All New Zealand employers understand that every employee is entitled to paid sick leave – it’s the law under the Holidays Act 2003.

The intention of sick leave is to allow employees to recover from sickness or injury away from work, without losing pay. From time to time, however, employers suspect that sick leave is being misused and employees are “throwing a sickie”.

While throwing a sickie may seem trivial, the reality is that abuse of sick leave can be costly and disruptive for employers. It is therefore important that all employers understand their rights when they suspect that an employee’s reason for taking sick leave is not genuine.

This paper addresses with changes to the law regarding employer’s rights to request proof of sickness, and an employer’s ability to dismiss employees for dishonestly taking sick leave.

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