5. Get proof about needing personal emergency leave

Your employer can require you to prove that you need personal emergency leave. But they can only require you to give proof that’s “reasonable in the circumstances”.

What’s reasonable to have to show your employer depends on your situation, for example:

• why you need the leave
• how long you need the leave to be
• any past leaves you’ve had or periods you’ve been away from work
• whether you can get proof of why you need the leave
• how much it would cost to get proof

Proving illness, injury, or medical emergency

Your employer can’t require you to give them a medical note from a doctor, registered nurse, or psychologist.

But you might need to give your employer a note from another health professional, such as a dentist or a physiotherapist.

If the personal emergency leave is for your own illness, injury, or medical emergency, the note should include:

• how long you need to be away or how long you needed, if you’ve already been away
• when you went to the health professional
• whether the health professional signing the note saw you in person

If you took personal leave because of a family member, your employer can require you to tell them:

• the name of the family member
• how your family member is related to you
• that you need to be away from work because your family member is sick or injured

Your employer does not have the right to know about:

• the diagnosis for you or your family member
• the treatment you or your family member are getting

Proving other reasons for personal emergency leave

Other examples of what you might use to prove that you needed personal emergency leave include:

• a letter from your child’s school
• a police report
• a death certificate, death notice, or obituary