Tighten the rules for sick leave

The Speaker of Parliament, Søren Gade, wants to tighten the rules for when Folketing members must submit medical certificates in connection with sick leave, according to DR. At present, a member of Parliament must submit a medical certificate to his group chairman in connection with sick leave. However, independent members need not provide a medical certificate. For them, it is enough to ask the Speaker for sick leave without giving a detailed reason. Søren Gade now wants to change this so that a doctor’s certificate is necessary to get sick leave.
     “The rules will be changed if it is up to me, so the same rules apply. We have a bureau meeting (Ed: Wednesday), and I will try to change the rules there,” Gade told DR. The announcement comes after Moderate MP Mike Fonseca was expelled from the party on Friday on the basis of a relationship with a 15-year-old girl, which is contrary to the party’s code of conduct. Mike Fonseca is thus an independent MP, and he quickly went on paid sick leave. In this case, however, Mike Fonseca has submitted a medical certificate to Søren Gade, according to DR, even though he is not obliged to do so.     The use of sick leave by MPs has been the subject of debate recently. Here it has met with criticism that ordinary citizens outside Christiansborg do not find it as easy to go on paid sick leave as politicians. /ritzau/