How Many Sick Days a Year Is Acceptable?

The employer decides what constitutes excessive sick leave in any one employment year. Whether sick leave is considered problematic may not just pertain to the number of days absent but also the pattern of how sick days taken are spread across the calendar.

An employee taking a sick day every month on Fridays adds up to 12 days a year. Normally, 12 sick days might not ring any alarm bells. An employee could legitimately require 12 days off due to severe illness or surgery. But a sick day every month just before a weekend does suggest a pattern of undesirable behaviour.

In the UK, there is no legal definition of how many sick days are too many sick days, and there is also no upper limit as to how many sick days an employee can take in a given year. The employer sets the threshold, and finding an acceptable number is tricky.

How Many Sick Leave Days Can an Employee Take?

Employers generally offer one to five days of paid sick leave per year, adapting the policy to align with job demands and industry norms, which may extend up to 10 days for more physically demanding roles.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) states that the average number of sick days in the UK in 2018 pre-Covid was 4.4 per workforce member. 

Some employers base their acceptable absence level on this national average. However, depending on your industry, there may be a more appropriate number of allotted sick days. 

Healthcare workers who could not work because of Covid symptoms would potentially have a much higher absence rate than those working outdoors. Some larger employers use their own data to create an average for their business or organisation.

Human Resource Managers sometimes use a system called, The Bradford Factor—a methodology that calculates an average and allows companies to monitor absenteeism.

Accurately recording absence dates and the reason for absence is crucial. Additionally, the employer should conduct return-to-work interviews. Such interviews can deter unauthorised absence, particularly if not due to legitimate illness. If an employee remains absent, invite them to an absence review meeting which can be conducted remotely.

Following this procedure is crucial if an employer is to issue warnings about excessive absence. The employee needs to understand the threshold for unacceptable sick leave from the employer. 

This process could help justify a move towards disciplinary action or—ultimately—dismissal. The procedure should be fair and transparent, with clear employee communication and well-kept records.