Statutory Sick Pay for Employees

Telling Your Employer You Are Sick

If you are unable to go to work because you are sick, you must tell your employer.

If they have their own rules about telling them, they have to tell you what the rules are.

For Statutory Sick Pay your employer cannot insist you tell them:

• personally. You can get someone else to do it for you
• earlier than the first qualifying day or by a set time that day
• more often than once a week during your sickness spell
• on a special form. You can tell your employer in writing and, if you post it, they have to accept the date of the postmark as the date you told them
• on a medical statement.

Remember that telling your employer you are sick is not the same as giving them evidence of your sickness.

If

• your employer has no rules for notifying sickness, or
• you don't know the rules, and
• you cannot easily find out, or
• you are in doubt about the rules

tell your employer in writing that you are sick to avoid any dispute about your notification.

Your employer may not pay you SSP if you tell them you are sick later than the seventh day after your first day of sickness unless you have good reason for telling them later than this. For example, if you were seriously ill and no one else could let them know. If this is the case, your employer should accept that you told them on time if you let them know about your sickness within a month or, if this is not reasonably practicable, then within 91 days.

If your employer does not pay you SSP or is paying you less than you think they should ask them to give you the reason in writing. If you are still not happy with their decision you can ask the Inland Revenue to give you a formal decision - see What if I disagree with my employer's decision? for more details.

Please note that these rules apply to SSP. Your employer may have different rules for payment due from their own sick pay scheme.