Sickness absence policy: a practical employer's guide for 2026

No single law says "you must have a sickness absence policy." But three overlapping legal duties mean you need one in practice:

• Employment Rights Act 1996. The written statement of particulars must cover terms relating to incapacity for work and sick pay. If your handbook is silent on this, it is missing information the law requires you to provide.
• Equality Act 2010. Disability-related absence must be handled with reasonable adjustments. A policy applied blind to this can create a significant discrimination risk.
• UK GDPR. Sickness records are special category health data. You need a documented lawful basis and handling rules for collecting and storing them.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 made two changes to Statutory Sick Pay that took effect on 6 April 2026. These are current law, so a handbook written before then now describes SSP incorrectly:

Practical tip: state the mechanics, not the figures. SSP rates change with government upratings each April, so link to GOV.UK's SSP page for current rates rather than hard-coding a number that expires.

Compare each item against your current policy. Each one is tagged so you can tell a genuine legal gap from an optional improvement.

1. 1

   Reporting sickness

   Required

   What the policy should say: Who employees contact, when they must make contact, and how they should do it.

   Why it matters: Everyone knows what is expected, and managers are less likely to apply different rules to different people.

   Example: "Tell your manager as soon as possible" is vague. "Telephone your line manager before your normal start time on the first day of absence" is much easier to follow, and to apply consistently.

2. 2

   Self-certification and fit notes

   Required

   What the policy should say: Self-certification covers the first 7 calendar days. From day 8 you can require a fit note.

   Why it matters: Since 2022 fit notes can be issued by nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists as well as doctors, so your wording should not say "a doctor's note" only.

3. 3

   Sick pay terms

   Required

   What the policy should say: SSP mechanics (day-one payment, all earnings levels) plus any company sick pay: how much, for how long, and whether it is discretionary or contractual.

   Why it matters: Ambiguity here creates contractual entitlements by custom and practice.

   Example: If managers regularly approve full pay even though the policy calls it discretionary, employees may come to expect that treatment. Your written policy and your actual practice should match.

4. 4

   Return-to-work interviews

   Recommended

   What the policy should say: A short conversation after every absence, not just long ones.

   Why it matters: They cut repeat absence, surface underlying issues early, and create the contemporaneous record you will want if things later escalate.

5. 5

   Short-term and long-term absence definitions

   Recommended

   What the policy should say: A clear threshold (commonly 4 weeks for long-term) that triggers a different process.

   Why it matters: "Manager's discretion" is not a threshold. A clear line keeps decisions comparable.

6. 6

   Absence triggers, applied with judgment

   Recommended

   What the policy should say: Formal review points based on frequency or duration are fine, but say how context is considered.

   Why it matters: Disability-related and pregnancy-related absence must not count towards disciplinary triggers.

   Example: An employee reaches a trigger because of several migraine-related absences. The trigger can prompt a conversation, but it should not automatically produce a warning. The manager first needs to understand whether the condition could amount to a disability and whether an adjustment is appropriate.

7. 7

   Reasonable adjustments process

   Required

   What the policy should say: Not a good-intentions paragraph but an operational process: who decides, what evidence is needed, and the timescale.

   Why it matters: This is one of the most important parts to get right, and it is essential if a decision is later challenged.

8. 8

   Health data handling

   Required

   What the policy should say: Say what you collect, where it is stored, who can see it, and how long you keep it.

   Why it matters: Sickness records are special category data under UK GDPR. If software flags absence patterns automatically, say so and provide for human review.

9. 9

   Holiday during sickness

   Depends on your business

   What the policy should say: How holiday accrues during long-term sickness and whether leave can be carried over.

   Why it matters: Relevant mainly if you have staff on extended absence; worth a line so managers are not improvising.

The Bradford Factor (S² × D: spells of absence squared, times total days) is the most common absence trigger in UK handbooks. A score can tell you when an absence pattern needs reviewing. It cannot tell you why the absences happened, whether an adjustment is needed, or whether formal action would be fair.

The legality question is answered in full in Is the Bradford Factor legal?. For a worked example of how this goes wrong, read our sickness absence policy case study.

Dismissing for long-term sickness (a capability dismissal) is potentially fair, but only at the end of a documented process:

• Up-to-date medical evidence, usually an occupational health report
• Genuine consultation with the employee about prognosis and options
• Consideration of reasonable adjustments and suitable alternative roles
• A clear warning that dismissal is being considered before it happens

Updating your general sickness policy is something most businesses can manage without commissioning a bespoke legal review. An individual case can be different. Consider specialist HR or legal advice before:

• dismissing someone for ill health
• a case where disability is disputed
• a situation where suitable reasonable adjustments are unclear

1. 1

   Start with what you already have

   Paste in your existing sickness policy. You do not need to rebuild your handbook from scratch.
2. 2

   See what needs attention

   Regulyn identifies outdated wording, missing processes and areas that may create unnecessary risk.
3. 3

   Update the wording

   Generate a clearer version that reflects current requirements while keeping your company's tone and approach.
4. 4

   Understand every change

   Review the findings, plain-English explanations and source citations before you accept anything.
5. 5

   Stay current

   When employment law changes, Regulyn shows you which parts of your handbook may be affected.

Regulyn helps with the routine work of checking, explaining and updating your policies, so you can reserve professional legal advice for the cases that genuinely require it.