Excessive sick days are always a concern for employers. Meanwhile, employees worry about the impact their sick day will have and potential backlash from their manager. The question of how many sick days are acceptable is difficult to quantify.
There are so many variables around when sickness absence becomes a problem, and might mean that disciplinary action needs to be taken.
Our guide looks at all the factors in detail and investigates your rights on sick leave.
Average Sick Days Per Year in the UK
To begin our quest to discover how many sick days are deemed acceptable, we first take a look at some statistics.
According to ONS, the number of sick days per year in the UK, in 2021 was estimated at 149.3 million. This figure equates to an average of 4.6 sick days per worker.
The most common reasons behind workplace absences in 2021 were:-
- Coronavirus and other assorted ailments (1 in 4 absences were in this category).
- Minor illnesses.
- Muscoskeletal problems.
- Mental health issues.
See Also: Average sick days per year uk – our detailed guide on how many days off UK workers take annually.
How Many Sick Days Per Year are you Entitled to?
Legally speaking, there is no maximum number of sick days you can have per year. Some employers will offer a set number of fully paid sick days per year, but this will be at their discretion.
Each company will have its own rules on how to proceed with disciplinaries after there have been some absences. Your contract or company sick policy should have details of this and how sick pay entitlements are dealt with.
When it comes to Statutory Sick Pay, there are rules in place regarding the number of sick days you are entitled to be paid for.
Paid Sick Leave Entitlements
There are rules that employers should follow concerning paid sick leave entitlements.
SSP must be paid to an employee who has been sick for 4 or more days in a row. Once payment SSP begins, it can be carried on for a total of 28 weeks.
After this 28 weeks, sick pay runs out. After this you may be able to receive other benefits such as ESA. Some employers may pay more than the rate of SSP, known as enhanced sick pay.
Long term illness can prove tricky for employers in terms of staffing ratios and paying for cover. They also have the right to set up a face to face meetings when there are a lot of sick days.
The number of days off deemed too many is at the employer’s discretion. They can then ask you to attend a disciplinary meeting which can ultimately result in a capability dismissal.
However, getting dismissed for being off sick requires a very thorough process during which an employer must make every effort to help the staff member return to work.
How Many Sick Days Before Disciplinary?
It is up to the company to determine how many sick days are acceptable before disciplinary action is taken.
HR will also look for anything suspicious about sick days such as any patterns that may begin to emerge. Let’s face it, calling in sick on a declined holiday is never going to look good. Or falling ill every Friday in time for a long weekend will be picked up as a possible pattern emerging.
Disciplinaries regarding sick days will depend very much on company policy. There may be a clause in your contract about it or something else you have signed. Most employers will try hard to strike a balance between being too lenient and too strict.
See Also: Invited to a disciplinary meeting? Our guide outlines the process and your rights.
Bradford Factor Scores
Many employers will simply look at the UK’s average number of sick days each year and use this as their gauge. Other companies use something known as the Bradford Factor Score.
The Bradford formula is S2 x D = B.
- S is the total number of individual absences from the employee.
- D is the total number of days of absence from the employee.
- B is the Bradford factor score.
This formula is very helpful for HR to keep an eye on any suspicious absence patterns, or unauthorised leave and determine the next steps. These are usually recorded over a year but again, this is up to the employer.
There are a few other approaches taken such as:-
- Looking at days lost per year as a collective.
- Categorising absences into minor illnesses, musculoskeletal problems, and mental health
Rules on Employee Sick Days
In the working environment, everyone must understand the rules concerning employee sick days. Employers need to have firm policies in place to deal with sick days and employees must follow these.
Calling in Sick
Normally, you will need to check your contract for all the rules surrounding calling in sick. This will include the process to use, whether this is a telephone conversation, text, or email. Most workplaces will like as much notice as you can give them but this won’t always be possible.
Sick Pay
Again, sick pay will come down to your contractual rights. SSP will come into effect after the fourth day of absence and can be paid for up to 28 weeks.
Self Certification
You can self certify your illness for the first 7 days. This means your employer cannot insist you have a sick note before the 7 days have passed. You just need to ring in as per company policy and state the reason for your absence and the estimated timeframe.
Sick Notes
Sick notes are required if your absence will be longer than 7 days. This requires an appointment to be made with your GP so they can write one for you. This will be kept on your file by HR and will be used to back up the SSP process.
FAQs
Sick pay is a statutory requirement and SSP will be used by employers who do not have their own policy for this. Employers can opt to pay out more than SSP does and this will be in the contract. They cannot, however, pay less than SSP.
You can have 7 days off sick before your employer can insist on a doctor’s note. After these 7 days, you will need to give your boss a sick note from your doctor.
