Sick Leave
Income
In accordance with the BCEA, every worker is entitled to 01 day of fully paid sick leave for every 26 days worked. This implies that during a 3-year period, a worker is entitled to sick leave equal to the number of days they would normally work in a six-week period, which is 36 days (for workers working 6 days a week) and 30 days (for workers working 5 days a week).
Sick leave is fully paid. The employer must pay, on the usual pay day, the wage that the worker would have ordinarily earned for work on that day. Sick leave pay may be reduced, by mutual agreement, if the number of days of sick leave is increased. In such a case, a worker must still get at least 75% of the wages for the sick leave over the sick leave cycle.
According to ISSA, the social insurance program provides sickness benefits ranging from 38% to 60% of reference earnings, with lower-income earners receiving a higher percentage than higher-income earners.
An employer may not pay a worker who has been on sick leave for more than 2 consecutive days or on more than two occasions during an 8-week period, if the worker, on request by the employer, does not produce a medical certificate stating that the duration of his/her absence on account of sickness or injury.
Under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001, amended in 2020, a contributor is not entitled to benefits if the period of illness is less than seven days.
Source: §22 & 23 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (last amended in 2020); ISSA Country Profile for South-Africa; §19-23 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001 (last amended in 2020)
Medical Care
Worker's medical benefits include medical, surgical, and hospital care, rehabilitation, and appliances. Benefits are provided for up to two years and may be extended in special cases.
The compensation fund reimburses the cost of transporting an injured worker to a hospital, a doctor's office, or to his or her place of residence. An employer who demands or receives from an employee a contribution towards the cost of medical aid supplied or to be supplied is liable to a penalty equal to the full cost of conveyance..
Source: §71-79 of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No. 130 of 1993
Job Security
There is no explicit provision that employment of a worker is secure during the paid sick leave.
Regulations on Sick Leave
- Comepensation for Occupational Injuries Act, 1993
