We never know what’s around the corner, so it’s important to know your rights in respect of your health. Our Sick Leave Calculator makes it easy to work out how many sickness days you have accrued and how much you can expect to be paid during periods of illness.
Find out more in our Frequently Asked Questions section below the calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions: Sick Leave
You accumulate “paid sickness days” based on how long you have worked for your current employer:
- First 12 months: You accrue 2 days for each completed month.
- After 12 months: You accure 4 days for each completed month.
You can accrue up to a maximum of 120 days‘ paid sickness days at any given time throughout the course of your contract.
Your eligibility to receive paid sickness allowance is dependent on three conditions must being met:
- You must enough sickness days accrued to cover the period of sickness
- The sick leave must be for 4 or more consecutive days
- You must provide your employer with a medical certificate from a registered doctor
Legally, your employer is not required to pay you sickness allowance if you are sick for fewer than 4 days in a row. However, they must still allow you to take the time off to rest; some employers may choose to pay you as a gesture of kindness, though they are not obligated to do so.
The daily rate is 80% (four-fifths) of your average daily wages. It is calculated based on your salary from the previous 12 months.
No. It is illegal for an employer to terminate your contract while you are on a period of paid sick leave, except in cases of serious misconduct. If they do so, they may be prosecuted and required to pay a penalty.
Yes. If you are pregnant, any day you need to take off for a medical examination, or for a period of sickness caused by the pregnancy, is counted as a sick day. If you have a medical certificate and enough days accrued, these should be paid.
Sickness allowance only applies to days where you are unfit for work. A routine dental checkup usually does not qualify unless the dentist certifies that you are medically unfit to work for 4 or more days due to a procedure.
Your accrued sick leave is tied to your current employer. If you start a new contract with a different employer, your “bank” resets to zero, and you begin earning 2 days per month again.
