# Sick leave policy template > Paid sick time, who to tell, notes, longer absences and coming back. A complete policy to adapt with your own rules. Category: Policies Canonical: https://shuffl.ai/templates/sick-leave-policy **A starting point, not legal advice. Leave, pay and expense rules differ by country, state and city. Use the checks on this page to see what to look up where your people work, and have someone qualified review your policy before you publish it.** ## When to use it A sick leave policy tells people what to do on a day they are too ill to work, and what pay and support they get if it lasts longer. Sick leave law varies more than almost any other policy, with different rules by state and city, so check where each person works. ## Sick leave Words in [square brackets] are for you to fill in. The policy has every section a real handbook policy has, but no allowances, dates or amounts of its own. ```markdown # Sick leave ## Purpose This policy explains what to do when you are ill and what pay and support you get, so you can rest without worrying about the rules. ## Who this covers [Which employees this applies to, and from when.] ## Paid sick time - How much you get: [number of days or hours per year, or how sick time is handled] - How it builds up: [granted at the start of the year, or accrued per hours worked] - What it covers: your own illness, injury or medical appointments, and [caring for a sick family member, if covered] - Carry-over: [whether unused sick time carries into next year] ## How to tell us you are sick 1. Tell [manager, team or channel] by [time] on your first day off, or as soon as you can. 2. Keep [who] updated if you will be off longer than you first said. 3. [When a note from a doctor is needed, if ever] You do not have to share a diagnosis. Tell us only what you are comfortable sharing. ## Longer absences If you are off for more than [number of days], [who] will contact you to talk about support, pay and a plan to come back. [What pay applies after paid sick time runs out.] ## Coming back to work [Support on return, for example a phased return, changed hours or adjustments to your work.] ## Responsibilities - **You:** tell us as early as you can, and keep us updated. - **Your manager:** cover your work, keep in touch kindly and keep health details private. - **HR:** track sick time, manage longer absences and arrange adjustments. ## Protection from retaliation Nobody will be disciplined or treated worse for using sick time this policy or the law gives them. ## Where local law differs If the law where you work gives you more sick time, sick pay or protection, the law applies. These places have their own rules: [list them, or "none"]. ## Records and privacy Health information is kept by HR, separately from your personnel file, and shared only with people who need it. ## Related policies Paid time off and Parental leave. ## About this policy Owned by [team or person]. Applies in [countries or states]. We may update this policy and will tell you at least [number] days before a change takes effect. This policy is not part of your employment contract. ## Questions Contact [team or person] at [email or channel]. ``` ## Check before you publish Rules that often catch teams out, by place. They are not part of the policy, and not legal advice. - United States: Many states and cities require paid sick leave, for example California, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington, each with its own accrual rate, carry-over, family members covered and notice rules. Apply the most generous rule for each place. - United States: Several sick leave laws only let you ask for a doctor’s note after a few days off in a row. The FMLA gives eligible employees at employers with 50 or more staff up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, and the ADA can require leave as an accommodation. - United Kingdom: Statutory Sick Pay rules changed recently, so check gov.uk for when it starts and who qualifies. Employees self-certify for the first 7 days, then need a fit note. Sick pay is a term the written statement of employment must cover. - European Union: Sick pay is often paid by the employer for a period and then by social security. Germany, for example, requires full pay for up to six weeks. ## How to adapt it - Say who to tell and by what time, in one line people can find from bed. - Only ask for a doctor’s note where the law allows it, and say when. - Keep health details private, and say who sees them. ## Sick leave in numbers - **81%** of US private industry workers had access to paid sick leave in March 2026 [bls-ebs-2026] - **58%** of US leisure and hospitality workers had access to paid sick leave in March 2026 [bls-ebs-2026] - **9.4 days** average sickness absence per UK employee per year, the CIPD’s 2025 survey [cipd-health-wellbeing-2025] ## What the research says Most US workers have paid sick leave, but access depends on the job. In March 2026, 81% of private industry workers had it, from 58% in leisure and hospitality to 98% in information and in finance and insurance.[bls-ebs-2026] Plans with a fixed number of days averaged 8 after one year of service, and 68% let unused days carry over in some form.[bls-sick-leave-factsheet] In the UK, absence has been rising. The CIPD’s 2025 survey of 1,101 organisations found an average of 9.4 days of sickness absence per employee a year, or 4.1% of working time, up from 7.8 days in 2023.[cipd-health-wellbeing-2025] Minor illness led short-term absence and mental ill health long-term absence.[cipd-health-wellbeing-2025] 35% said presenteeism, working while unwell, had risen among people working from home.[cipd-health-wellbeing-2025] ## What the law requires No US federal law guarantees paid sick leave in the private sector. As of December 2024, 18 states and the District of Columbia required covered private employers to provide it.[dol-paid-leave] The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition.[dol-fmla] Cities and counties add rules too, so check accrual, caps and doctor’s notes locally. In the UK, eligible employees get Statutory Sick Pay of £123.25 a week or 80% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks, for each full day off sick they’d normally have worked.[gov-uk-ssp-amount] To qualify, someone must be an employee, have done some work for the employer and have been ill at least one full working day.[gov-uk-ssp-eligibility] ## Common mistakes - Asking for a doctor’s note after one day when local law or practice doesn’t allow it. - Treating every absence the same, with no route for longer-term illness, phased returns or adjustments. - Sharing health details with the team, or storing them where too many people can see them. - Writing one policy for everyone without checking state, city or country sick leave rules. ## Common questions **Do employers have to offer paid sick leave in the US?** Not under federal law. But 18 states and the District of Columbia had paid sick leave laws as of December 2024, so which rules apply depends on where the person works. **How many sick days do US employees usually get?** Where workers have a fixed number of sick days, the average in March 2026 was 8 days after one year of service. Some employers fold sick days into one paid time off allowance instead. **How much is Statutory Sick Pay in the UK?** Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week or 80% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks. The rate is updated from time to time, so check GOV.UK for the current figure. ## Sources (read 2026-10-13) - [bls-ebs-2026] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employee Benefits in the United States Summary” (September 25, 2026 (March 2026 data)): https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.nr0.htm - [bls-sick-leave-factsheet] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Paid sick leave: What is available to workers?” (September 2026 (March 2026 data)): https://www.bls.gov/ebs/factsheets/paid-sick-leave.htm - [cipd-health-wellbeing-2025] CIPD, “Health and wellbeing at work” (9 September 2025): https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/health-well-being-work/ - [dol-paid-leave] U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, “Paid Leave” (Current page, read October 2026): https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/featured-paid-leave - [dol-fmla] U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “Family and Medical Leave Act” (Current page, read October 2026): https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla - [gov-uk-ssp-amount] GOV.UK, “Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): What you’ll get” (Current page, read October 2026): https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/what-youll-get - [gov-uk-ssp-eligibility] GOV.UK, “Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): Eligibility” (Current page, read October 2026): https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/eligibility ## In Shuffl Use in Shuffl: [Knowledge draft](https://shuffl.ai/app/knowledge?template=sick-leave). Opens a Knowledge draft with this policy, its checks and what Shuffl already knows, like your HR contact and countries. Draft with Mello can write the rest and show where each value came from. Nothing is published until you choose Publish. Guide: [Add a policy to Knowledge](https://shuffl.ai/docs/knowledge#add) ## Related terms - [Absenteeism rate](https://shuffl.ai/glossary/absenteeism-rate) - [Employee benefits](https://shuffl.ai/glossary/employee-benefits) - [Employee handbook](https://shuffl.ai/glossary/employee-handbook) All templates: https://shuffl.ai/templates Agent documentation index: https://shuffl.ai/llms.txt