Sick Leave
Also known as: sick days, sick pay
Sick leave is paid or unpaid time off for illness or medical appointments, often governed by statutory sick pay rules and a reporting process.
Sick leave is time off granted when an employee is unwell or attending medical appointments. It may be paid (company sick pay or statutory sick pay) or unpaid, and is usually tracked separately from holiday so that genuine illness does not eat into someone's annual leave.
Many jurisdictions set a statutory minimum for sick pay and define qualifying conditions, waiting days, and evidence requirements (such as a fit note after a number of consecutive days).
Why a written sick-leave policy matters
A clear policy tells people how to report being unwell, by when, what evidence is needed, and how pay works — so nobody has to improvise while feeling rotten. It also gives managers consistent data to spot patterns through metrics like the Bradford Factor.
Related terms
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