There is no legal cap on how many sick days you are entitled to per year in the UK. If you are genuinely too ill to work, you can be off for as long as your condition requires. What the law does limit is pay: your employer must pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for up to 28 weeks per period of sickness, and from 6 April 2026 SSP is paid from your first day off at 80% of your average weekly earnings or £123.25 a week, whichever is lower.
Is There a Legal Limit on Sick Days
No. UK employment law does not set a maximum number of sick days in a calendar year. The limit sits on the pay side, not the leave side. Once you have received 28 weeks of SSP within a single period of sickness, your entitlement to statutory sick pay is exhausted, but your right to be off work because you are ill is a separate question governed by your contract, your employer’s capability procedures, and, where relevant, disability law.
Whether you keep your job through a long absence depends on the process your employer follows, not on any statutory day count. More on that below.
What You Get Paid While Off Sick
The SSP system changed on 6 April 2026, and three reforms matter most.
The three-day unpaid waiting period is gone. You now receive SSP from your first qualifying day of sickness, not your fourth. The old earnings floor (the Lower Earnings Limit) has been scrapped, so all employees qualify regardless of how much they earn. And SSP is no longer a single flat rate. It is now calculated as 80% of your average weekly earnings, capped at £123.25 per week. If 80% of your earnings comes to less than £123.25, you receive the lower figure. If it comes to more, you receive £123.25.
Your employer pays SSP on your normal pay days, and it is subject to tax and National Insurance like ordinary wages. Payments run for a maximum of 28 weeks per period of sickness.
To qualify, you must be classed as an employee and have done some work under your contract. You must also have been ill for at least four consecutive days, including non-working days like weekends. Agency workers qualify on the same basis as other employees.
You will not qualify for SSP if you have already had the maximum 28 weeks of SSP for the current period of sickness, or if you are receiving Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance. If you hold two jobs with different employers, you can receive SSP from each, provided your earnings are not combined for National Insurance. If they are combined, you receive one payment only.
Many employers run their own contractual sick pay scheme that goes beyond SSP, such as full salary for a set number of weeks followed by half pay. The details are in your contract or staff handbook. Contractual and statutory sick pay are usually offset against each other rather than stacked, so you receive whichever is more generous. Anything above SSP is voluntary; if your contract is silent on sick pay, SSP is all you are legally guaranteed.
Telling Your Employer and Proving You’re Sick
You must tell your employer you are sick within whatever deadline they set. If they have not set one, let them know within seven days of your first day off. Miss the deadline and you could lose sick pay for the affected days, so check your contract or staff handbook for the exact rules.
For absences of seven calendar days or fewer, you do not need a doctor’s note. You self-certify when you return. Some employers provide a form; others accept an email confirming the dates and reason.
Longer Absences and Fit Notes
If you are off for more than seven consecutive days, including weekends and bank holidays, you need to give your employer a fit note, formally called a Statement of Fitness for Work. Fit notes can be issued by a GP, hospital doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, or physiotherapist.
A fit note says one of two things: you are “not fit for work,” or you “may be fit for work” with adjustments. The second option does not mean you must return. It means the healthcare professional thinks you could manage some work if your employer makes changes, which fall into four categories:
- A phased return, meaning a gradual increase in hours or duties
- Altered hours, such as different start times or shorter days
- Amended duties that accommodate your condition
- Workplace adaptations, including physical changes or working from home
If your employer cannot make those adjustments, the fit note is treated as “not fit for work” and you stay on sick leave.
When Repeated Absences Link Together
If you are off sick more than once, the gaps matter. Two or more periods of sickness link together if each lasts at least four days and they are eight weeks or fewer apart. Linked periods share the same 28-week SSP entitlement, so repeated absences can burn through your sick pay faster than you expect. The days themselves are not capped, but the pay behind them is.
Holiday That Builds Up While You’re Off
Your statutory holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks a year continues to accrue while you are on sick leave. Being ill does not eat into your holiday allowance, and your employer cannot force you to take holiday instead of sick leave to save on SSP.
If a long-term illness stops you using your holiday before the leave year ends, you can carry over up to four weeks of statutory holiday. That carried-over leave must be used within 18 months of the end of the leave year in which it accrued. Any contractual holiday above the statutory 5.6 weeks follows whatever your employer’s carry-over policy says.
When SSP Ends
When your SSP is about to run out, your employer must send you form SSP1. If SSP is expected to end before you recover, the form should be sent on or before the start of your 23rd week of SSP. If SSP ends unexpectedly while you are still sick, your employer has seven days to send it. You use this form to apply for further financial support.
The two main options after SSP are New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit. For 2026/27, the ESA personal allowance for someone aged 25 or over is £95.55 per week, with an additional support component of £50.35 per week if your condition severely limits what you can do. Universal Credit works differently: if you are assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity, you get an additional element on top of your standard allowance, though there is usually a three-month waiting period before that extra amount starts.
Applying promptly matters. Your employer can complete SSP1 early if they know you will be off for more than 28 weeks, letting you start the benefits process before your sick pay actually stops.
Job Protection During Long-Term Sickness
Being on long-term sick leave does not mean your employer can simply let you go. If you have worked for them for two years or more, you have protection against unfair dismissal, and your employer must follow a fair capability process before terminating your employment. That process should include getting up-to-date medical evidence, sharing it with you, giving you a chance to respond, and genuinely exploring whether adjustments or alternative work could help you return.
If your condition qualifies as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, you have extra protection regardless of length of service. A condition counts as a disability if it has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal daily activities, with “long-term” meaning 12 months or more. Where the Equality Act applies, your employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments, which could include flexible hours, modified duties, or a phased return.
What counts as reasonable depends on the size of the employer, how practical the changes are, and the cost involved. A large employer with multiple roles to offer will be held to a higher standard than a small business. A tribunal assessing an unfair dismissal claim will also weigh how long you have worked there, how your absence affects the business, and your realistic chances of recovery. Dismissal is more likely to be found unreasonable if the employer skipped steps or made no real effort to help you come back.