A friend of mine at work is attempting to skip a big meeting and is applying for medical leave but it too lazy to go to the doctors. He told me he found websites that provide medical certificates in exchange for money such as this
Looks pretty dodgy to me but I rarely take sick leave (except for the 5 days without proof allowance) so I don't know if this is legitimate.
Any advice or opinions on this?
Sounds like it's a "It's time to move onward in your career… to another company" meeting.
sure this is for your 'friend'
What happens when your 'friend' gets caught out if 'their' employer checks the certificate's authenticity?
He will never need to attend a big meeting ever again! Win-Win!
Asking for yourself?
It's legit.
You can also go to most pharmacies and get one now too. Person running this site is a pharmacist.
It's nothing special.
This. Go to your local chemist and get a certificate (for about $25 I think) if you (he) can't be bothered to go to your GP.
If you think it's ligit then what do you think HR will say.. THE SAME…
Seems not much different to a telehealth appointment with a doctor.
They have a call, ask what is wrong with you, decide if you need to stay home, offer some medical advice, and then issue a certificate.
Legally they are not obligated to tell your employer what is wrong with you
Nothing illegal
Just say you've got flu like symptoms and get 7 days off.
Another option, is to do up a stat Dec.
That is also an acceptable document apart from a doc cert
while a bit unethical… say you have "cold and flu symptoms" and i would go get a covid test, they ask you if you need a doc cert
But then they'd need to actually go there and get a covid test.
Reading from op, doing anything is not in the realm of option
if he's too lazy to sit in his car, wait until someone jams a q-tip up his nose… there's very little that can help him!
Or go get your booster shot. They give you a cert too.
Sure, your 'friend' could rely on something like this, provided they don't see a long term future with the employer.
They'll be fine unless they do it too often. Employers know people take sickies without actually being sick once in a while
CAN A PHARMACIST ISSUE A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE?
Yes.
The Fair Work Act 2009 allows a pharmacist to issue personal leave and carer's leave certificates.
But a pharmacist is not a medical practitioner. A pharmacist gives an opinion as a pharmacist, and not as a doctor.
https://www.sick-e.com.au/faq
This is a good business idea given that the world won't go back to pre-covid.
Most doctors offer telehealth services now anyway and can give out prescriptions/test forms/medical certificates for free. Not sure what this website is supposed to be charging for?
Sounds like they're simply looking to make a quick buck from stupid people who don't know that telehealth services is already a thing.
Most doctors offer telehealth services now anyway and can give out prescriptions/test forms/medical certificates for free.
The certificates aren't free.
Every consultation is a burden on the health care system which is funded by taxpayers.
Considering the effort it takes, where they have to call you, you might as well just book a telehealth GP appointment for free?
Your friend is a (profanity) idiot.
Too lazy to go to the meeting, too lazy to go the doctor, too lazy to post on OzB themselves.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this big meeting is a performance review.
Is the big meeting about your friend's performance review/management?
…skip a big meeting and is applying for medical leave
If the meeting is really that big and "your friend" is at a level where he still needs to provide a medical certificate for a single day's absence, there's a good chance no-one is going to notice him missing!
I used to hate company-wide sessions but they were compulsory so I'd rock up and wait until they started, then I'd 'go to the toilet' and not come back. I'm sure a few people probably noticed, but noone ever said anything. 😆
These are just an expensive statutory declaration. You can print one out yourself and get it signed at the local police station for free.
His 'friend' is too lazy to go to the police station.
Might want to avoid the cops.
Tell your friend he's a knob and that he should go to work.
Faking a medical certificate is, IMO, dumber than just calling in sick and wearing the day without pay if they decide not to let him get away with it without a certificate. A dodgy looking certificate is a good way to raise significant questions about his performance, especially if they notice a pattern on missing important meetings.
OP, tell you "friend" to harden up.
but I rarely take sick leave (except for the 5 days without proof allowance)
that's not 'rarely' taking sick days.
Play the diarrhoea card. What could they possibly say to that.
It's a red flag that he says I never take sick leave, cept for the 5 days I don't need proof.
Sick leave is for legit sick leave if you have to question it… your not sick!!
Consider this… A big meeting might teach you the valuable skills we learn as we grow up… avoiding them will only put this off until your old enough to 'know better'..
Go get some concrete and…..
Sick leave is for legit sick leave
Are you a doctor? It's not for you to decide if OP is well enough for work or not. Sick leave is not just for instances where you can't physically get out of bed. Feeling overwhelmed and stressed out is a perfectly valid reason to take a few sick days.
Dont use it. In my workplace i got a guy use one of this. Pretty sure that guy received a warning letter.
The website he use doesnt show the ABN number nor any registration of health practitioners. It’s just an expensive letter without any legal weight on it.
If you are that sick to attend future meeting just go to the doctor and ask them to help you get better.
You = read as your friend.
Companies know about these sort of sites. The people using them might find themselves being managed out the door. Although, it sounds like your friend’s attitude would, already, be ringing alarm bells.
A medical certificate can only be issued by a registered medical practitioner who deems you unfit, of a specific ailment, for a specific period of time.
Seeking, printing, issuing, of fraudulent sourced, issued, obtained certificates, can and will see your employment terminated.
You must be examined, and interpreted as suffering an ailment, which prevents you undertaking work duties, in order to obtain a "LEGAL" Medical Certificate.
You having need to enquire on this site, demonstrates you doubt the legitimacy of obtaining "e-certs" off the internet.
Certificates for absence from work
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, employees can be required by their employer to provide certificates for absence from work to verify absences from work due to illness or injury (personal leave), or absences due to the illness or injury to a member of the employee’s immediate family or household (carer’s leave).Other forms of evidence are medical certificates and statutory declarations.
It is deemed within a registered pharmacist’s scope of practice to issue a Certificate for Absence from Work, provided they are acting within their scope of practice.
The Guild strongly recommends that pharmacists limit the provision of certificates for absence from work to:
their area of practice and expertise, which is primarily:
the supply, compounding or dispensing of medicines
the provision of professional pharmacy services, including advice on minor conditions and the effective and safe use of medicines; and
circumstances where they can reasonably form a view as to an employee’s fitness for work, or as to the illness or injury of the member of the household or immediate family.
https://www.guild.org.au/resources/health-services/pharmacy-…
The gov allows this i.e pharmacists chargiing the public because then the public pays for the certificate rather them going to their gp which costs the gov.
Gov always the public's interests at heart 😂
Y'all need better employers if you can't take a single day off without a certificate
some employers don't mind a few days off, but over a certain amount per year they then want one for every sick day (mostly it appears to be 5 days).
OP has already used the 5 allowable days where a SLC is not requried.
How backwards is your company to want a certificate for 1 day? Usually, if you're off for 2 days or more, you need one.
Tell your 'friend' to make a phone appointment with a bulk billing GP & get the certificate emailed across. Tell the doc anything, eg. Stressed/headache/stomach ache.
Try it and tell us. I hope they lose their job so that someone who actually wants to work takes up their role.
Most gp are doing phone appointments so just use them for free…
It's not free. Someone is paying for the doctor's time.
If the friend wants a day off work then they should do the right thing and pay for the certificate themselves.
Just go to the meeting.