Can you dismiss an employee for a fake medical certificate? Learn the legal process and proof required.

May I dismiss an employee who submits a false medical certificate?

We’ve all heard of medical certificates for sale, bogus doctors, falsified medical certificates, and so on. It seems to be big business out there!

Imagine your employee submits a medical certificate which appears to be bogus. You’ve also heard reports of a so-called “Doctor” in the area who issues medical certificates on demand.

It may seem logical that you can fire the employee if you can prove that the certificate is invalid. But is it permissible to fire the employee?

The key question here is whether the employee is blameworthy. In other words, was the employee dishonest? The employee might have been unaware of the requirements for medical certificates, or who is qualified to issue medical certificates.

The employer must be able to prove that the employee was dishonest.

For more information see the links below.

https://labourwise.co.za/labour-articles/dismissing-employees-for-irregular-sick-notes

https://labourwise.co.za/labour-articles/doctors-ondemand-certificates