WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD DO WHEN SICK LEAVE BECOMES A PROBLEM
Written by Phumzile Eliya
Monday morning, and the establishment is fully booked. The appointment book is packed from opening to closing. One stylist is on annual leave, and another has a family emergency. Then the WhatsApp message arrives: “Morning, I am not feeling well. I won’t be coming to work today.”
The manager sighs. This is not the first time. Over the past few months, the same employee has been absent again and again. Sometimes there is a medical certificate, sometimes not.
Clients are being rescheduled, and the team is tired of covering.
The question follows naturally: “How many times must I accept this?”
Frequent sick leave is a real operational problem. But an employee does not lose the right to sick leave because the employer is frustrated by the frequency of absences. The challenge is to manage the pattern without turning genuine illness into misconduct.
Sick leave is a right, not a licence
Sick leave is regulated by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA). In our industry, the Main Collective Agreement of the National Bargaining Council for the Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare Industry must be read alongside it. The Main Amending Collective Agreement was extended to non-parties by Notice No. 3906 of 2026 and runs until 28 February 2027.
Do not rely on an old workplace policy or a generic template. Start with the Council’s agreement, then check the BCEA.
Start with the pattern, not the accusation
“This employee is often sick” is an observation. “This employee is abusing sick leave” is an allegation, and allegations need evidence. Before doing anything else, pull the attendance records and ask:
How many days has the employee been absent, and how often?
Were the required medical certificates submitted?
Did the employee follow the establishment’s procedure for reporting absence?
Do the absences cluster around particular days, such as Mondays, Saturdays, or after annual leave was refused?
Has the employee been counselled about attendance before?
Could there be an underlying medical condition?
The purpose is to understand the problem, not to build a case.
Medical certificates: know what you may ask for
Under the BCEA, an employer need not pay sick leave if the employee is absent for more than two consecutive days, or on more than two occasions in an eight-week period, and cannot produce a medical certificate when requested. The certificate must state that the employee was unable to work because of illness or injury, and it must come from a suitably qualified and registered practitioner.
In our industry, also check the Main Collective Agreement and the National Sick Pay Fund rules. Do not impose a certificate requirement simply because it is convenient.
A certificate is evidence of illness. It does not excuse an employee from reasonable reporting procedures. Equally, management should not ignore a valid certificate because it is unhappy with the number of absences.
Incapacity or misconduct? Get this right first
This is the most important distinction in the whole process.
Incapacity means the employee genuinely cannot do the job, for example because of ill health.
Misconduct means the employee did something wrong, such as lying about being sick.
If the cause is genuine ill health. Think of a therapist who needs regular medical treatment. The establishment loses appointments, but she has not done anything wrong. The Code of Good Practice: Dismissal, in force since 4 September 2025, replaced the old Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act. It requires the employer to investigate the extent of the incapacity and to consider alternatives short of dismissal. Ask:
How long is the incapacity likely to last, and will it improve?
Can she still perform the essential duties of her position?
Are temporary adjustments, lighter duties or temporary cover possible?
In a small establishment, some options may not be practical. Consider them anyway before concluding that dismissal is the only answer.
If the cause is dishonesty. If the employer has credible evidence that the employee was not sick and deliberately misrepresented the reason, or submitted a false certificate, the matter may be misconduct. The employer must then prove it. A suspicion is not proof, and a pattern is not automatically dishonesty. Charge only what you can prove.
Do not play doctor. Medical information is sensitive. The employer needs to know whether the employee is fit or unfit for work, for how long, and any workplace limitations. It does not need the diagnosis or a list of medications. For complex cases, use an occupational health or medical process rather than questioning by the establishment manager.
A practical process for employers
Review the attendance records. Rely on facts, not frustration.
Check the applicable rules. This means the Main Collective Agreement, the Sick Pay Fund rules, and the BCEA.
Confirm the leave position. Know what has been used and what remains.
Meet the employee. Explain the concern without accusing, and listen. There may be a medical condition, a family problem, or a misunderstanding of the leave procedure.
Decide what you are dealing with. Is it incapacity, misconduct, or an attendance-management issue?
Follow the right process and keep records. Investigate fairly before any disciplinary step, or follow an incapacity process. Keep all correspondence, certificates and meeting notes.
Do not let the Sick Pay Fund become the employee’s problem
The National Sick Pay Fund for the Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare Industry pays benefits according to its rules, and employers must pay their contributions correctly. If an employer is in arrears, the employee may have no claim against the Fund. The rules preserve the employee’s right to claim sick pay from the employer for qualifying periods of illness. An administrative failure by the employer must not become the employee’s loss.
What employers should never do
Tell an employee they are “not allowed” to take sick leave.
Reject every medical certificate automatically.
Demand unnecessary private medical details.
Accuse an employee of lying without evidence.
Dismiss an employee for exhausting sick leave without first considering incapacity.
Apply the rules differently to different employees without good reason.
Wait months before raising the problem.
The takeaway: manage the pattern, not the person. Before acting, ask: “What problem am I actually solving?”
If the employee genuinely cannot work, follow an incapacity process.
If there is evidence of dishonesty, deal with it as misconduct.
If attendance is poor but there is no misconduct, address the pattern early, before it becomes a crisis.
Fairness does not mean tolerating abuse. It means dealing with suspected abuse through a process that lets both sides establish the truth. If the matter becomes complicated, get labour-relations guidance before taking any irreversible step.
