{"id":91933,"date":"2023-02-02T14:14:23","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T12:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/?p=91933"},"modified":"2024-03-28T15:25:32","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T13:25:32","slug":"long-term-sick-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-Term Sick Pay and Leave"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Long-term sick\u2019 usually refers to someone who has been <\/span><b>off work due to sickness for four or more weeks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. However, these four weeks <\/span><b>don\u2019t have to be continuous.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> As long as the absences are at least four days and not more than eight weeks apart, shorter absences could be classed as \u2018long-term\u2019 sickness. Employees in this situation could therefore be entitled to long-term sick pay. Confusing, right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The absence could be a result of a physical or mental illness. Organisations are often unsure how to approach long-term sickness in their team, <\/span><b>for fear of doing the \u2018wrong\u2019 thing.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This can sometimes lead to employees being off work for weeks,or even months with no real contact from their manager and no process being followed to either bring them back into work or dismiss them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we guide you through how to manage long-term absences from work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#reasons\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the reasons for long-term sick leave?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#what\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is long-term sick pay?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#medical\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What medical evidence should I ask for?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#timeoff\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much time off can employees take on long-term sick leave?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#policies\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long-term sickness policies and processes<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#force\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can an organisation force someone to stay off work?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#aal\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accrued annual leave and long-term sickness<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#remote\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Working elsewhere on long-term sick leave<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#help\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping an employee back to work after illness<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#dismissal\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dismissing someone on long-term sick leave<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b><a id=\"reasons\"><\/a>What are the Reasons for Long-Term Sick Leave?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long-term sickness from work can be caused by a <\/span><b>wide variety of reasons<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including <\/span><b>physical illnesses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as back pain or &#8216;long COVID&#8217;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Unsurprisingly, a recent<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cipd.org\/uk\/knowledge\/factsheets\/absence-factsheet\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CIPD survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> revealed that over a quarter of organisations have seen a big increase in the number of &#8216;long COVID&#8217; cases being cited as an absence reason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, <\/span><b>mental illness<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is thought to be the most common reason for long-term absences from the workplace.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1133968\/causes-of-long-term-absence-in-the-uk\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show that just under two-thirds of long-term sickness absences were a result of conditions such as depression and anxiety.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How you approach an absence due to a physical illness will look very different to how you approach a mental or emotional one. This is why it is essential that each long-term absence is looked at on a <\/span><b>case-by-case basis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and managed accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/templates\/time-off-tracker\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-91946\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02135438\/ENG_Blog_banner_Time-Off-Tracker_11zon.jpg\" alt=\"time-off-tracker\" width=\"1000\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02135438\/ENG_Blog_banner_Time-Off-Tracker_11zon.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02135438\/ENG_Blog_banner_Time-Off-Tracker_11zon-300x103.jpg 300w, https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02135438\/ENG_Blog_banner_Time-Off-Tracker_11zon-768x263.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"what\"><\/a>What is Long-Term Sick Pay?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sick pay is paid to an employee when they are <\/span><b>unable to work as normal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As with their usual pay, this pay is also subject to tax and national insurance contributions as it\u2019s classed as \u2018earnt\u2019. Individuals on long-term sick leave are either entitled to <\/span><b>statutory sick pay or occupational sick pay,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> depending on what\u2019s written into your contracts and company policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Statutory Sick Pay<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your contracts of employment and company policy should outline what your employees are entitled to. As a minimum, <\/span><b>all employees are legally entitled to statutory sick pay<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as long as they meet the following criteria:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They must be classed as a current employee.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They must meet the minimum weekly pay threshold (currently \u00a3123 per week).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They must not be claiming statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption pay.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statutory sick pay (SSP) is a weekly amount set by the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/statutory-sick-pay\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">government<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (currently \u00a399.35 per week) and payable for up to 28 weeks. After that, if your employee continues to be off work, they should seek other options. For example, they may be eligible to receive certain benefits (e.g.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/employment-support-allowance\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ESA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>SSP does not start until day four<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the absence. The first three days are called \u2018waiting\u2019 days. The individual will not receive any payment for those three days (unless your policy offers occupational sick pay).<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Occupational Sick Pay<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational sick pay is not something you have to offer to your team &#8211; but it can <\/span><b>boost employee morale<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to know they won\u2019t have to watch the pennies that month just because they\u2019ve had the flu!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some organisations offer full pay for a set period of time. After the entitlement has been exhausted, employees would automatically move onto SSP instead. If you choose to offer more than SSP, you must ensure it\u2019s reflected in your contracts and policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Organisations should be mindful that <\/span><b>long-term sickness comes with additional costs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> aside from sick pay. For example, you will likely need to cover the individual\u2019s work whilst they are off. You might even need to pay for someone to be trained to undertake a specific task. This should be taken into consideration when thinking about how much occupational sick pay your organisation can afford.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"medical\"><\/a>What Medical Evidence Should I Ask For?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be entitled to sick pay, employees should provide proof of the reason for their absence. <\/span><b>Employees can self-certify for the first week of absence.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> For <\/span><b>absences longer than 7 calendar days<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s important that employees provide a <\/span><b>\u2018fit note\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to confirm why they are off sick. This fit note (previously known as a sick note) is a form issued by their doctor or hospital confirming the diagnosis. The fit note also outlines when the employee might be well enough to return to the workplace. If there is no return to work before the fit note expires, the employee must request another note to <\/span><b>cover the full period of the absence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To try to soften the impact of the delays caused by COVID-19, the government has also recently announced that other healthcare professionals can certify absences. This has been done with the hope of streamlining the process. As a result, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses and pharmacists can now also provide fit notes. <\/span><b>Fit notes can be paper copies or digital.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-91953\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02141106\/pexels-marcus-aurelius-4064177_11zon-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"long-term-sick-pay\" width=\"695\" height=\"506\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"timeoff\"><\/a>How Much Time Off Can Employees Take on Long-Term Sick Leave?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sick leave entitlement varies based on the circumstances. There isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all approach to how much time off someone can take &#8211; not exactly what HR teams want to hear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acas.org.uk\/checking-sick-pay\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACAS guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shows us that best practice is always to use the <\/span><b>reasonable test. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, an employee is off work for 6 weeks due to a broken leg and they are in hospital, in traction, leg up in the air, bedbound. It\u2019s fair to say there\u2019s not much that can be done. It would likely be impossible to bring the individual back into the workplace before their leg has been restored to its usual upright position. However, if you have someone off work due to pain in their finger, it may not be reasonable for that person to have as much time off as someone with a broken femur.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>It\u2019s much harder to determine how long it might take someone with a mental illness to recover.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This area of long-term sickness is much more challenging to manage. It requires lots of open and transparent conversations between the manager and team members to try and figure out the best way forward for everyone involved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Occupational health therapists (OH) can also be a big help in deciding how much time off work is &#8216;reasonable&#8217;.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It&#8217;s important to get guidance from OH as soon as possible when an absence becomes &#8216;long-term&#8217;.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"policies\"><\/a>Long-Term Sickness Policies and Processes\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Organisations should have <\/span><b>clear processes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in place when it comes to managing absences. Here are some key areas to consider:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Policy<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This should be a detailed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/sick-leave-uk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">absence management policy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Part of this policy should make it really clear to your team how you plan to manage long-term absences specifically. You should talk about the \u2018<\/span><b>trigger points<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 you plan to use, when you would plan to meet with them and <\/span><b>how much pay they would be entitled to<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It should also cover the <\/span><b>notification process<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and how to maintain communication during periods of absence.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Process for embedding the policy<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, you have an A+ policy which has taken weeks to develop. That\u2019s great, but what good will it be if no one knows about it or understands it? It\u2019s important to make sure your team knows the policy exists. This should be highlighted to them during their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/probation-period-at-work\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">probationary period. <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This policy should also be flagged every time there is a discussion about absence (return to work meetings, appraisals, etc.). This will embed the policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Manager training courses<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s also extremely important that your managers, supervisors and team leaders are all clued up on <\/span><b>how the policy works<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. There can be lots of stages and processes, which can leave managers overwhelmed. If you ensure your managers are trained about how to navigate long-term sickness, this will make big steps towards reducing absence levels for your organisation. It will also make sure that your teams are looked after and <\/span><b>supported in the right way<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/templates\/training-dashboard\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-91948\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140041\/ENG_Blog_banner_Training-Dashboard_11zon.jpg\" alt=\"training-template\" width=\"1000\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140041\/ENG_Blog_banner_Training-Dashboard_11zon.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140041\/ENG_Blog_banner_Training-Dashboard_11zon-300x103.jpg 300w, https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140041\/ENG_Blog_banner_Training-Dashboard_11zon-768x263.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"force\"><\/a>Can an Organisation Force Someone to Stay Off Work?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following a period of long-term sickness, organisations can request that their employee stays off work until they can supply a fit note from their GP. This fit note should <\/span><b>confirm they are well enough to return to work<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If an organisation believes that the individual is still unwell and not able to perform their role, it may be necessary to instruct them to remain off work for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/health-and-safety-management\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">health and safety<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reasons. However, it will probably be classed as <\/span><b>medical suspension<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you medically suspend an employee, you would likely have to pay them full pay whilst you seek further medical advice and guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"aal\"><\/a>Accrued Annual Leave and Long-Term Sickness<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long-term sick holiday entitlement is something organisations often overlook. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/employee-annual-leave\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Annual leave<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a legal entitlement and individuals on long-term sick leave will <\/span><b>continue to accrue this.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The holiday pay entitlement would be the same as if they were still coming to work every day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s important to remember <\/span><b>if you dismiss someone on long-term sick, you must remember to pay them their accrued annual leave<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If they return to work in the following annual leave year, this leave must be carried over so they can still use it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, some organisations offer much more than the statutory minimum entitlement for annual leave. To add another layer of complexity, <\/span><b>you only have to carry over the first four weeks of annual leave<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You can of course carry over the full entitlement, but this needs to be clearly detailed in contracts and policies for clarity.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"remote\"><\/a>Working Elsewhere On Long-Term Sick Leave<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will need to have a read of each individual\u2019s employment contract. If your employee doesn\u2019t have an exclusivity clause in their contract, they may choose to work elsewhere. <\/span><b>They might have a separate contract with another organisation and still be able to fulfil their responsibilities in that role<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, you need to ask the question, why can they work somewhere else but not here? Are they off work due to workplace stress? Does the work they do elsewhere involve light duties and therefore their illness doesn\u2019t have an impact? If there are suspicions that the individual is fraudulently claiming that they are unwell, this should be handled through your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/insubordination-disciplinary-procedure\/#how\"><b>disciplinary<\/b><\/a><b> procedure. The allegation must be investigated thoroughly<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before any decisions are made.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-91950\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140358\/gabrielle-henderson-HJckKnwCXxQ-unsplash_11zon-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"long-term-sick-leave\" width=\"580\" height=\"371\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"help\"><\/a>Helping an Employee Back to Work After Illness<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Organisations should always look at all the options to bring individuals back into the workplace after long periods of absence. These options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Referring to occupational health<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This step should be followed as early as possible during the period of absence. Occupational health will give you up-to-date medical guidance about the individual\u2019s condition. They can review their condition on a regular basis and recommend ways of bringing them back into the workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Offering phased returns<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This could be part-time hours for the first 2 &#8211; 3 weeks, gradually increasing until the individual is back to their usual number of hours each week.<\/span><b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><b>Considering reasonable adjustments<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This could include <\/span><b>changes to hours<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For example, allowing the individual to start slightly later in the morning if they struggle with chronic fatigue. Organisations should also look at the <\/span><b>equipment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they use and check if that\u2019s fit for purpose. Another example is if a team member has back pain, have you provided them with an ergonomic office chair to alleviate their discomfort? You might also want to consider temporary <\/span><b>redeployment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into a role they can do whilst they are recovering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"dismissal\"><\/a>Dismissing Someone On Long-Term Sick Leave<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once again, it depends! Each long-term absence should be <\/span><b>considered on a case-by-case basis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Your policy should outline the process. This should confirm how many stages you have to go through as a minimum. Best practice suggests that there should be a <\/span><b>minimum of two meetings<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with an employee before dismissal is considered. However, if after two meetings (and obtaining medical guidance) there is no expected return in the foreseeable future, it will likely be reasonable to dismiss. <\/span><b>However, this should be the last resort and organisations should always be able to demonstrate that they have considered all other options.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s also important to remember that the <\/span><b>size of your organisation will have an impact on the \u2018reasonable test\u2019.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you are a larger organisation, you could probably afford to go through a longer process than a smaller business, as the sick pay wouldn\u2019t have a serious impact on your profits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before deciding to dismiss someone, organisations must remember the essential steps such as <\/span><b>inviting them to a meeting, warning them of the possible outcome of dismissal, and allowing them to put forward their point of view.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s important to be mindful of <\/span><b>employees who have a <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/disability-at-work\/\"><b>disability<\/b><\/a><b> or who are pregnant as they will be protected by the Equality Act 2010.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It does not mean that you cannot dismiss someone who is protected in this way, but it\u2019s important that you record all the ways in which you\u2019ve tried to bring them back into the workplace and all the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/disability-at-work\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reasonable adjustments<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you\u2019ve put in place to facilitate a return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Managing Long-Term Absences With Factorial HR\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our easy-to-use HR software takes away the stress of unnecessary, time-consuming processes. It\u2019s easy to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/holidays-leaves-software\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">record absences<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and pull absence reports to get a big picture of absences in your organisation. It can also integrate with your payroll system, making sick pay and holiday entitlement calculations more straightforward and easy to access.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2705Sign up to Factorial HR\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/get-started\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">14 day free trial <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">today to start managing your absences!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/get-started\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-91951\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140513\/Get-started-3_11zon.jpg\" alt=\"free-trial\" width=\"900\" height=\"308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140513\/Get-started-3_11zon.jpg 900w, https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140513\/Get-started-3_11zon-300x103.jpg 300w, https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02140513\/Get-started-3_11zon-768x263.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Long-term sick\u2019 usually refers to someone who has been off work due to sickness for four or more weeks. However, these four weeks don\u2019t have to be continuous. As long as the absences are at least four days and not more than eight weeks apart, shorter absences could be classed as \u2018long-term\u2019 sickness. Employees in<a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/\" class=\"read-more\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":91954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-finance"],"acf":{"topics":"time-time-off"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.5 (Yoast SEO v21.9.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Long-Term Sick Pay and Leave - Factorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand what is meant by long-term sickness and discover how UK organisations should manage long-term sick pay and leave.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Long-Term Sick Pay and Leave\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understand what is meant by long-term sickness and discover how UK organisations should manage long-term sick pay and leave.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Factorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Factorial\/100064908455810\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-02T12:14:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-28T13:25:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/02141351\/Frame-34369_11zon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Morris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@factorialapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@factorialapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Morris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amy Morris\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/04ca2725c4844563147215509377e47f\"},\"headline\":\"Long-Term Sick Pay and Leave\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-02T12:14:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-28T13:25:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/long-term-sick-pay\/\"},\"wordCount\":2354,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Legal &amp; 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