Validity of Disapproved Sick Leave Immediately Before (or After) Holidays

Philippine Labour-Law Perspective

1. Why the Issue Matters

An employee who is on sick leave (SL) the day immediately preceding or immediately following a regular or special non-working holiday risks two separate consequences:

Whether the leave itself will be with pay – i.e., will the sick-leave credits be honoured?
Whether the employee remains entitled to the corresponding holiday pay under Article 94 of the Labour Code (for private-sector employees) or Rule IV of the Omnibus Rules on Leave (for public servants).

Disapproval of the SL therefore strikes at both questions.

2. Statutory & Regulatory Bases

Source	Key Provisions
Labour Code, Art. 94 (Holiday Pay)	Every employee who has worked or is on paid leave on the day immediately preceding a holiday earns one-day basic wage for the holiday. Absence without pay disqualifies the benefit unless the worker actually works on the holiday.
Omnibus Rules to Implement the Labour Code, Book III, Rule IV, §2	Mirrors Art. 94 and clarifies that “paid leave” includes service-incentive leave (SIL), vacation leave (VL), sick leave approved and paid, maternity/paternity leave, among others.
Omnibus Rules on Leave of Government Officials & Employees (§ 23–§ 26)	Grants 15 days VL & 15 days SL per year. Sick leave exceeding five (5) consecutive days requires a medical certificate. When certificate is lacking or the leave is otherwise irregular, the head of agency may disapprove and either: (a) charge it to VL; or (b) place employee on leave without pay (LWOP) if no VL balance.
DOLE Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits (Latest Edition)	Restates the “present or on paid leave” rule and gives examples of computation.
Company Policies / CBA	May fix (i) how to apply for SL, (ii) documentary support, (iii) disciplinary consequences for falsified claims, so long as minimum statutory standards are met.

3. When May Management Disapprove a Sick-Leave Application?

Procedural non-compliance – late filing, incomplete form, or failure to notify the employer within the period required by CBA/employer handbook.
Lack of medical proof for absences of three (private-sector norm) or five (public-sector rule) or more consecutive workdays.
Doubtful authenticity of the medical certificate (e.g., unsigned, issued by a non-licensed physician, obvious tampering).
Exhaustion of SL credits (statute only grants 5-day service-incentive leave if employer does not provide a separate SL bank; many CBAs provide more).
Bad-faith claims – evidence the employee was not ill (e.g., social-media photos of leisure travel).

Disapproval must observe due process: the employee should at least be informed of the grounds and given a chance to explain or to submit missing documents.

4. Effects of Disapproved SL on Holiday Pay

Scenario	Holiday-Pay Entitlement	Why
SL approved & with pay	Yes	Treated as paid leave under Art. 94.
SL disapproved, but converted to VL (with pay)	Yes	Still a form of paid leave.
SL disapproved → LWOP (no credits / med. cert. deficient)	No	Absence without pay on the workday immediately before (or after) the holiday forfeits holiday pay.
SL disapproved as fraudulent → disciplinary action	No — plus possible suspension/termination	Fraudulent leave is not paid leave; may constitute serious misconduct or dismissal ground under Art. 297.

Practical tip: Even if an SL is eventually approved weeks later (e.g., after late submission of a medical certificate), DOLE inspectors usually require the employer to retro-pay the holiday pay because the absence has already been re-classified into a paid leave.

5. Government-Sector Nuances

Five-day rule. Absences of five (5) consecutive working days or more require a medical certificate; otherwise the head of agency “shall disapprove.”
Automatic conversion hierarchy. If SL is disapproved for lack of certificate:
- First, charge to VL balance;
- If no VL, charge to future VL (leave-in-advance);
- If impossible, place on LWOP – in which case no holiday pay is due if the absence is contiguous to a holiday.
Appeal. The Civil Service Commission allows appeal within 15 days if the employee contests the disapproval.

6. Private-Sector Nuances

Service-Incentive Leave (SIL). Non-managerial employees with at least 1 year of service are entitled to 5 paid SIL days each year which may be used as sick or vacation leave. Disapproval where SIL credits remain may invite an illegal deduction complaint.
Extended sick leave benefits (often 15–30 days) are purely contractual. Disapproval is governed by the policy/CBA itself; DOLE will intervene only if disapproval is arbitrary or discriminatory.
SSS Sickness Benefit. Even if the company disapproves paid SL, an employee who meets SSS conditions may still claim daily sickness allowance (shared with employer). Holiday pay is still lost, however, because SSS benefit is social insurance, not “paid leave” in the Article 94 sense.

7. Selected Jurisprudence & DOLE Opinions

While no Supreme Court decision squarely captions “disapproved sick leave right before a holiday,” the following rulings supply guiding principles:

Case / Opinion	Gist & Relevance
San Miguel Foods v. Rivera, G.R. 167118 (23 Jan 2013)	Employer may deny holiday pay where worker was absent without leave on the day before the holiday; rule applies even if the absence was owing to sickness but unsupported by proof.
Bukluran ng Kagawad sa COMELEC v. COMELEC, G.R. 165769 (26 Apr 2011)	CSC leave rules strictly require medical certificate for SL exceeding 5 days; agency’s disapproval & conversion to LWOP upheld.
DOLE-NCR Opinion (31 Mar 2016)	Converting disapproved SL into VL keeps the absence “paid”; therefore, employee qualifies for holiday pay.
DOLE-BLR Opinion (28 Aug 2019)	Disciplinary action for falsified medical certificates is distinct from leave disapproval; backwages for holiday pay cannot be claimed if leave was fraudulent.

8. Best-Practice Checklist for Employers

Written policy defining:
- notice period (e.g., within 24 hours of return);
- minimum number of days that triggers medical-certificate requirement;
- form of certificate (name, license no., date of exam, diagnosis).
Immediate communication of disapproval and remedy (submit cert., convert to VL, etc.).
Objective evaluation committee (especially for large firms) to forestall arbitrariness & discrimination.
Clear payroll cut-off protocol: treat pending SL as “leave without pay – for regularization upon submission,” so payroll can be adjusted retroactively if proof is later accepted.
Education campaign so employees understand the link between paid-leave status and holiday-pay entitlement.

9. Tips for Employees

Keep copies of your medical certificate and proof of consultation (receipts, prescriptions).
File leave promptly; if bedridden, notify via SMS/email and file retroactively with notation “unable to report personally.”
If SL is disapproved, request a written explanation referencing the policy. You may appeal to HR, the grievance machinery (if unionised), or DOLE/CSC as applicable.
Remember that SSS sickness benefits can cover some wage loss even when company SL is disallowed.

10. Conclusion

The validity of a disapproved sick-leave application immediately before or after a holiday turns on two questions: (1) Was the disapproval itself proper? and (2) Did the absence therefore become unpaid? If the answer to (2) is yes, the employee forfeits statutory holiday pay. Both sides can protect themselves through strict adherence to documentary requirements, transparent procedures, and timely communication. Where the rules are followed, Philippine labour and civil-service regulations strike a fair balance between curbing abuse and preserving the worker’s right to rest and convalescence.