How does employee sick leave entitlement work in the UK?

UK sick leave entitlement is a complex but essential responsibility for UK employers, requiring a specific policy that is firm, fair, and compassionate. Every employer has a duty of care for personnel who are unwell, whether they are dealing with a short-term physical or mental illness, or recovering from a more serious health issue. This guide outlines the key legal and practical points of sick leave entitlement in the UK for growing businesses.

What is sick leave? 

Staff take sick leave when they can’t attend work because of an illness or injury. This includes physical conditions like muscle soreness or flu, as well as mental health issues such as depression or acute anxiety. Equally, a worker might request time off to deal with a more critical health issue, such as recovering from cancer treatment or a life-saving surgery.

A worker must be paid for the sick days that they take, either as Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), which is the legal minimum sick leave entitlement, or at your organisation’s own Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) rate.  

Why do UK employees commonly take sick leave? 

There are many reasons why a worker might use their sick leave entitlement. Here in the UK, the most common are:

• Minor ailments: The common cold, flu, stomach aches and migraines fall into this camp. Though these conditions may be mild and only result in a brief spell off, they can still be disruptive for teams and businesses.

• Mental health disorders: These constitute an increasingly recognised and costly issue for both personnel and businesses. A recent survey by Spill revealed that workers take an average of 18 days off per year to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression.

• Musculoskeletal injuries: These can include everything from back pain to pulled muscles. Those working in manual labour are especially prone, and recovery can be tricky and complex for businesses.

• Medical appointments: Sometimes, workers have to attend appointments with doctors or other practitioners, and they will often take a sick day off for this, rather than using up their annual holiday allowance.

What is the current UK sick pay entitlement in 2025? 

What does UK law say on sick leave? 

There are a few legal obligations an employer needs to be mindful of. Statutory regulations are outlined in the Statutory Sick Pay Regulations of 1982, and the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations of 1985. In addition, other ‘sick pay right’ and ‘return to work’ regulations must be observed.

What’s the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rate, and who’s entitled to it? 

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the mandatory minimum payment that an employer must pay directly to their eligible employees, and is not their full wage. Here’s a breakdown of how it is applied:

• Rate and duration: From April 2025, the SSP rate is £118.75 per week, payable for a maximum of 28 weeks.

• Eligibility criteria: To qualify, an individual must:

• Be legally classed as an 'employee' (learn more about employment status). This can include those on casual, temporary, fixed-term, or zero-hour contracts who meet the other criteria.

• Earn an average of at least £123 per week.

• Be absent from work for four or more consecutive days. SSP is only paid from the fourth day, as the first three are considered unpaid 'waiting days'.

• Notify their employer of their absence, typically within seven days or as specified by the company’s policy.

• Payment and refusal: Just like other benefits, SSP is subject to tax and National Insurance (NI). An employer cannot refuse to pay it to a qualifying employee, but they can deny it if the individual does not meet the eligibility criteria, or fails to follow correct absence reporting procedures.

Working out SSP calculations can get a little tricky as you need to include non-working days, weekends and bank holidays. Understanding how to calculate SSP for employees correctly ensures compliance and accurate payroll processing.

What is the difference between short and long-term sick leave?

Absences are typically categorised by their length, which dictates the legal process for certification an employee must follow.

• Short-term absence (under 7 days): An employee can "self-certify" their illness, meaning they do not need a doctor's note.

• Longer-term absence (over 7 days): The employee must provide a Statement of Fitness for Work, commonly known as a 'fit note'. Fit notes can be issued by a range of practitioners, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and physiotherapists.

• Long-term sick leave (over 1 month): This is the official classification for absences exceeding one month.

How many sick days is a UK employee entitled to annually? 

There’s no set annual allowance in the UK. In other words, there’s no maximum number of paid sick days employees are allowed to take. It’s up to you, as the employer, to decide what this number should be. 

When setting a policy, you should think about what makes sense for your industry. For example, if your work requires a lot of manual labour, you might consider a more generous policy, perhaps offering ten days per year. If your company is in a sector such as finance or technology where most workers are desk-bound, then this might look different.

It might also be a good idea to outline what is and isn't acceptable in your policy. For instance, address patterns like staff frequently taking Fridays off or calling in sick when holiday requests are declined.

A tool that can help assess trends in absences is the Bradford Factor Score, which is a specific key performance indicator (KPI). This is used to identify patterns of absenteeism and determine when an intervention may be necessary. Organisations often set “trigger points”, which are specific scores that will prompt a certain action, such as an informal chat, a formal warning, or even dismissal in extreme cases.  

Can a UK employee be dismissed because of excessive sick leave? 

Yes, you can dismiss a worker on the grounds of taking extended time off for sickness. However, this should only be actioned as a last resort. To avoid claims of unfair dismissal, you must carefully follow a capability dismissal procedure where you demonstrate that the worker is no longer fit to fulfil their duties under their employment contract. 

What happens when the SSP allowance is used up? 

Employers only have to pay SSP for up to 28 weeks. After this, if an individual still needs more time off, it is up to the employer to decide whether to pay them. Your organisation’s policy may provide additional days. If these aren’t available, the individual can request to take unpaid leave or use some of their annual holiday allowance. After SSP runs out, individuals may make a claim for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or apply for Universal Credit. To do this, they will need you to fill out an SSP1 form.

Managing sick leave entitlement effectively in 2025

Best practices for employers include: 

• maintain clear documentation of all leave 

• regularly review absence patterns

• apply policies consistently

• offer support to workers returning to work

• use absence management software to track and monitor sick leave

How payroll software takes the aches and pains out of sick leave

Making leaves and absences work in tandem with your payroll system can be tricky. But with PayFit, managing sick leave and pay alongside payroll becomes a cinch.

To start, we automate all calculations for SSP and OSP. We also give managers and employees the power to submit and handle requests, so there’s no need to go through HR every time. And as soon as leave is validated, payslips update automatically with the amount of correct sick pay.   

But it doesn’t stop there. PayFit allows you to keep track of how many sick days an employee has taken, as well as how many days they have left during a rolling SSP period. Market-leading integrations also make it easy to sync up with your HRIS and any other leading software you’d like to integrate with, so you can say Adios! to double data entry. 

Find out more by booking in a short demo with a member of the team below.