With Waitangi Day tomorrow, there is a great temptation to pull a sickie today.
Employment law expert Jennifer Mills told The AM Show that it's not the smartest move.
"Today if you call in sick, an employer might say, 'Why don't you go and get a medical certificate?'"
Though after this point, she said it's not too hard to get away with it.
"Under the Holidays Act an employer can request a medical certificate after day one. The employer must pay for the reasonable costs for the employee to get a medical certificate. However, an employer can't require an employee to attend a particular doctor.
"If an employee goes to a family or favourite doctor and can provide a valid medical certificate, it's very difficult for an employer to look behind it.
"There's only a few cases in our history where an employer has actually gone and investigated it and found that the sick leave was ingenuine.
"There's been a recent survey of Auckland doctors which shows that some medical certificates say things like 'I've examined patient X and they're not feeling 100%'. Who is?"
She says sick leave costs the New Zealand economy $1.26 billion every year, and 20% of all sick leave taken is expected to be ingenuine.
However, Ms Mills says if an employer has reason to believe the sick leave is suspicious, they can commence an inquiry.
If you are pulling a sickie today, Ms Mills says there's one other important thing to remember.
"Don't post a picture on Facebook which might suggest that you're not sick."
Newshub.
