Sickness absence

This section will help you to understand what to do when a member calls in sick and how to deal with their period of absence and return to work. It will explain how to operate a sickness absence procedure, what you are required to pay and when you can require proof of sickness. It will also help you to deal with difficult situations, such as sickness absence that you suspect is not genuine and frequent or long-term absences.

Dealing with sickness absence

  1. 1.What obligations do I have towards staff members who are sick?
  2. 2.Which staff are entitled to sick leave?
  3. 3.What can I do if my agency worker is sick?
  4. 4.Are freelancers entitled to time off work when they are sick?
  5. 5.Does sickness absence cover physical illness only or do I have to allow my staff time off for injuries, mental illness etc?
  6. 6.What obligations do I have towards staff who are unable to come to work due to coronavirus?
  7. 7.What records should I keep about sickness absence?
  8. 8.When must a staff member notify me if they are too sick to come into work?
  9. 9.Can I require a staff member to telephone to report a sickness absence rather than send an email or text?
  10. 10.What should I do if my staff member is absent but has not contacted me to say this is because of sickness or for another reason?
  11. 11.Am I allowed to ask my staff member to do limited work or work from home if they are sick?
  12. 12.Can I require my staff member to prove that they are sick?
  13. 13.When can I ask for a fit note or AHP Report and what information must this contain?
  14. 14.Who can sign a fit note?
  15. 15.What can I do if my staff member fails to provide me with a fit note or AHP report?
  16. 16.How should staff certify their sickness absence due to coronavirus?
  17. 17.What can I do if I do not believe a staff member's claim that they are sick?
  18. 18.Do I need to follow any particular process when a staff member returns to work following a period of sickness absence?
  19. 19.How do I conduct a return to work interview?
  20. 20.What can I do if a member of staff is taking sick leave frequently?
  21. 21.How should I conduct a meeting with a staff member about their frequent sickness absence?
  22. 22.Does my staff member continue to accrue their annual leave entitlement whilst they are off work sick?
  23. 23.What happens if my staff member is sick during their annual leave?
  24. 24.Can I require a member of staff to submit to a medical examination?
  25. 25.Who can conduct a medical examination and provide a report on my staff member?
  26. 26.What process do I need to follow when requesting a medical report from someone who has previously treated my staff member eg their GP?
  27. 27.What process do I need to follow when requesting a medical report from someone who has never treated my staff member before?
  28. 28.What can I do to foster a healthy workplace and prevent sickness absence?

Payment during sickness absence

  1. 29.What are the proposed reforms to statutory sick pay under the Employment Rights Bill?
  2. 30.Do I have to pay staff if they are off work sick?
  3. 31.Which staff are eligible for statutory sick pay?
  4. 32.Do I have to pay statutory sick pay from the first day of absence?
  5. 33.Do I have to pay statutory sick pay if someone is absent because of COVID-19?
  6. 34.Do I have to pay enhanced sick pay if someone is absent because of COVID-19?
  7. 35.Can I reclaim SSP payments from the UK Government for absences due to coronavirus?
  8. 36.What records do I need to keep of staff absences due to coronavirus to reclaim SSP under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme?
  9. 37.How much is statutory sick pay?
  10. 38.What is the maximum amount of sick pay a staff member can claim?
  11. 39.What should I do if my staff member is not eligible for statutory sick pay?
  12. 40.Who is responsible for paying my agency worker if they are off work sick?
  13. 41.Do I have to pay a freelancer if they are off work sick?
  14. 42.Should I pay statutory sick pay on my staff member's normal pay day?
  15. 43.Is it possible to recover statutory sick pay?

Long-term sickness absence and disability

  1. 44.How should I deal with staff on long-term sick leave?
  2. 45.How should I deal with a staff member who takes sick leave because of long COVID?
  3. 46.At what point can I consider dismissing a staff member who is on long term sick leave?
  4. 47.What counts as a disability?
  5. 48.How do I deal with a staff member who takes sick leave because they have a disability?
  6. 49.How do I deal with a staff member who takes sick leave because of the menopause or perimenopause?
  7. 50.How far do I have to go to put reasonable adjustments in place for a disabled staff member?
  8. 51.What are some examples of reasonable adjustments for staff members?

Invitation to attend meeting to discuss sickness absence

This letter is to send to a staff member whose sickness absence is significant enough to warrant formal action. If an informal discussion is not effective, you should meet with the staff member to formally discuss his sickness absence record. This letter is an invitation to such a meeting to discuss sickness absence and decide a way forward for the staff member concerned. You can also purchase this letter as part of the Disciplinary toolkit .
£10 + VAT

COVID-19 policy

You may choose to use this COVID-19 policy to explain to staff the steps you are taking to protect them from COVID-19. You can find further guidance about working safely during COVID-19 at Health and safety at work in relation to coronavirus . This COVID-19 policy includes policies on: Coronavirus symptoms and staying home; Working from home; Travel to and from work; Hygiene and cleanliness; and Meetings, customers and visitors to the workplace. It also includes optional policies, which can be added or removed depending on your business' activities. These include sections on: Work vehicles; Food delivery, preparation and sale; Retail; and Working in someone's home. The template policy can be customised depending on your business, but read the completed document carefully to make sure you don't need to add or change anything depending on your business requirements.
Free
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