2025 has seen higher levels of flu infections and hospital admissions compared with this time last year, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
With many businesses continuing to experience issues with illness it is important to know your obligations to your employees when they need to take time off work.
What are the rights of your employees to sick leave?
If your employees are off work for seven days or less, they do not need to provide you with proof of sickness.
When they return to work, you can ask them to confirm they’ve been off sick. This is called ‘self-certification’.
How much do I need to pay my employees when they are off sick?
Your employees may be eligible for Statuary Sick Pay (SSP), which is £116.75 a week for up to 28 weeks.
You can offer more if you have a company sick pay scheme, but you cannot offer less.
Your company scheme (which may also be called ‘contractual’ or ‘occupational’ sick pay) must be included in an employment contract.
Does an employee have a disability?
It is important to consider whether an employee may have a disability before taking any action in respect of sickness. Any employee who suffers from a disability must not be discriminated against.
Multiple short periods of absence could be linked to a disability as could longer term periods of absence. Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and if the employer suspects the employee may have a disability, it may ask the employee to agree to a medical report being prepared.
If an employee has a disability, they should be asked whether any reasonable adjustments can be made to assist the employee.
It is important to note that the duty to make reasonable adjustments is not a duty to make all requested adjustments. Any medical report may well address reasonable adjustments.
What if an employee takes a longer period of sick leave?
Employees must give their employer a ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note or doctor’s note’) if they’ve been ill for more than seven days in a row (including non-working days) and have taken sick leave.
Alternatively, your employees can (with your agreement) use a similar document called an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Health and Work Report.
You can prevent false claims of sickness by ensuring that your business has measures in place that clearly define what is expected of your employees.
Some absence or incapacity policies will highlight multiple periods of short-term absence or whether absence often falls on specific days for example as a trigger to the sickness management process.
Long-term sick leave and holiday
Employees who are off work sick for more than four weeks may be considered long-term sick.
The right to accrue paid annual leave continues while an employee is on sick leave, even if that period exceeds 12 months.
You cannot force your employees to take annual leave when they’re eligible for sick leave.
They must also be permitted to carry over their full holiday entitlement to the following year.
However, employees do not have the right to carry over their holiday entitlement for an indefinite period whilst on extended sickness absence.
You can seek to cap the length of time in which any such holiday entitlement must be taken. Current case law suggests that this period should be limited to a maximum of 18 months.
Dismissing a long-term sick employee
Employee dismissal due to long-term sickness should always be a last resort following a sickness management process.
If your employee thinks they have been unfairly dismissed or discriminated against, they could take their case to an employment tribunal.
Your sickness management process should include exploring all other options fully, such as flexible or part-time work, or asking your employee to do different work (with training if necessary).
Employees could make a claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments and disability discrimination if they have a disability.
Always consult with your employee about when they could return to work and if their health will improve.
Our specialist employment law team can advise you on all areas of sickness absence and your legal rights and responsibilities as an employer. Contact us for tailored advice today.