1) The Philippine “baseline”: no universal, stand-alone paid sick leave law for most private employees

In the private sector, there is generally no law that mandates a separate bucket of “paid sick leave” (e.g., “10 paid sick days a year”) for all employees. Instead, paid time off during illness usually comes from a mix of:

Service Incentive Leave (SIL) under the Labor Code (often used as “sick leave” in practice),
Employer policy / employment contract / CBA (many employers grant separate sick leave credits), and
SSS sickness benefit (a statutory cash benefit, subject to eligibility and documentation), plus
Special laws for certain workers or situations (e.g., kasambahay; women’s special leave for gynecologic surgery; government service rules), and
Employees’ Compensation (EC) benefits for work-related illness/injury.

Because of this structure, employers have room to set rules (notice, documentation, verification) — but that room is not unlimited. Rules must remain lawful, reasonable, consistently applied, privacy-compliant, and non-discriminatory.

2) Key terms (how HR and labor law typically treat them)

Sick leave vs. absence due to sickness

“Sick leave” usually means a paid leave credit (from SIL, policy, or CBA) used when the employee is ill.
If there are no paid leave credits available, the employee may still be absent due to sickness, but it may be unpaid (subject to rules on notice and documentation).

“No work, no pay” (default rule)

In the private sector, wage payment is generally tied to work performed. Unless a law, CBA, or employer policy provides paid leave, an absence due to illness is usually unpaid.

Medical certificate (med cert) vs. medical abstract vs. fit-to-work

Medical certificate: a doctor’s statement that the employee was examined/treated and is unfit for work for a stated period (or fit with restrictions).
Medical abstract/clinical summary: hospital/doctor summary often used for confinement/hospitalization or benefit claims.
Fit-to-work / medical clearance: clearance to return, often required after hospitalization or potentially contagious illness, or where work involves safety risks.

3) Private sector statutory floor: Service Incentive Leave (SIL)

What SIL is (Labor Code, Service Incentive Leave)

SIL is five (5) days leave with pay per year after at least one year of service, unless the employee/establishment is exempt or already receiving at least an equivalent benefit.

Important practical point: SIL is frequently used by employers and employees as a functional “sick leave” (or vacation leave) because it is a flexible leave credit.

Coverage and common exemptions (typical Labor Code framework)

SIL generally does not apply to:

Government employees (covered by civil service rules),
Managerial employees and certain officers/members of the managerial staff,
Field personnel (in the legal sense of those whose actual hours of work cannot be determined with reasonable certainty),
Employees already enjoying at least 5 days leave with pay (or equivalent) under company policy or CBA, and
Establishments regularly employing fewer than 10 employees (a commonly cited statutory exemption).

(Other special categories may be treated differently depending on implementing rules and jurisprudence.)

SIL usage and employer control

Employers may require reasonable notice for foreseeable leave, but illness is often not foreseeable.
Employers may set a procedure (who to notify, by when, what documentation), but it must remain workable in real illness situations.

SIL commutation to cash

SIL is commonly treated as commutable to cash if unused (subject to lawful rules and established practice). However, for leave benefits beyond SIL (extra sick leave, extra vacation leave, PTO banks), conversion rules depend on policy/CBA/practice.

4) Employer-granted sick leave (policy/CBA/contract): broad discretion, bounded by law

Many companies grant separate sick leave credits (e.g., 10–15 days/year), sometimes convertible, sometimes not, sometimes with carryover caps. These are management prerogatives and/or negotiated benefits — but employer rules must still observe legal limits.

Common lawful employer rules

Employers often require:

Call-in/notice as soon as practicable (e.g., before shift or within a set number of hours),
Documentation for longer illnesses, repeated absences, or suspicious patterns,
Verification when there is reason to doubt authenticity,
Return-to-work clearance for hospitalization or safety-sensitive work.

Unlawful or high-risk employer practices (common problem areas)

Rules become legally risky when they:

Are impossible to comply with during genuine illness (e.g., strict same-day clinic visit despite severe symptoms and no transport),
Are arbitrarily applied (strict for some employees but not others),
Function as discrimination (e.g., punishing pregnancy-related illness; targeting persons with disability or mental health conditions),
Violate data privacy by demanding unnecessary diagnosis details or circulating medical info broadly,
Are used to deny statutory rights (e.g., withholding SIL that should be available), or
Are used as a pretext for discipline/termination without due process.

5) The SSS Sickness Benefit: a statutory cash benefit with strict documentary requirements

For many private-sector employees, the most “law-like” sick benefit is the SSS sickness benefit (under the Social Security Act of 2018 and SSS rules). This is not the same as company sick leave. It is a cash benefit designed to replace part of income during qualified sickness/injury.

Basic concept

If a covered SSS member is unable to work due to sickness or injury and meets eligibility conditions, SSS pays a daily sickness allowance for a limited number of days.

Typical eligibility requirements (high-level)

Rules can be technical, but the usual requirements include:

The member has sufficient contributions within the relevant look-back period (often framed as a minimum number of monthly contributions in a defined window),
The member is unable to work due to sickness or injury and is confined (hospital or home) for at least a minimum number of days (commonly cited as at least 4 days),
The member has not exhausted the maximum compensable days (commonly up to 120 days in a calendar year, and an overall cap for the same illness), and
The member gives timely notice and submits required medical documentation.

Benefit amount (general rule)

The sickness allowance is commonly computed as a percentage of the member’s average daily salary credit (commonly cited at 90%), subject to SSS computation rules.

Employer’s role (for employed members)

For employees, the process is usually employer-mediated:

The employee notifies the employer and submits medical documents.
The employer files/records the claim in the SSS system and typically advances payment following SSS rules, then seeks reimbursement/crediting where applicable.
Late reporting can shift liability or affect reimbursement under SSS rules, so employers often enforce strict timelines.

Documentation expectations (SSS-driven)

For SSS sickness benefits, a medical certificate is not just an HR preference — it is often a formal requirement and may need:

Attending physician details, license information, dates of confinement, diagnosis/classification per SSS forms, and
Supporting hospital records for confinement/hospitalization.

Because SSS rules are document-centric, companies often align internal sick leave documentation with SSS requirements to avoid duplicate submissions.

6) Work-related illness/injury: Employees’ Compensation (EC) and OSH considerations

If sickness or injury is work-connected, two tracks often arise:

SSS sickness benefit (short-term income support), and/or
Employees’ Compensation (EC) benefits (under the Employees’ Compensation framework, historically linked to PD 626 as amended), which can cover medical services and income benefits in qualified cases.

Why this matters for med cert rules

Work-related cases often require:

More detailed medical documentation,
Incident/accident reports, and
Work restrictions/accommodation discussions.

Employers may require return-to-work clearance not to harass the employee, but to comply with occupational safety and health duties, especially in safety-sensitive roles.

7) Government employees (public sector): different system (Civil Service rules)

Government employees typically earn leave credits under Civil Service rules (commonly structured as vacation leave and sick leave accrual). The public sector often has:

More standardized leave accrual and commutation rules, and
More explicit documentary thresholds (e.g., med certificate requirements for sick leave beyond a certain number of days, and specific rules for frequent sick leaves).

Because these are not governed primarily by the Labor Code SIL framework, private-sector rules should not be assumed to apply to government employees.

8) Kasambahay (domestic workers): specific law coverage

Domestic workers are covered by the Kasambahay Law (RA 10361), which includes a paid service incentive leave (commonly five days) after the qualifying period. Documentation and house rules can exist, but must remain consistent with the kasambahay’s statutory protections and humane working conditions.

9) Medical certificates: what employers can require — and the limits

A. Is a medical certificate legally required for sick leave?

There is no single universal rule that says “a medical certificate is always required for any sick day.” In practice:

For company sick leave (policy/CBA/contract): med cert requirements are mostly policy-based.
For SSS sickness benefit: med cert and supporting documents are often mandatory under SSS rules.
For termination due to disease: a special kind of certification by a competent public health authority is required (see Section 12).

B. Common “reasonable” triggers for requiring a med cert

Employers commonly require a medical certificate when:

The absence is two or more consecutive days (or three; depends on policy),
There is hospitalization or ER visit,
The illness is potentially contagious or affects workplace safety,
There is a pattern suggesting potential abuse (e.g., repeated absences on certain days),
The employee requests SSS sickness benefit processing,
The employee seeks accommodation (work restrictions, reduced hours, temporary reassignment).

These triggers are typically defensible if applied consistently and with privacy safeguards.

C. What a “good” medical certificate usually contains

A practical, privacy-respecting med cert usually includes:

Employee/patient name,
Date(s) of consultation or confinement,
Statement of fitness/unfitness for work and the recommended rest period,
Return-to-work date or work restrictions (e.g., “light duty,” “avoid lifting,” “no night shift for X days”),
Physician’s name, signature (wet or electronic), clinic/hospital details, and professional license number.

Best practice: the certificate can state “unfit for work” and duration without disclosing detailed diagnosis unless truly necessary.

D. Who may issue it

For most sick leave purposes, employers usually require a certificate from a licensed physician. Special cases:

Dental conditions may be certified by a licensed dentist (depending on company rules).
Mental health-related incapacity may be supported by a psychiatrist (physician) and sometimes by clinical psychologists for certain documentation needs; employers often still prefer physician certification for “unfit for work” statements.
For SSS claims, the acceptable issuer and required forms are governed by SSS rules (often physician-based).

E. Telemedicine and electronic certificates

Electronic documents and signatures are generally recognized in Philippine commerce under the E-Commerce Act (RA 8792), and telemedicine became widely used in recent years. Many employers now accept:

Scanned or electronically issued med certs, provided they appear authentic and traceable to a legitimate provider.

Employers may still require the employee to produce the original later or allow verification with the clinic, as long as privacy is respected.

F. Employer verification: what is allowed

Employers may take steps to confirm authenticity (especially where fraud is suspected), such as:

Checking whether the doctor/clinic exists and whether the certificate format is consistent,
Verifying the certificate was issued (date/attendance),
Requesting a clarification limited to work capacity and restrictions.

Limit: verification should not become an open-ended probe into diagnosis or unrelated medical history.

10) Data privacy and confidentiality: medical information is “sensitive personal information”

A medical certificate almost always contains sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act (RA 10173).

Employer obligations typically implicated

Employers that collect/keep med certs should observe:

Purpose limitation: collect only what is necessary for leave/benefits/safety,
Transparency: inform employees what data is collected, why, how long it will be kept, and who can access it,
Proportionality: avoid demanding diagnosis details if not needed,
Security: restrict access to HR/authorized personnel; keep separate medical files where feasible,
Retention and disposal: keep only as long as needed for lawful purposes and then securely dispose.

Practical “need-to-know” rule

Supervisors usually need to know attendance impact and work restrictions, not the diagnosis. Broad disclosure (e.g., emailing medical certificates to whole teams) is high-risk.

11) Non-discrimination and accommodation constraints on employer sick-leave rules

Employer policies must not result in unlawful discrimination or punitive treatment of protected conditions, including:

Disability (e.g., under disability rights principles),
Pregnancy-related conditions (and related protections under women’s rights laws),
Mental health conditions (Mental Health Act context),
HIV status (HIV and AIDS Policy Act, RA 11166, prohibits compulsory HIV testing as a condition for employment and protects confidentiality).

Key limit: rules that effectively force disclosure of prohibited or unnecessary health information (e.g., requiring lab results unrelated to fitness for work) can create legal exposure.

12) When illness becomes a termination issue: “disease” as an authorized cause has special certificate requirements

Labor Code rule on termination due to disease

The Labor Code allows termination for disease (commonly cited as Article 299 [formerly 284]) only under strict conditions, typically including:

The employee has a disease such that continued employment is prohibited by law or prejudicial to health (self or co-employees), and
A competent public health authority issues a certification regarding the disease and employability.

Important distinction: a routine private clinic med cert is not the same as the certification contemplated for “termination due to disease.” Employers who shortcut these requirements risk illegal dismissal findings.

Separation pay

Disease termination (when valid) generally requires separation pay at a statutory minimum formula (commonly stated as at least one-half month pay per year of service or one month pay, whichever is higher, depending on the controlling provision and interpretation).

Due process still applies

Even if disease is an “authorized cause,” employers must still observe lawful procedure (notice requirements and opportunity to respond consistent with due process standards for terminations).

13) Discipline for sick leave issues: abuse, fraud, AWOL, and due process

Legitimate discipline grounds

Employers may discipline employees for:

Failure to follow reasonable notice rules (without good reason),
Submitting falsified or fraudulent medical certificates,
Misrepresentation about illness,
Habitual absenteeism that substantially affects work, subject to proof and progressive discipline frameworks.

Due process requirements

For disciplinary cases (including possible dismissal), Philippine labor standards generally require:

Clear rule/policy basis,
Notice of the charge,
Opportunity to explain/defend,
Decision with a factual and legal basis.

A common employer mistake is treating any documentation lapse as automatic “AWOL” without considering the reality of illness and without due process.

Fake medical certificates: high-risk for employees

Presenting a fake certificate can be treated as serious misconduct or fraud and may also have criminal implications (falsification) and professional consequences for complicit providers.

14) Pay implications that often surprise employees (private sector)

1) Paid leave is not automatic

If the employee has no available leave credits and no company paid sick leave policy, the day is typically unpaid, even if the illness is genuine.

2) Holiday pay interactions

Rules on regular holiday pay and the effect of absences on the workday immediately preceding the holiday can be technical. Many employers’ payroll rules hinge on whether the employee was on paid leave versus unpaid absence before the holiday.

3) Company “top-ups” with SSS sickness benefit

Some employers:

Pay the SSS sickness allowance only (per SSS rules), or
Top up to full pay by charging leave credits, or
Provide a benefit that integrates SSS reimbursements.

The governing document is usually the employer policy/CBA, provided it does not undercut statutory minima.

15) Practical compliance models (examples)

Model A: “Self-certification for 1 day; med cert for 2+ days”

Employee can file a simple written statement for a single sick day (especially if minor illness).
Med cert required for longer sickness or repeat patterns. This is often viewed as more humane and workable while still controlling abuse.

Model B: “Med cert required if requesting pay; unpaid LOA allowed with minimal documentation”

If an employee is genuinely sick but cannot obtain immediate consultation, the employer allows unpaid leave (or charges SIL later) while requiring documentation when feasible.

Model C: “Return-to-work clearance for safety-sensitive roles”

Fit-to-work clearance required after hospitalization, injury, or conditions affecting safety (e.g., dizziness for machine operators), aligned with OSH responsibilities.

16) Remedies and dispute routes

Workplace level

HR grievance mechanisms, documentation review, and (if unionized) CBA grievance/arbitration procedures.

Government agencies / forums (typical pathways)

DOLE mechanisms (including conciliation-mediation frameworks for labor standards money claims),
NLRC for illegal dismissal and labor disputes within its jurisdiction,
SSS / Social Security Commission processes for sickness benefit disputes and eligibility issues,
ECC processes for employees’ compensation claims (work-related cases).

17) Core takeaways (Philippine context)

For most private employees, “paid sick leave” is not a single statutory entitlement; it is usually SIL + employer policy + SSS benefits.
Medical certificates are primarily policy-driven for company sick leave, but often mandatory for SSS sickness benefit and are critical in work-related/EC contexts.
Employer rules must be reasonable, consistently applied, and privacy-compliant, and must not become a tool for discrimination or unlawful denial of statutory minima.
The Data Privacy Act meaningfully limits how medical certificates may be collected, stored, shared, and retained.
Termination due to disease is a specialized pathway with strict requirements, including certification by a competent public health authority and separation pay, plus lawful procedure.