Question 11: Is an employee entitled to earning a salary when sick?

Answer: Section 16 of the Labour Act provides that an employee is paid sick leave of up to twelve working days in one calendar year where absence from work is caused by a temporary illness certified by a registered medical practitioner. Where, however, the sickness is so serious and so protracted as to frustrate the purpose or objects of for which the employee was engaged, the contract may be discharged, and the employer absolved from further liabilities without prejudice to the earned entitlements before discharge. In calculating leave pay and sickness benefits, Section 19 of the Labour Act provides that only that part of an employee’s wages which he receives in money (excluding overtime and other allowance) shall be taken into consideration.

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