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Written answer by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on recognition of medical certificates issued by traditional chinese medicine practitioners

Employment practices
Notice paper no. 290 of 2016 for the sitting on or after 13 September 2016


Question no. 478 for oral answer

MP: Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan

To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry can consider implementing guidelines or legislation to formally recognise medical certificates issued by registered Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners especially for certain ailments such as sprains, back pain, and torn muscles.

Answer
  1. Under the Employment Act, all employers are required to grant paid sick leave to employees with Medical Certificates (MCs) issued by a Government medical officer. In addition, employers are also required to grant paid sick leave for MCs issued by private medical practitioners who are registered under the Medical Registration Act (MRA) and are appointed by the company. 
  2. Some employers, including the Public Service, go beyond the requirements of the Employment Act to grant paid sick leave for MCs issued by private medical practitioners other than those appointed by the company. 
  3. There were almost 4,000 private medical practitioners registered under the MRA in 2015. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners can also be registered, subject to approval by the Singapore Medical Council.