Extension of Sick Leave
Extension of Sick Leave
In accordance with General Orders
5.18.2 - Any application by an officer holding a temporary appointment for sick leave in excess of fourteen days shall be referred to the Chief Personnel Officer for approval.
5.19.1 - Absence on account of illness in excess of the period stated in the First Schedule shall be deducted from the vacation leave of an officer; but in the case of a serious illness of an officer if the duration of such illness exceeds the period stated in the said Schedule, the Chief Personnel Officer may, in accordance with General Order 5.24.1 to 5.24.3, grant an extension of the period of sick leave.
5.20 - An application under General Order 5.19.1 for extension of sick leave beyond the period specified in the First Schedule, shall be supported by the certificate of a registered medical practitioner or a Medical Board and in the case of an officer on leave outside Barbados, such application shall be supported by the certificate of a private medical practitioner or a medical practitioner nominated by the Government.
5.24.1 - Extensions of leave with full pay may be granted on the ground of ill-health to any officer other than a casual employee for a period not exceeding six calendar months, and when there is reason to believe that the officer will ultimately be fit for further service, for a further period not exceeding six calendar months.
5.24.3 - Extensions of leave shall date from the expiration of the original leave and not from the date on which the officer would have had to return to work if his leave had not been extended.
When requesting extensions of sick leave, it is imperative that the following information is submitted using Form 'A':-
• Relevant medical certificate(s) together with the sick leave record of the officer.
• Full name of the officer in the correct order.
• Officer's National Registration Number.
• Post and status of officer (temporary, permanent or contractual and length of contract).
• Aggregate of sick leave taken over the previous two years.
The delegation of the authority to Permanent Secretaries to approve extensions of sick leave for up to three (3) months is subject to the following:
(a) Officers on sick leave must be permanently appointed and the extension to be approved must be certified;
(b) The maximum amount of sick leave to be approved by Permanent Secretaries would be:-
(i) not more than three months continuous in any one year; or
(ii) not more than three months aggregated extension of sick leave, where breaks between periods of sick leave are of less than six months duration.
(c) Where a break of 6 months or more occurs between periods of sick leave, the latter period(s) would count towards another 3 month period to be approved by the Permanent Secretaries.
(d) Copies of letters from Permanent Secretaries approving extensions of sick leave would be forwarded to the Chief Personnel Officer at the time when a subsequent request is submitted to Personnel Administration Division for approval/referral to a Medical Board.
Permanent Secretaries and Head of Departments are reminded that monitoring controls must be put in place to ensure that officers (whether temporary, contractual or permanent) are not overpaid for periods of sick leave in excess of those permitted in accordance with General Orders 5.18.1, 5.24.1 and 5.25.5.
It must be borne in mind that extensions of sick leave to temporary and contract officers are granted on no pay. In the case of a temporary officer, this may be varied and granted as an extension of sick leave to be deducted from vacation leave eligibility provided that the officer is eligible for the relevant amount of vacation leave at the time the sick leave is taken. In the event that a temporary officer is granted an extension of sick leave in such manner, there must be a clear agreement between the officer and the Ministry/Department, that either (a) the officer does not claim benefits from National Insurance Department; or (b) the benefits received will be paid into the Accounts section of the relevant Ministry/Department in which he/she is employed. This is in accordance with General Order 5.16.2 which states:
“During any period of sick leave resulting from an injury caused by accident arising out of and in the course of the officer’s or employee’s employment or from a prescribed disease as defined in the National Insurance and Social Security (Employment/Injury) (Prescribed Diseases) Regulations, 1971 the salary of the officer or employee shall be reduced by the full amount of the injury or disablement benefit payable under the NI Regulations during the period of incapacity for work in order to ensure that at no time will both payments exceed the salary normally paid.”
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The Ministry of the Public Service was created in January 2019, through the amalgamation of the entities: Ministry of the Civil Service, Personnel Administration Division, and Training Administration Division.
