It will no longer be necessary to have a medical certificate to justify a one-day absence from work. This will soon be the norm for companies with more than 50 people. Please note that there are certain conditions. The measure has yet to be voted on in parliament and should come into force by the end of the year.
A bad cold or indigestion: you are unable to work. Now there is no need to call your doctor for a medical certificate. The restricted Council of Ministers decided this Friday. “The rule will be that workers will be entitled to three times a year a day off without asking for a certificate from a doctor“, explains the Federal Minister of Health, Frank Vandenbroucke. “Obviously, all the checks that employers can organize remain in force. So people obviously have to justify themselves“.
This new rule will apply to companies with more than 50 employees. A decision that will lighten the administrative burden of general practitioners.
Risk of abuse? It would be quite the opposite according to the minister
Among the few people questioned in Brussels, the measure is welcomed. “You don’t have to pay a doctor for just a day’s absence. For me it’s a good decision“, tells us an employee. “It seems very reasonable“, confides us another. “It gives more flexibility for working men and women. I think it’s a good idea“, adds a young man. “I’m afraid it might make some people cheat more easily.“, worries another.
According to the Minister, the measure might on the contrary shorten the periods of absence. “The current system has a totally perverse effect. What happens is that often, doctors, to be a little reassured, so as not to make a mistake, prescribe not one or two days, but immediately three, four or five days, out of prudence even if it is not may not be necessaryIndique Frank Vandenbroucke.
The new law has yet to be passed in parliament. It should come into force by the end of the year.