Answers to questions MyHR receives from its members about employee's entitlement to sick leave, taking sick leave, and employers' rights and obligations.
Updated: 8 August 2024
Questions covered:
- How much sick leave does an employee get each year?
- How much sick leave can an employee take?
- What happens if a person is sick and has no sick leave?
- How much should I pay an employee on sick leave?
- What if an employee is injured and on ACC?
- What happens when a person works a few hours and then goes home sick?
- When should an employee notify the employer they are sick?
- Can I ask an employee who says they are sick to come to work?
- Can I ask a sick employee to work from home?
- When can an employee take sick leave, e.g. to care for parents (or other family) who don't live with the person?
- Can an employee take sick leave for stress?
- Can I ask an employee to provide proof they are sick?
- What if an employee doesn’t or won’t provide proof of sickness?
- Can I make an employee have a medical examination?
- Do I have to give employees time off to see a doctor?
- Can an employee pre-book sick leave, e.g. for an operation?
- What should I do if I suspect someone is abusing sick leave provisions?
- When does sick leave renew?
- What happens to unused sick leave?
- Do I need to have a sickness or sick leave policy?
- What happens if an employee gets sick while on annual leave?
- Is offering employees unlimited sick leave a good idea?
How much sick leave does an employee get each year?
Most employees are entitled to 10 days of paid sick leave every year once they are meet these eligibility requirements:
- Permanent employees (full-time or part-time) - once they have worked continuously for the same employer for 6 months.
- Casual employees - once they have worked for the employer for 6 months for an average of 10 hours per week, and at least one hour in every week or 40 hours in every month.
- Independent contractors are not entitled to paid sick leave.
Unused sick leave can accrue to a maximum of 20 days.
Employers can offer or agree to better terms, e.g. more than 10 days' sick leave a year or a higher cap than 20 days, but can’t provide less than these legal minimums.
Learn more about employee sick leave entitlements.
How much sick leave can an employee take?
An employee is entitled to take as much paid sick leave as they have accumulated (up to a maximum of 20 days). There is no minimum or maximum amount of sick leave that employees can take other than this.
What happens if a person is sick and has no sick leave?
If an employee has not qualified for sick leave or has none left, the employer and employee can agree to:
- use annual leave (if available), or
- take unpaid sick leave.
Employers can provide sick leave in advance of entitlement, but be aware that if the employee leaves the business before their sick leave entitlement rolls over, it could be difficult to recoup.
How much should I pay an employee on sick leave?
Sick leave payment is calculated using either relevant daily pay (what the person would have earned if they had worked that day) or, if that’s not possible or practicable, average daily pay (a daily average of the employee’s gross earnings over the past 52 weeks).
What if an employee is injured and on ACC?
If the injury occurred at work and the accident is registered and acknowledged by ACC, the employee doesn't need to take sick leave but you must pay them at least 80% of their normal wages for the first week off work.
If they are injured outside the workplace, they can choose to take sick leave (or annual leave or unpaid leave) for the first week they’re off work.
After the first week, ACC will pay them 80% of their usual salary while off work.
Injured employees have the right to ask you to pay them one day's sick leave each week (if they have the sick leave available). There are no other employer obligations to pay employees on ACC. However, if the employee returns to work in a part-time capacity, you may need to make a contribution towards their salary or wages.
What happens when a person works a few hours and then goes home sick?
Sick leave is only described in the Holidays Act in terms of days, not part days or hours. So, if an employee worked until lunchtime and then went home sick, this is counted as using a whole day of sick leave.
However, the employee and employer can agree to break the entitlement down into hours or part days, e.g. the employer can agree to only deduct a half day of sick leave and pay them for this half sick leave day.
When should an employee notify the employer they are sick?
If an employee is sick or injured and intends to take sick leave, they should notify the organisation as soon as they can (either before they are due to start work or as soon as possible afterwards).
A phone call is the best method of notification, but a text, email, or another form of electronic message may be acceptable, depending on the rules and reporting lines your organisation has in place.
Can I ask an employee who says they are sick to come to work?
No, but you can ask them to provide proof of illness or injury.
Your first consideration should be to look after people. Making someone come to work when they are sick is not good for many reasons, i.e. the person, the employment relationship, the business and its customers and clients. There is also the potential for employees to raise claims for the business failing to ensure their health and safety if sick workers are required and/or permitted to come to work.
Can I ask a sick employee to work from home?
No. The golden rule is that employers should never require (or knowingly allow) anyone to work while they are sick, regardless of whether or not working remotely is a possibility.
Employees can choose to work from home if they feel well enough or are improving, and we encourage employers to support them by providing options for working reduced or intermittent hours.
We also advocate easing back into work, particularly if the employee has been hit hard by illness or injury, or they have asked for this. This might look like working half day (paid per usual) and half day sick leave.
The easing back period will be subjective; it could be a couple of days, or might be a week or a month.
When can an employee take sick leave, e.g. to care for parents (or other family) who don't live with the person?
Employees are able to take sick leave when they are sick or injured, or their spouse, partner, dependent child or other dependent is unwell or injured.
There is no legal definition of a 'dependent' and in the circumstances there is no one available to care for an employee's family member - e.g. to take them to medical appointments or care for them when their primary carer is unavailable - the employee can use sick leave.
Can you take sick leave for stress?
Yes, if an employee is suffering from workplace stress that is making them unwell, they are eligible for sick leave, as they would be with any other illness or injury.
In other situations, you and the employee could negotiate paid or unpaid leave for stress, but this is not a legal obligation (workplace stress is not defined by law).
We recommend always doing what you can to support stressed employees and to ensure your team members are healthy and productive.
As an employer, you have to identify and manage workplace health and safety risks, as much as reasonably possible, including stress. You are also obliged to monitor employees for signs of potential workplace stress. The stress may not be obvious, so it’s important to maintain open, honest communication with employees.
Learn more about managing work-related stress at Worksafe.
Can I ask an employee to provide proof they are sick?
Once an employee has been on sick leave for three or more consecutive days, you can request proof that they are sick or injured and unable to work.
Proof is usually a medical certificate from a doctor or other registered health professional. You cannot specify which doctor or medical practice the employee obtains proof from.
In certain circumstances, you can request evidence of illness or injury within three consecutive calendar days, but the organisation must agree to pay the person's reasonable expenses, such as medical fees.
In all cases where an employee is required to give proof, you must inform them as soon as possible.
What if an employee doesn’t or won’t provide proof of sickness?
If an employee won’t provide proof of sickness (or falsifies the proof), you could consider taking disciplinary action. However, we recommend first taking a more informal approach to work with the person to improve their conduct and/or performance.
Learn more about managing employee issues.
Can I make an employee have a medical examination?
No, you can’t force an employee to have a medical examination.
However, if you have good reason to believe that someone at work is impaired, unwell or harmed for any reason (whether from exposure to workplace hazards or other causes) then you can request the employee undertake a medical examination from a doctor or other registered health professional, at your expense.
Do I have to give employees time off to see a doctor?
Employers aren’t legally required to give employees time off work to visit the doctor or dentist unless the employment agreement says so.
If there is nothing specified in the employment agreement, the employer and employee can negotiate. If they cannot agree, the employee can schedule these appointments for a time outside of work hours. If the employee is sick or injured, they could use sick leave to attend the appointment.
Can an employee pre-arrange sick leave, e.g. for upcoming surgery or an operation?
Yes. If the person has sick leave entitlement remaining they can schedule this to cover for surgery or an operation (or to care for a partner or dependent who's having an operation). This includes cosmetic surgery.
If they have no sick leave left, you can agree to let them use annual leave (if they have it), take sick leave in advance, or to take unpaid sick leave.
What should I do if I suspect someone is abusing sick leave provisions?
Employers have the right to request proof of sickness or injury. If the person has been sick for less than three days in a row, you will have to meet the costs of them getting proof, e.g. a doctor’s visit. If it’s three or more days in a row, they will have to meet the costs.
If the person has been using a lot of sick (or other) leave, there might be wider issues involved, e.g. health issues, low motivation, harassment or bullying, or problems outside work. This is where open, honest communication and supporting the person can help.
If you have an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), recommending the person access their services could also be beneficial.
In certain circumstances, if an employer can no longer reasonably sustain a person’s absence from work, they may be able to dismiss the employee for medical incapacity.
Find out more about managing employees who use a lot of sick leave.
When does sick leave renew?
Employees get 10 days' paid sick leave when they reach their entitlement anniversary (12 months after they were last entitled to sick leave).
What happens to unused sick leave?
At the end of any 12-month period, unused sick leave can be carried over and added to the person's entitlement for the year (up to a maximum of 20 days).
Any unused sick leave the employee has when the employment relationship ends does not need to be paid out, unless this is stipulated in their employment agreement.
Do I need to have a sickness or sick leave policy?
No. Sick leave entitlements and payments are defined by law, so there’s no need to outline these in company policy.
We do encourage businesses to have information, e.g. a section in the employee handbook, that covers employee entitlements to leave, procedures for how to notify the business, returning to work etc.
What happens if an employee gets sick while on annual leave?
If an employee (or their spouse, partner or dependant) gets sick or injured before starting scheduled annual leave, they can take the portion of annual holidays they’re sick for, as sick leave.
If an employee (or their spouse, partner or dependant) gets sick or injured during annual leave, they can change the days they are sick to sick leave days rather than annual holidays, but only if the employer agrees.
The employer can ask the employee to prove the illness or injury before allowing them to change annual leave to sick leave.
Is offering employees unlimited sick leave a good idea?
Some employers, e.g. ANZ, offer sick leave beyond the legal minimum of 10 days, whether this is uncapped or managed at the company’s discretion. Proponents say it improves staff wellbeing and morale, which boosts employee retention and recruitment. There is, however, the potential for abuse and any additional administration required.
Whether or not uncapped leave will work for your business will depend on your industry, structure, and culture.
