What an employee must and need not disclose to the employer about an illness
Article 31 of the Employment Contracts Act sets out what the medical certificate states: the incapacity for work, the likely duration and whether the employee may go elsewhere for a check. A diagnosis is not part of it. If you send a control doctor, the doctor checks whether the employee is really unfit and for how long; all other findings remain covered by medical confidentiality.
Exceptions
The employee must, however, inform you immediately that they are unfit. If a collective agreement or the work rules require it, or if you ask for it, they submit a certificate within 2 working days, unless a collective agreement or the work rules set another deadline. They must also receive a control doctor or report to one.
What is the risk?
You cannot force a diagnosis. What does have consequences: an employee who, without force majeure, informs you late, submits their certificate late or evades the check without a valid reason can lose guaranteed pay for the days before that notice, submission or check.
What to do
When someone reports sick, ask only for the likely duration and the address where they are staying, set the rules for the certificate in the work rules and send a control doctor if in doubt.
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Sources
Every amount and deadline on this page was checked against these official sources, last consulted on .