# Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, Article 59


1. An official who provides evidence of being unable to carry out his duties by reason of illness or accident shall be entitled to sick leave.
The official concerned shall notify his institution of his incapacity as soon as possible and at the same time state his current address. He shall produce a medical certificate if he is absent for more than three days. This certificate must be sent on the fifth day of absence at the latest, as evidenced by the date as postmarked. Failing this, and unless failure to send the certificate is due to reasons beyond his control, the official's absence shall be considered as unauthorised.
The official may at any time be required to undergo a medical examination arranged by the institution. If the examination cannot take place for reasons attributable to the official, his absence shall be considered as unauthorised as from the date that the examination is due to take place.
If the finding made in the examination is that the official is able to carry out his duties, his absence shall, subject to the following subparagraph, be regarded as unjustified from the date of the examination.
If the official considers the conclusions of the medical examination arranged by the Appointing Authority to be unjustified on medical grounds, he or a doctor acting on his behalf may within two days submit to the institution a request that the matter be referred to an independent doctor for an opinion.
The institution shall immediately transmit the request to another doctor agreed upon by the official's doctor and the institution's medical officer. Failing such agreement within five days of the request, the institution shall select a person from a list of independent doctors to be established for this purpose each year by common consent of the Appointing Authority and the Staff Committee. The official may within two working days object to the institution's choice, whereupon the institution shall choose another person from the list, which choice shall be final.
The independent doctor's opinion given after consultation of the official's doctor and the institution's medical officer shall be binding. Where the independent doctor's opinion confirms the conclusion of the examination arranged by the institution, the absence shall be treated as unjustified from the date of that examination. Where the independent doctor's opinion does not confirm the conclusion of that examination, the absence shall be treated for all purposes as having been justified.
2. If, over a period of 12 months, an official is absent without a medical certificate for up to three days because of sickness for a total of more than 12 days, he shall produce a medical certificate for any further absence because of sickness. His absence shall be considered to be unjustified as from the thirteenth day of absence on account of sickness without a medical certificate.
3. Without prejudice to the application of the rules on disciplinary proceedings, where appropriate, any absence considered to be unjustified under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be deducted from the annual leave of the official concerned. In the event that the official has no outstanding leave entitlement, he shall lose the benefit of his remuneration for the corresponding period.
4. The Appointing Authority may refer to the Invalidity Committee the case of any official whose sick leave totals more than 12 months in any period of three years.
5. An official may be required to take leave after examination by the institution's medical officer if his state of health so requires or if a member of his household is suffering from a contagious disease.
In cases of dispute, the procedure laid down in the fifth to seventh subparagraphs of paragraph 1 shall apply.
6. Officials shall undergo a medical check-up every year either by the institution's medical officer or by a medical practitioner chosen by them.
In the latter case, the practitioner's fees shall be payable by the institution up to a maximum amount fixed for a period of no more than three years by the Appointing Authority after consulting the Staff Regulations Committee.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/1962/31/article/59 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-1962-31/article-59
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.