence within 72 hours of the commencement of the absence,
is not entitled to sick leave pay and shall be deemed to be absent without the permission of the employer and without reasonable excuse for the period of that absence.
Two things save an employee here, and only one is needed — the two paragraphs are joined by “and”, so the deeming applies only where both failures occur. Producing a certificate late may still avoid it; so may an attempt to inform the employer within 72 hours.
The Act recognises that a sick worker in a remote place may not get through. An attempt counts. Record what you did — the time of the call, the message sent, the person you asked to pass word on — because that record is the answer to a later allegation of unauthorised absence.
The deemed characterisation — absent without permission and without reasonable excuse — maps directly onto section 36(1)(a)(vi), which allows summary dismissal of an employee continually absent from employment without leave or reasonable excuse. It also engages section 77(b), under which no wages are payable for a period of absence without leave or reasonable excuse.
Section 65(2) — accumulating to 18 days
Sick leave may be accumulated to a maximum of 18 days, exclusive of sick leave credits for the current year.
So the working maximum is 18 accumulated days plus the current year’s six — up to 24 days available in a bad year. Unlike recreation leave, accumulation is automatic and does not require an agreement.
Sick leave also does not break continuity of service — section 60(1)(c) — and, unlike the interruptions listed in section 60(2), it is not excluded from the computation of recreation leave.
Section 66 — how sick leave is paid
- Section 66(1) — the employer shall pay sick leave pay at the employee’s ordinary pay for every day of absence on sick leave.
- Section 66(2) — sick leave pay is not payable on (a) a rest day or a public holiday to which the employee is entitled under the Act, or (b) any day of paid recreation leave.
Section 66(2) prevents double payment for the same day. It also means that falling ill during recreation leave does not, under the Act, convert those days into sick leave.
Related provisions worth knowing
| Section | Provision |
|---|---|
| 40(1)(d)(iv) | Repatriation where illness or accident prevents compliance with the contract, on a medical certificate |
| 127 | Employees not physically fit |
| 128 | Medical supervision at the place of employment |
| 129, 130 | Hospitals, sick wards, and medical and hospital treatment |
| 131 | Medical examination on approval of an attested contract |
| 100–102 | Pregnancy and maternity leave — a separate regime |
If you are ill
- Tell the employer as soon as you can — and in any event attempt to within 72 hours. Record how and when.
- Get a certificate, from a medical practitioner or the nearest health facility.
- If the certificate is rejected, ask for the question to go to a labour officer, whose decision is final.
- If the illness or injury is work-related, do not treat it as sick leave — pursue workers’ compensation.
- Check the balance — six days a year, plus up to 18 accumulated.
- Check the pay — ordinary pay per day, and nothing for rest days, public holidays or days of paid recreation leave.
Sources
- Employment Act (Chapter 373) — ss 6, 8, 36, 40, 60, 64–66, 77, 100–102, 127–131; Part IV Division 4
- Medical Registration Act — PacLII 1986 Revised Edition
- Tawa v Mainland Holdings Ltd [2020] PGNC 469; N8727
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.