Those thinking about “chucking a sickie” on Friday to give themselves a four-day weekend after the Australia Day public holiday are being warned they may be asked to hand over a medical certificate proving they were unwell.

“I think employers are absolutely entitled to do that, Tom,” Bill Lang, Executive Director of Small Business Australia, told Tom Elliott on Tuesday.

He says there is no doubt some workers wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation, but warned they were breaking the law and letting their colleagues down.

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