Someone texts at 7am to say they are not well enough to come in. In a large company, that triggers a process. In a team of eight, it triggers a scramble: who covers the shift, who tells the customer, and what exactly are you meant to pay? Sickness absence is normal and unavoidable. How you handle it is what makes it either a minor wobble or a recurring source of stress and resentment.
Know what has changed with Statutory Sick Pay
Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is payable from the first day of sickness rather than after three waiting days. The lower earnings limit has also gone, so lower-paid and part-time employees who were previously left out can now qualify. Under the new rules, the weekly amount is the lower of the standard weekly rate or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings.
These changes follow from the Employment Rights Act 2025. If you have not looked at your payroll set-up since the spring, do it now. Check that your payroll software or provider has applied the new rules, and that part-time staff who used to fall below the threshold are being picked up. Acas has a clear summary, and gov.uk has the current rates.
If you offer enhanced sick pay on top of SSP, the principle is simple: write down exactly what you offer and apply it the same way to everyone in the same position.
Write a short, plain absence policy
You do not need a 20-page handbook. One page that everyone has actually read beats a thorough document nobody opens. It should answer five questions:
- Who do I tell, and by when? Name a person and a deadline, such as a call or message to your line manager before the start of your shift.
- How do I tell them? A phone call, a message, or a note in your team chat. Pick one and say so.
- When do I need a fit note? Employees can self-certify for the first seven days. After that, a fit note from a doctor is usually needed.
- What will I be paid? Explain SSP and any company sick pay, in plain English.
- What happens when I come back? Say whether you hold a short return conversation.
The point is to remove guesswork. When people know what is expected, they are less likely to feel anxious about calling in, and you are less likely to be left wondering where someone is.
Keep records without turning into Big Brother
Accurate records protect both sides. You need to know when absences started and ended, whether a fit note was provided and what sick pay was processed. Keep them in one place, and keep the information factual.
Be careful with health details. Information about someone's health is special category data under UK GDPR, so record what you need to run payroll and manage the team, and no more. Share it only with the people who need it. Your team does not need to know why a colleague is off. They only need to know that the work is covered.
Have a return-to-work chat, not an interrogation
A five-minute conversation when someone returns does a lot of good. It lets you check they are well enough to be back, tell them what they missed and ask whether anything at work needs to change.
Keep it kind and brief. A good structure is:
- Welcome them back and ask how they are.
- Check whether they need any adjustments, such as a phased return or a lighter first day.
- Catch them up on anything urgent.
- Note the dates and that the conversation took place.
If you notice a pattern, such as frequent short absences or a long absence with no end in sight, treat it as a prompt to talk, not a reason to assume the worst. Underlying health conditions, caring responsibilities and work pressures are all common causes. Some conditions may count as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, which means you may have a duty to make reasonable adjustments. When in doubt, take advice from Acas or an HR professional before acting.
Plan cover before you need it
Most of the pain of absence is operational. The best time to plan for it is when everyone is well.
- Write down the tasks that only one person can do, and train a second person on each.
- Keep handover notes and shared files up to date, not tucked away in one person's inbox.
- Agree who can approve a swap or an extra shift at short notice.
- Be honest about what can wait. Not everything has to be covered the same day.
This is also where hiring comes in. If you find yourself regularly stretched when one person is off, that is useful evidence about capacity. A tidy hiring process helps here. On Hier, you can post a visual job, let Hier Intelligence rank applicants against the role so you start with the strongest people, and manage interviews and messages in one place, which keeps hiring from becoming one more thing you have to squeeze in.
Protect the people who stay at work
When someone is off, the rest of the team often absorbs the work. A little recognition goes a long way. Say thank you, share out the load fairly and do not let extra work quietly become permanent. Teams that feel supported when a colleague is away tend to be more understanding when it is their turn.
The takeaway
You do not need complicated systems to handle sickness absence well. You need a one-page policy, correct SSP in payroll, simple records, a kind return-to-work chat and a plan for cover. Do those five things and the 7am text becomes something you can handle calmly.
