Sometime an employee takes a chance and produces a fake sick note. Here's how to tell if a doctor's certificate is real or not.

As a manager, you’ve probably developed a 6th sense about certain employees and their staying-away-from-work habits. You have probably come across one or two employees that you suspect are taking advantage of the system and their sick leave allowance, but since you’re no labour expert, you’re not sure if their medical certificates are valid or not.

Before you take any drastic measures, your first step is to confirm whether or not the doctor's note is valid. You should investigate, starting with these four questions:

1. Who can issue a valid Medical Certificate in South Africa.

A person that is certified to diagnose and treat patients and is registered with a professional council. The medical certificate should have a valid practice number.

2. Does this include traditional healers?

No. Sangomas and other traditional healers may issue certificates, but employers can reject them. You can only reject it you are not bound by a collective agreement to accept such certificates. Some certificates from traditional healers do contain a practice number but that is merely an indication that the healer has registered with a voluntary Interim Council (established in 2005) that no longer exists.

Read: 2 employees you need to fire immediately

3. What constitutes a legitimate sick note?

If any of the elements below are missing, you do not have to accept the medical certificate as valid.

The medical certificate must have the doctor or practitioner’s:

- Name

- Address

- Qualification

- Signature

The medical certificate must have the employee’s:

- Name

The medical certificate must contain details of the employee’s illness, including:

- The date and time of the doctor’s visit

- An indication that the employee is unfit for work  

Do note that a description of the illness in layman’s terms should be included too. However, this must be at the consent of the employee – s/he has the right to keep the diagnosis confidential. If you are suspicious of an employee’s absenteeism or notice that they’re sick more often than usual, then you can ask the employee to write a formal letter and authorise the doctor to tell you what kind of ailment the employee has.

The certificate must also specify:

- Whether the employee described his/her symptoms and the doctor accepted it on acceptable medical grounds or whether the diagnosis is made purely on personal observation.

- The exact date that the certificate was issued.

If the employee only goes to the doctor on day 2 or 3 of being absent from work, the doctor is not necessarily confirming that s/he examined the patient, nor confirming that s/he’s sick. In which case, you don’t have to accept that s/he was sick.

- What kind of duties (if any) s/he is able to fulfill.

For example, sometimes an employee is advised by the doctor to not carry heavy loads but they are able to complete admin tasks.

- The dates that s/he should be absent from work to recover.

4. How do employees commonly fraud their sick notes?

(i) Employees may make a copy of an old medical certificate and simply alter the dates

Adding a new date is as easy as using Tippex or pasting a blank page over the original date. Once they make a copy of the 'blank' certificate, they're able to fill in their own details. Usually, they it's the date of absence and type of illness that gets altered.

What you should do: Always insist on handwritten personal information. You will then be able to compare the two handwritings. Most practitioners have a date stamp that serves as extra proof of date of issue. 

Read: Issuing warnings in the workplace

(ii) They use a fake doctor’s name and signature

Many employees simply scribble an illegible signature and/or use a made up name, relying on your naïveté to overlook it.

What you should do: Insist on a handwritten signature. You can double check the name by doing a quick Google Search. This is the easiest way to tell if the person is a registered doctor or not.

(iii) The medical practice, registration number and phone number is made up

You should be aware that there are a websites that exist that makes it that much easier for employees to fake a legitimate-looking sick note.

What you should do: Again, you should Google all details of the practice online. If you’re unable to confirm the relationship between the phone number and registration number, then the medical certificate is probably a fake.

So, what steps can you take to discipline an employee that has faked a doctor’s note? Find out next week on Careers24 Management Advice.