Sick Leave Management

Sick leave management has grown into one of the most pressing challenges for New Zealand employers, especially since employees became entitled to 10 paid days per year in 2021.

With recent statistics revealing record-high sick leave use—over 10 million days lost annually across the country—employers are rightly concerned about the business impact.

Individual businesses report dramatic increases. For example, one Auckland entertainment business saw sick leave days jump from 64 in 2019 to 278.5 in Financial year 2024/2025, rising to 2.4% of their total wage bill.(Checkpoint 17 June 2025)

Medical Certificates (Proof of sickness or injury)

Where an employee has sick leave:

• employers can require a medical certificate where the employee’s sick leave absence is three or more consecutive calendar days – even if some of those days aren’t working days – the cost of obtaining the medical certificate is the responsibility of the employee.
  Example: if an employee calls in sick on Friday, and then again the following Monday – the employer can request a medical certificate because the employee’s sick leave absence could be considered more than three consecutive days.

• employers can also require a medical certificate sooner than three days if it’s reasonable, but in this scenario employers must cover the employee’s reasonable costs of obtaining the medical certificate.

• It’s worth noting that where the employer has informed the employee of the requirement to provide a medical certificate for any period of sick leave, the employer may withhold payment for sick leave until the employee provides a medical certificate.

Where an employee has used all their sick leave, or the employee is new to the business and is not yet entitled to sick leave:

• employers can request a medical certificate at any time, and employers do not need to cover the cost.  In this scenario, the employee does not have to provide a medical certificate, but the employer may be able to ‘direct’ the employee to obtain a medical certificate at the employers expense.  This will depend on provisions in the employment agreement, or any policy which may be in place.

Addressing Misuse of Sick Leave

For employers who are facing repeat absenteeism, this can be addressed as a disciplinary matter.

If you have any concerns regarding employee absenteeism, or you want to remind staff of your expectations regarding absence from work, or if you would like some guidance on the management of leave or to update your policies, contact us.

Proportional sick leave is being considered by the Government and we will keep you updated on changes.