António Cotrim / Lusa
As of Monday, workers no longer have to go to the doctor to ask for a short-term leave (up to three days), it is enough for them to make a declaration under oath to justify their absence, which they can request on the SNS 24 portal .
this low can only be requested twice a year and companies will be able to verify the “truthfulness” of the worker’s illness declaration on the portal, they explained to Public the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, which developed the necessary services for this measure to come into effect.
Self-declaration of illness makes it possible to justify absence and replace the certificate of temporary incapacity issued by a doctor in the first three days of illness.
Thus, it is possible to alleviate the bureaucratic workload of doctors, since it is estimated that, annually, around 600,000 consultations are scheduled to issue temporary incapacity for work in a period of up to three days.
The reduction in question does not imply costs for the State or for the company, since the worker does not receive wages or sick payserving the medical certificate issued in health centers only to avoid unjustified absences.
The self-declaration of illness can be requested on the SNS 24 portal, on the SNS 24 app or through the SNS 24 line.
In this way, if the company wants to “confirm the veracity of the self-declaration”, it can access the SNS 24 portal and “confirm that it is valid”.
This new mechanism was suggested by the executive director of the National Health Service (SNS), Fernando Araújo, who in January said that it was being considered and that it was a amendment “requested more than 20 years ago”.
Last week, the official revealed that the Ministry of Health is working with Social Security so that certificates of temporary incapacity (of longer duration) can be issued in emergency rooms and private doctors. Extending the deadlines for certificates is also being analysed.
ZAP // 
