No. In terms of section 23 (1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act employees become entitled to paid sick leave only when they are unable to work on account of sickness or injury. It is clear from the wording that the section provides for sick leave to be applied when an acute medical condition or -crisis arise which makes the employee “unfit for work”.
From this we can safely say that an employee is not entitled to paid sick leave for planned doctors’ visits, annual check-ups or to attend a clinic visit to obtain medication. The rationale behind this arrangement is that where possible, employees should schedule “plannable” visits outside of working hours.
Where employees indicate that they have no choice but to attend to such examinations during work hours, the employer may consider allowing the employee to work-back the time so lost, for e.g. to work during their next lunch times, or to come earlier or leave later. The employer should however take care to act consistently in granting benefits towards all employees in similar situations.
In cases of unplanned, emergency or crisis situations, employees may utilise their sick leave entitlement on condition that they provide a medical certificate issued by a registered practitioner, which indicates that they were unfit for work, on their return.
Employers are best advised to consult a reputable labour law firm to ensure that their policies, including their leave policy is current and provides for all possible scenarios.