Sick Leave Policy

Why your team needs this policy

A clear sick leave policy sets expectations for reporting absence, reduces disputes about pay, and helps managers plan cover. Without one, you risk inconsistent treatment of staff, which leads to grievances and claims of unfair treatment.

From a public health perspective, pressuring staff to work through illness leads to presenteeism, where people attend work but perform poorly and risk spreading illness to colleagues and, in food-handling environments, to customers. In hospitality, the consequences of a sick employee handling food or working in close proximity to guests can be severe, including food safety incidents and negative reviews.

The financial cost of poorly managed sick leave is substantial. Unplanned absence disrupts rotas, forces last-minute cover arrangements that are often expensive, and places additional pressure on the staff who do attend. Organisations with clear, fair sick leave policies and supportive absence management processes tend to have lower overall absence rates and better staff retention.

What to cover in your policy video

Define your notification process. Specify who employees should contact, by when, and how. Be clear about whether a text message is acceptable or whether a phone call is required. The process should be simple enough that a genuinely ill employee can follow it without difficulty, but structured enough that managers have the information they need to arrange cover.

Distinguish between statutory and company sick pay. Be transparent about what employees receive by law and any enhanced pay you offer above the minimum. Where you offer enhanced company sick pay, set out the qualifying conditions, the rate and duration of payment, and what happens if an employee exhausts their enhanced entitlement but remains unfit to work.

Cover return-to-work conversations. Explain that a brief, supportive conversation happens after every absence — consistently, for every employee, regardless of duration. These are not disciplinary meetings; they are an opportunity to welcome someone back, check they are fit to return, and identify any support needed to prevent further absence.

Explain how patterns are tracked. Use your video to explain that absence data is monitored to identify trends such as frequent short-term absences, specific days of the week, or clusters in particular teams. Make clear that this is done to support employees, not to punish them, and that genuine health conditions are handled sensitively.

Walk through support for long-term sickness. Employees on extended sick leave need regular contact, occupational health referrals where appropriate, and a structured return-to-work plan. Cover how your organisation maintains contact during the absence, what support is available, and how the return is planned — including phased returns where someone works reduced hours before building back to full capacity.

Cover your obligations around reasonable adjustments. Explain that employees with long-term or recurring health conditions may need adjustments to their role or working arrangements, and that your organisation will work with them to find solutions. Your video does not need to quote specific laws — just make clear that you take this seriously and have a process for handling it.

Explain the importance of accurate records. Record every absence, its duration, the reason given, any supporting medical evidence provided, and the outcome of any return-to-work conversation. These records are essential for managing patterns and demonstrating fairness. Store medical information securely and separately from general personnel records.

Stress that managers are trained. Front-line managers handle sick leave on a day-to-day basis. Explain that they are trained to conduct return-to-work conversations, recognise signs of underlying problems, apply trigger policies fairly, and know when to escalate.

How to structure your video

Keep it under five minutes. Sick leave is a topic that needs to be covered clearly, but employees do not need a lecture. Aim for three to five minutes — long enough to cover notification, pay, and the return-to-work process, short enough that people will actually watch it.

Have the right person present. This should come from whoever handles absence management day-to-day — usually the general manager or operations manager. Hearing the policy from the person who will manage your absence makes it feel more personal and credible than a corporate script.

Use a simple structure. Open with the notification process (\u201CIf you are unwell, here is exactly what to do\u201D). Then cover sick pay — what you receive and for how long. Then explain what happens when you return. Close by covering long-term sickness and where to find further support.

Show, don\u2019t just tell. If your team reports absence through an app or system, screen-record the process. If there is a return-to-work form, show it on screen and walk through what it covers. Making the process visible removes uncertainty.

Be warm, not clinical. Sick leave is a sensitive topic. The tone of your video should make clear that your organisation wants people to recover and come back when they are ready, not that absence is viewed with suspicion. A supportive tone in the video sets the culture for how absence is handled in practice.

Common questions your team will ask

After watching your video, these are the questions that will come up. Anticipate them in your recording or be ready to answer them via messaging:

• \u201CWhat do I do if I wake up ill before my shift?\u201D — Walk through the exact notification process: who to contact, by when, and by what method.
• \u201CDo I get paid when I\u2019m off sick?\u201D — Explain your sick pay policy clearly, covering both any statutory entitlement and any enhanced company sick pay you offer.
• \u201CDo I need a doctor\u2019s note?\u201D — Cover when self-certification is acceptable and when medical evidence is required. The rules vary by location, so check before recording.
• \u201CWhat happens if I\u2019m off for a long time?\u201D — Explain the support available for long-term sickness, including regular contact, occupational health referrals, and phased returns.
• \u201CWill I have a meeting when I come back?\u201D — Describe the return-to-work conversation and make clear it is supportive, not disciplinary.
• \u201CWhat if I\u2019m off sick during a holiday I\u2019ve booked?\u201D — Explain your policy on reclaiming leave days lost to sickness. Check the rules for your location before setting this.
• \u201CCan I be dismissed for being off sick?\u201D — Explain that long-term absence is handled through a fair process with medical input, and that your organisation will always explore adjustments before taking any action.

Official guidance

The rules on sick leave and sick pay vary by location. Before recording your video, check the official guidance for your jurisdiction:

How Pilla helps

Pilla turns your sick leave policy into a living part of your employee handbook:

• Record your policy video — Film a short video explaining your sick leave policy, what employees need to know, and how it works in your organisation. Staff watch on their phone, and you track who has seen it.
• Onboarding integration — Include the sick leave policy as part of your onboarding checklist, so every new starter acknowledges it during induction.
• Policy updates — When your policy changes, push the updated video to all staff and track who has watched the new version.
• Audit trail — Every video view, policy acknowledgement, and onboarding completion is recorded with timestamps, ready for any compliance review.
• Messaging — Use in-app messaging to answer questions about sick leave directly, keeping sensitive conversations out of group chats.