'Sickie disputes no place for GP'

Jamie Morton | 26th July 2010

The director of Wairarapa's largest medical practice has raised worries the Government's proposed crackdown on ''sickies'' could drag GPs into workplace disputes.
Masterton Medical general manager Jeff Ryan said the National Government's proposed law change _ where workers who take a day off for a minor illness could be forced to obtain a medical certificate _ could haul GPs away from their traditional roles.
''Making a judgment call between an employer and employee is not our role. It's not the best place for a GP to be. Our role is purely clinical.''
But Mr Ryan did not believe, as other practice managers have, that the measures would cause clerical clogging.
''I don't think it would have a huge impact on us here in Masterton. Because of our size we'd have the capacity to deal with it.''
Masterton general practitioner and Libertarianz Party leader Richard McGrath said there should be freedom for employers and workers to negotiate terms and conditions of employment without political interference.
''This would normally include agreements over sick leave, including how many sick days an employee could take, and whether a medical opinion would be required beyond a certain length of time off work,'' Dr McGrath said.
''If the prospective employee thought the employer was being unrealistic or too harsh over issues around sick leave, the employee could try and negotiate around that, or alternatively look elsewhere for an employer offering less restrictive terms.''
There were both good and bad points to the proposed changes, he said.
''Good, because they would remove any automatic two-day entitlement to sick leave which is open to abuse by employees; and bad, because they would force employers to pay the cost of a medical consultation for the employee.
''In any case, depending on location, the employee may have difficulty getting an appointment with a GP at short notice.''
But Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson has rubbished the idea that every employee would have to obtain a medical certificate for sick days, calling the suggestion ''ridiculous''.
''The Government is proposing to amend the current law so employers do not need to have proof when they suspect an employee of pulling a 'sickie'.
''Employers aren't going to waste their time and money asking every employee for a medical certificate when they take a day off sick.