Key Judicial Criteria Regarding Travel Abroad During Medical Leave

The Superior Courts of Justice have recently issued rulings analyzing the legality of dismissing public officials who traveled abroad while on paid medical leave.

While reaffirming that such conduct constitutes a serious breach of the principle of administrative probity, the rulings also establish relevant criteria for determining when the maximum penalty of dismissal is warranted.

The guiding principle of these rulings is the proportionality of the sanction, according to which the courts review whether the disciplinary measure applied by the administration is reasonable.

Key Criteria

• Travel During Medical Leave and Administrative Probity

The principle is upheld that using paid medical leave with public funds for purposes unrelated to restoring health seriously violates the principle of administrative probity, in accordance with Articles 52 of Law No. 18,575 and 58(g) and 123 of Law No. 18,883, affecting public trust and generating institutional disrepute. Furthermore, it is maintained that the applied sanction was appropriate.

• Disciplinary Authority of the Administration

Employers retain full authority to impose disciplinary sanctions for this conduct as a violation of administrative probity, regardless of the oversight of medical leave use that falls under the purview of the COMPIN (Regional Medical Commission) or the ISAPRES (Private Health Insurance Institutions).

• Proportionality as a Limit to Dismissal

Dismissal could potentially be considered disproportionate when the administrative authority fails to adequately consider relevant mitigating circumstances, such as:

• Extensive service record without prior sanctions.

• Limited or isolated scope of the misconduct.

• Existence of a possible medical justification for the trip.

• Applicability of Dismissal in Serious Cases

Dismissal is a legitimate sanction when the seriousness of the conduct justifies it, especially if:

• Multiple trips abroad were taken during the same period of medical leave.

• There is a complete lack of medical documentation justifying these trips.

• The disciplinary procedure was conducted in accordance with Law No. 18,883 and Law No. 19,880, with full respect for the employee's right to defense, and without any illegalities or arbitrariness in its execution.

Why Does It Matter?

These rulings reinforce the requirement that traveling outside the country—unrelated to the purpose of the leave—causes harm to public assets and affects the proper performance of public duties, thus constituting a serious breach of administrative probity. Nevertheless, administrative proceedings that culminate in dismissal must be conducted in accordance with the law and be duly justified, expressly considering the mitigating and aggravating circumstances of the specific case.

Recommendations

• For Employers

  • Verify that the administrative proceedings fully comply with all legal stages.

  • Properly justify the disciplinary decision, evaluating the proportionality of the sanction.

• For Public Officials

  • Avoid traveling abroad while on paid medical leave, as this constitutes a serious breach of administrative probity. In exceptional cases where travel is indispensable, it must be expressly indicated and justified by the attending physician as part of the treatment or rest, keeping all documentation that supports said justification in the event of a disciplinary procedure.