Throwaway in case my employer sees this.
I’m a seishain working for a local private company. My company offers 10 PTO (有給休暇 written in contract) and 3 paid sick leave (病気休暇 written in the 就業規則). A couple of weeks ago, I was sick for two days so I used 2 of my sick leave days.
I notified them by sending my boss an email each morning before work hour but I didn’t check my inbox (who check their email when they’re sick). Apparently, during those two days, he requested that I have to get a doctor’s note and I have to request the sick leave through the company’s employee portal. So now they are threatening to not pay me for those two days if I don’t take 2 PTO for those days. The term in the 就業規則 was worded along the line of “If the employer deems that the employee is unable to work, the employer will give the employee sick leave.” However, nothing is written regarding the employee portal or doctor’s note.
I did my own research and it seems that they can’t force me to get a doctor’s note (or punish me if I refuse to or did not get one) if it is not explicitly written in the 就業規則, I’m not sick for too long or I’m not sick too often to the point that it interferes with the company’s business.
So my questions are:
1. Are they allowed to not pay me for those 2 days if I don’t use my PTO in this situation?
2. For future reference, even if I know that they requested me to get a doctor note, can I just refuse it? Frankly, I don’t want to go anywhere when I’m sick.
3 comments
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This is not the answer you want, but:
1) Yes, the don’t have to pay you. There is no law requiring paid sick leave. Your rules of employment, state it is at the employer’s determination. If they want to base that on a doctors note, that is their right.
2) You can refuse, and they can refuse your request.
I’m afraid that you have answered your own question here.
>”If the employer deems that the employee is unable to work, the employer will give the employee sick leave.”
In your case, the employer has not made that determination. If the employer needs a doctor’s note to make that determination, then there you go.
On the bright side, you still have those sick days in case you get something serious down the line.