There is not a singular definition in any jurisdiction as to what a sick day is and is not. Some companies treat doctor’s appointments as sick days, some treat kid’s illnesses as sick days. The growing trend is to treat vacation days and sick days as a combine PTO. However, with all of this said, you can set a definition in your policy to exclude follow up appointments, dr or dentist appointments, or anything that is a scheduled medical event, and clearly define sick days as an unscheduled absence, to which, any more than 2 consecutive sick days would necessitate a dr’s note.
HR Insider staff
