You might be the best employer in the world, but you can’t perform miracles – people are bound to get sick from time to time. Sick leave (especially when taken by people you rely on) can be tricky to handle, and a part of the challenge is in knowing what to do if someone continues to work while signed off sick.
So, this brings up the question: Is it illegal to work while on sick leave in the UK? The simple answer is no, there's nothing legally stopping them. However, there are many things to consider, including your team's well-being and your liability as their employer. Here's everything you need to know about employees working while on sick leave.
What is sick leave?
Let’s start off by defining what sick leave actually is. Sick leave is time off from work that an employee takes due to illness or injury. It's a period where they are expected to focus on recovery and not perform their usual work duties. This allows them to rest and recuperate without the pressure of work, promoting better health and a quicker return to full productivity. Now that we understand what it is, let's break it down further.
Types of sick leave
Sick leave in the UK generally comes in two forms:
- Short-term: This covers illnesses lasting up to seven days. Employees can self-certify their absence, meaning they don't need a doctor's note.
- Long-term: For absences exceeding seven days, employees need a "fit note" (previously known as a sick note) from their doctor. This note may state they are "not fit for work" or "may be fit for work with adjustments."
The type of leave someone is taking will play a big part in how you respond.
If a team member is only going to be off for a couple of days with a cold, then it’s probably not an issue for you operationally. Extend that sick period to several weeks, though, and it might start to cause headaches without a proper handover.
Employee self-certification
All UK employees can take short term self-certification sick leave for up to seven days in a row (including weekends). They don’t have to provide any evidence of their illness or injury, or even visit a doctor.
The self-certification element comes in when they return to work and you can ask for details of their sick leave. How you do this will depend on your sickness absence policy, but it’s usually through a self-certification form or an email.
Signed off sick
If someone is off sick long term, for more than seven consecutive days, they have to provide proof of their illness with a fit note (usually called a sick note) from their doctor.
A fit note will either say they’re ‘not fit for work’ or they ‘may be fit for work’. If it says the latter, there might be changes you can make to their job to allow them to return sooner rather than later.
People who are signed off sick for longer than four weeks are considered ‘long-term sick’, but there’s no real difference between this type of absence and a signed off sick period of less than four weeks.
So you can work if signed off sick?
Technically, working while on sick leave, or working whilst on sick leave, isn't illegal in the UK. However, it's generally not advisable. If an employee is signed off sick, it indicates they are not well enough to perform their duties. Working while signed off sick can hinder recovery and potentially breach your duty of care as an employer.
What to do when an employee is off sick
There aren’t any laws around someone working through their illness while they’re signed off. What it really comes down to is how you want to treat the situation as their employer.
It makes sense that someone signed off sick because they can’t make it into the workplace isn’t in any condition to be working at all. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask them for a handover or update so their work can be picked up by someone else. After all, if they’re just off with a cold, they’re not going to mind being contacted to answer a few simple questions.
In terms of contacting them regularly for updates, you have more decisions to make. On the one hand, keeping in touch with someone on sick leave can be a good thing – making them feel valued. On the other, if they see your contact as pressure, it’s only going to make things worse by causing stress, guilt, or frustration.
When you’re deciding what to do about contacting an employee who’s off sick, use your common-sense. You’ll know how serious their illness is, that should tell you everything you need to know about whether they have it in them to think about work.
What to do if an employee works while signed off sick
If you know someone is working through an illness, even when signed off by a doctor, the situation is harder. Continuing to work whilst on sick leave might make their condition worse and prolong their recovery. This is bad news for you, it risks breaching your duty of care to them as an employer.
There’s also the ethical question of whether it’s right or wrong to allow people to put work ahead of their health in the first place, there’s no concrete answer to this one.
The best approach is to clearly communicate that they shouldn't be working while signed off. You can do this over the phone or via email. A comprehensive absence policy outlining your stance on working while on sick leave can prevent this issue.
Can employees return to work before their sick note ends?
If a member of your team has been signed off work by a doctor but they recover before the end date on their fit note and feel ready to come back to work, they’re allowed to.
They won’t need to get a new doctor’s note confirming they’re fit for work – it’s up to them to decide whether they’re fit or not. But accommodating their return to work with adapted working hours or responsibilities will make things easier for them and is sure to be appreciated.
Can you dismiss someone on sick leave?
The simple answer to this question is yes, you can dismiss employees on sick leave. The caveat is you still have to go through the exact same procedure you would if they weren’t off sick. That means there has to be a valid and justified reason and a proper disciplinary procedure.
You can’t fire someone who’s on sick leave just because they’re ill, but if they’re off sick after committing a dismissible offense, it’s perfectly legal to begin the dismissal process.
Can employees work while off sick with COVID-19?
A topical question currently circulating is what the rules are around working while off sick with COVID-19. The same rules apply here as with any other illness – it’s not illegal but it’s also probably not a good idea.
Working while furloughed, however, goes against the legal conditions of the government’s furlough scheme.
What about statutory sick pay?
The maximum anyone can be paid statutory sick pay is 28 weeks. This can be a single absence or, for someone's off regularly it can build in blocks of absences that last 4 or more days and are less than 8 weeks apart.
There are limits on statutory sick pay so you'll want to keep track of sick leave with a holiday and sickness tracker.
We know it can be a pain to keep track of sickness using spreadsheets. We built an app to make things much easier - take a look, you can try Timetastic free for 30 days here.
Using Timetastic to keep track of sick leave
Keeping track of sick leave is super important, not just for managing sick pay but also for focusing on your team's health and well-being. Timetastic simplifies this process, giving you more time to support your employees. Timetastic helps manage sick leave by:
Book each absence as 'sick leave'
The simplest way to keep track of sickness absence is using a specific type of leave, so we can record them all the same way and report on them later. It might not be possible for the person who's off sick to sign in to Timetastic and make the booking, in this case their boss can do it on their behalf.
They mark the absence using the 'sick leave' category.
View a total of their sick leave
Because you've recorded all sick leave you'll now have a total for each staff member, it's in the summary in their calendar view.
You can see our employee in this example below has taken five and a half days sick leave so far this year.
Viewing sick days on the calendar
You can see how often someone is off sick by looking at the colour coded calendar. Below you can see Mary has had a few days off sick in Jan, Feb and March.
The download option
Finally, if you want a deeper analysis of your sickness stats, you can download everything to excel. From there you can filter, pivot, and sort to any level of detail you need.
Head to SETTINGS > REPORTING for the excel download options.
How Timetastic can ease the stress that comes with sick leave
Navigating employee sick leave can be tough. It requires a balance of legal considerations, employee well-being, and operational needs. Not to mention all of this needs to be tracked!
By implementing clear policies and using tools like Timetastic, you can effectively manage sick leave, ensure accurate record-keeping, and promote a healthy work-life balance for your team. This not only benefits your employees but also contributes to a smoother, more efficient workplace overall.
Ready to simplify sick leave management and gain valuable insights into your team's well-being? Start your free trial of Timetastic today and experience the difference!