Medical Chits from Doctors not in Company-assigned Panel

Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether all companies recognise medical chits from Singapore-registered doctors when an employee seeks medical care from clinics outside the companies' panel of doctors; (b) in the last three years, how many cases have been reported where an employer has deducted the salary of an employee when the medical chit is from a registered doctor who is not from the company's panel of doctors; and (c) how does the Ministry handle such cases.

Under the law, employers are to provide paid sick leave when an employee covered by the Employment Act is issued a medical certificate (MC) by a Government or company-approved doctor, and to bear the costs of the medical consultation. Notwithstanding this, many employers go beyond the statutory requirements by granting paid sick leave for MCs issued by any registered doctor.

In the last three years, no cases of salary deductions related to unrecognised MCs have been filed in the Labour Court. There is no statutory or contractual breach in such cases. However, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has received a yearly average of about 15 queries of this nature. This number has not increased.

Employers should ensure that their panel of approved doctors are accessible to their employees. Under extenuating circumstances, such as a medical emergency, employers are urged to exercise flexibility to provide paid sick leave when the employee seeks medical attention from a doctor who has not been approved by the company. Employees who require assistance can approach MOM, or the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management from April 2017.