Sickness absence policy

Sickness absence is the policy employers use most and get wrong most: pay calculated under rules that have since changed, triggers applied to disabled employees without adjustment, long-term absence left unmanaged for a year and then ended without a process. The policy has to set the reporting and certification rules, state the pay (statutory sick pay now from the first day, plus whatever the employer adds), provide the return to work and review process that identifies patterns, deal with long-term absence through occupational health and reasonable adjustments, and set the capability process that makes a dismissal for ill health fair when it comes to that. I draft the policy for the employer as part of the handbook and core policies for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Employers in England and Wales who want a sickness absence policy that managers will apply consistently, and employers whose policy predates the changes to statutory sick pay.

What matters in a sickness absence policy

Reporting, certification and the fit note

The policy should set the reporting rule (who to tell, by when, by what means, on each day or at intervals), self-certification for the first seven days, a fit note from a doctor or other healthcare professional authorised to issue one after that, the employer's right to request medical evidence and to seek a report with the employee's consent, and the treatment of absence during holiday, on a day of a hearing or around a bank holiday; the policy should also say that failing to report absence is a conduct matter separate from the absence itself.

Statutory sick pay from the first day and any company scheme

Statutory sick pay, with the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 setting the statutory floor is payable from the first day of sickness absence since the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes came into force, with the lower earnings limit replaced by a percentage of earnings for the lowest paid, and the policy should state the entitlement, the evidence required, and any company sick pay the employer adds (the amount, the period, the service required, the discretion to withhold where the policy is not followed), with the written particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 stating the sick pay terms; a policy that still describes waiting days is out of date.

Return to work interviews and the records that make them useful

The policy should require a return to work interview after every absence, however short, conducted by the line manager, recorded on a standard form, covering the reason, any underlying condition, adjustments needed and whether the absence was work-related, with the records held under the UK GDPR as special category data with the appropriate safeguards; the interview is the single most effective tool for reducing short-term absence and for identifying the employee whose absences are a disability, and the policy should make it mandatory.

Short-term absence, triggers and the review process

The policy should set trigger points (a number of absences or days in a rolling period) at which a review meeting is held, the stages (an informal discussion, a formal meeting with the right to be accompanied, a written warning about attendance, a final warning, dismissal), the support considered at each stage, and the adjustment of triggers for employees whose absences are related to a disability under the Equality Act 2010 or to pregnancy, which must not be counted; a trigger applied mechanically to a disabled employee is discrimination arising from disability, and the policy should say that triggers are reviewed before they are applied.

Long-term absence, occupational health and the Equality Act

The policy should set the management of long-term absence: regular contact kept to a reasonable level, occupational health referrals with the employee's consent and the report's recommendations considered, the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 (a phased return, altered duties, hours or location, equipment), consideration of ill-health retirement or permanent health insurance where the employer provides it, and the stage at which the employer may consider that the employee cannot return within a reasonable time; an employer that leaves long-term absence unmanaged and then dismisses has a dismissal with no process behind it.

Capability dismissals and the process that makes them fair

Dismissal for ill health is a capability dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and is fair only if the employer has obtained up-to-date medical evidence, consulted the employee, considered adjustments and alternative roles, and given the employee the chance to respond at a meeting with the right to be accompanied under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, with a written decision, notice (the employee's full notice, with pay at the rate section 87 of the 1996 Act provides where sick pay has run out) and an appeal; the policy should set that process, keep it separate from the disciplinary procedure, and reflect the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes to the early months of employment on the timetable the regulations set.

What it costs

Staff handbook and core policies, £995. Five working days.

Employment contract, £595. One template you can reuse for a grade of staff. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the employment contracts and handbooks page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how you employ people
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions that put ownership where it belongs
• The statutory particulars, so the document does the job section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires it to do
• Flexibility clauses where you genuinely need them, drafted to survive challenge
• Core policies: disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, equal opportunities, data protection and, increasingly, AI use
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Acting for employees
• Employment tribunal representation
• Payroll, pensions auto-enrolment and tax
• Immigration and sponsor licence work
• Day to day HR handling, disciplinaries, grievances and redundancy processes

Questions I am often asked

Our policy says statutory sick pay starts on the fourth day. Is that still right?

It is out of date. Since the 2025 Act changes took effect statutory sick pay is payable from the first day, with the lower earnings limit replaced for the lowest paid. The policy and the payroll should be updated.

Can we apply absence triggers to an employee with a disability?

Not mechanically. Disability-related absence has to be considered separately and the triggers adjusted as a reasonable adjustment. The policy requires the review before a trigger is applied.

An employee has been off sick for ten months. Can we dismiss?

Only after medical evidence, consultation, consideration of adjustments and alternatives, a meeting and an appeal, with full notice. The policy sets the process; the length of absence alone does not make a dismissal fair.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Disciplinary and grievance policy

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.