Provision soon to submit sick leave online

The Barbadian public will soon be able to upload their sick leave forms directly to the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) website.

This was revealed by Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan on Wednesday, during a stakeholder workshop focused on the development of the NISSS’ new mobile app.

The minister noted that the digital submission process had been introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and proved effective but was not continued once the pandemic subsided. He believes it is time to permanently integrate that option into the system.

“These are for people who, for instance, are applying for sick leave, and a lot of times they have to submit their paper form [at] the NIS building,” he explained.

While Minister Jordan could not confirm whether this functionality would be part of the new mobile app, he made it clear that digital submissions are in the near future.

“In 2025, there must be an opportunity to submit forms digitally—absolutely. We were able to get it done during COVID, and I’ve instructed the National Insurance and Social Security Service that that is something we’re not going backward on. We’re going forward.”

He clarified that the digital process may operate outside the app as part of NISSS’ regular services and would also require coordination with physicians.

“That would just be part of the normal course of business, both for the individuals submitting, but also for the physicians,” he said. “There needs to be some training…. So yes, that is also part of the whole digitalisation process that the National Insurance and Social Security Service is going through at this point in time.” (LG)