Paid sick leave is not claimed for a rest day, public holiday, non-working day, annual leave or unpaid leave. A medical certificate spanning those days is counted only against qualifying working days. A half working day used as sick leave counts as one day.
MOM sick leave special situations: MOM’s sick-leave special-situations page addresses half-days, non-working days, public holidays and notice periods. MOM annual leave special situations: MOM’s annual-leave special-situations page explains the full-day treatment for leave taken on a half working day and the role of employer policy.
Count the day against the roster
| Fact pattern | What to do |
|---|---|
| MC spans working day and public holiday | Count only the qualifying working day as sick leave |
| Employee falls sick during annual leave | Discuss cancelling annual leave; conversion is not automatic |
| Sick leave falls on a half working day | Count one day of sick leave |
| Employee is serving resignation notice | Paid sick leave remains available if eligibility conditions are met |
When paid sick leave applies
Overlay the MC on the roster. Mark every date as working, rest, non-working, public holiday, annual leave or unpaid leave. Count only after the calendar is complete.
Do not treat an MC as automatic leave conversion. The document supports illness, but annual leave cancellation still needs discussion and an employer decision. Record that decision.
Half-days and non-working days
Apply the half-day rule consistently. MOM treats sick leave on a half working day as one day. Annual leave also defaults to a full day, though employers may choose a half-day policy.
Medical certificates and notification
Keep notice-period rights intact. Resignation does not itself remove sick-leave entitlement. Continue the ordinary eligibility, notification and certification process.
Reconcile three records. The roster, leave ledger and payslip should tell the same story. Investigate a mismatch before payroll closes.
A roster example
An MC covers 8 and 9 August, with one date a working day and the other a public holiday. MOM’s example counts one sick-leave day. HR records the MC span, the calendar classification and the one-day deduction so the employee can reproduce the result.
Employee and HR checklist
- Save the MC and notification
- Overlay dates on the roster
- Exclude rest and public holidays
- Discuss annual-leave cancellation
- Apply the half-day rule
- Check eligibility during notice
- Reconcile leave and payroll records
Errors that change the conclusion
- Counting every MC date
- Automatically converting annual leave
- Counting a half workday as half sick day
- Refusing leave during notice
- Leaving the payslip and leave ledger inconsistent
Sick-leave questions
Does an MC on a public holiday use sick leave?
No, that day is not counted as paid sick leave.
Can annual leave be cancelled?
The employee may discuss it with the employer; it is not automatic.
Does sick leave apply during notice?
Yes, if normal eligibility conditions are met.
Use the roster, certificate and notice as separate facts
First identify whether the date was a scheduled working day, non-working day, rest day, public holiday or part of a notice period. Then record the medical-certificate period and when the employee informed the employer. A certificate covering a calendar date does not by itself answer how much paid sick leave is deducted from a particular roster.
For a half-day situation, record the hours already worked, the time the employee became unfit and the employer’s attendance treatment. Avoid converting every medical absence into a full-day deduction without checking the special-situation rule. The same care is needed when certified leave overlaps annual leave or a public holiday.
Employees should keep the certificate and notification record; HR should keep the roster, leave balance and payroll treatment. If the parties disagree, compare those records before arguing from memory. The file should show both entitlement and administration—whether leave was available, and how this exact date was counted.
A neutral chronology often resolves a sick-leave disagreement: scheduled hours, time illness began, medical consultation, certificate period, notification time and payroll or leave deduction. Build that chronology before debating intent. It separates medical evidence from roster administration and gives both employee and HR a shared set of facts for any MOM or TADM guidance they later seek.
Notice periods add another layer because paid sick leave entitlement and the employment end date are separate questions. Record whether the employee remained employed on the certified date and whether the usual eligibility and notification conditions were met. Avoid assuming that resignation cancels medical leave or that a certificate automatically extends every contractual timeline; use the applicable MOM guidance for the exact facts.
For shift workers, a certificate spanning midnight can intersect more than one roster label. Map the certified period onto scheduled shifts rather than counting calendar dates mechanically. If an employee worked part of a shift before seeking care, record those hours. This creates a fair basis for leave deduction and pay treatment without asking the medical certificate to answer a scheduling question it was not designed to decide.
Medical privacy still matters. HR needs enough information to administer leave but should not circulate diagnosis details more widely than necessary. Keep the certificate and leave record in the appropriate system and discuss the roster treatment with the employee privately. A careful process can verify entitlement without turning a routine sick-leave calculation into unnecessary disclosure of health information. Correct both payroll and the leave balance if a later review finds the day was counted wrongly.
Related reading: The next practical guide is The payslip record employers must provide. Use Another formal employee-request workflow only when that becomes the immediate task.
