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Now In: Pay and benefits > Sick pay and sickness absence
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In what circumstances can an employee claim statutory sick pay?

Are employers obliged to top up statutory sick pay to an employee's normal earnings?

Is there an upper age limit on statutory sick pay?

Are employees employed on a contract lasting less than three months still denied certain rights?

What are the potential problem areas of offering benefits to employees in the event of sickness absence?

If an employee has been signed off work by his or her doctor for a particular period can the employer allow the employee to return before the end of that period?

Where an employee who has exhausted all entitlement to sick pay is to be dismissed on grounds of ill health will he or she be entitled to any payment throughout his or her notice period?

Where an employee in the early stages of pregnancy is taking regular time off sick how should the employer handle the situation?

Where a pregnant employee who is off sick with a pregnancy-related illness has used up her company sick pay entitlement is there any obligation on the employer to pay her at her normal rate of pay?

Can an employee's car allowance be withdrawn while he or she is on long-term sick leave?

Where an employee has asked for a phased return from long-term sickness absence, can the employer decrease his or her pay to reflect the reduced hours being worked?

Would an employer be at risk if it terminated the contract of an employee on long-term sickness absence before the employee's entitlement to contractual sick pay had been exhausted?

If an employee's sickness absence is due to a workplace accident, should he or she be paid in full where there is normally no provision for full sick pay?

Where an employer wishes to reward employees for low sickness absence, what factors must it take into account?

Attendance incentives or bonuses are usually designed both as an incentive for future attendance and to reward good attendance records. They are sometimes used as part of a broader absence management programme. When contemplating the introduction of an attendance incentive scheme, employers must give careful consideration to how the scheme might disadvantage employees who have to take time off sick because of a disability or a pregnancy-related illness. Any scheme must be fair, and employers must therefore consider making allowances within their scheme for such absences. If they do not, they risk a discrimination claim from an employee alleging less favourable treatment.

Any scheme should also address treatment of the various statutory rights to time off that are unrelated to sickness absence, such as maternity, adoption, paternity and parental leave, and time off for dependants and public duties. In addition, if unpaid time off is granted to employees for religious observance, the employer should make an allowance for this to avoid the risk of a religious discrimination claim.

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If an employee goes abroad for treatment will he or she still be entitled to receive statutory sick pay?

Where an employer has reason to believe that an employee absent on sick leave is working elsewhere can it arrange for covert surveillance?

What should an employer do if it suspects that an employee's reported sickness absence is not genuine and is due instead to him or her taking time off work to watch a football match?

Will an employee who takes time off for fertility treatment be entitled to statutory or contractual sick pay?

What steps should an employer take where an employee is off sick for over a week but has not submitted a doctor's certificate?

How do fit notes differ from their predecessor, the sick note?