JEDDAH, 7 December 2007 — Many workers are manipulating the sick leave system to take vacations from work. It is often easy to get a sick leave from private hospitals, even if the person is not that sick. Those who are truly sick become victims of government regulations and go through many procedures in order to get a sick leave, Al-Yaum reported.
The Ministry of Civil Services cannot be blamed for not accepting more than one-day sick leave from private hospitals and three days from government hospitals. Many Saudis and expatriates are abusing the system and use sick leaves as an excuse to have a couple of days off from work. Those who are really sick try to avoid the long procedures of government clinics and run away to private hospitals hoping to be treated fairly and take the sick leave they need. Their hopes fall apart when the doctor apologizes and says: “I’m sorry, I cannot give you a sick leave, although you need it.”
Dr. Tariq Al-Salim, director of medical affairs in Al-Ahsa, said: “Hospitals, medical centers, government clinics are only entitled to give three days maximum to surgery patients. On the other hand, doctors at private clinics are only permitted to give one-day sick leave. One week of sick leave has to be given by a specialist and signed by the hospital’s manager. The sick leave can be extended to 30 days, if two specialized doctors and the hospital’s manager sign the paper.”
Dr. Abdullah Rasheed, a doctor at a private clinic, said: “It’s true that some of the patients deserve more than one day sick leave, but we have to bear in mind that most patients are pretending to be sick. Some patients don’t even deserve a sick leave and others cause problems leading the doctor to give him the sick leave just to get rid of them. When a patient’s body temperature is 40 and he is really ill, then I believe he deserves sick leave.”
Dr. Mohammed Hazem said: “I believe that many patients deserve more than one day of rest but we can’t do anything. Some patients go to government clinics repeatedly to take sick leave. Unfortunately, the misused sick leave by employees leads to many patients becoming victims.”
Dr. Tariq Abdul Lateef, chief of a private dental clinic, said that sick leave rules have to be revised. “We face many problems and clashes with most of our employees who ask for sick leave,” he said. “We also face a lot of difficult situations, especially from private company employees and some of the government employees because they are not allowed more than one day off.”