Sick pay and leave

If you are off work sick for more than 4 weeks, you may be considered long-term sick.

During long-term sickness you will still be entitled to annual leave. 

The  sickness absence policy (PDF, 159KB) provides guidance and support to employees and line managers in effectively managing and addressing sickness-related absences. 

You may find our guidance on taking long-term leave useful if you have advance notice that you will require time off work.

Staying in contact  

Agree with your manager how often you’ll stay in contact and how you’ll communicate (for example, work or personal email, phone or text) so they know how you are and can offer support during your time off.

Keeping your laptop and access to council systems 

You’ll still have access to your laptop while on sick leave, but you’re not expected to log on or work. Turn on your ‘out of office’ on your email account so colleagues know you’re not working.

If you do not log in for 90 days or more, your access to your laptop and council systems will automatically be disabled.

If you want to keep in contact using your work laptop and you might be on leave for 90 days or more, you'll need to take steps to keep access. Either log in before 90 days has passed or your manager can contact Tech Service to let them know you will be on extended leave.

If you lose access to your laptop, you'll need to return it to Tech Services to get access again.

Getting support to return to work

If you take sick leave on a repeated basis or for 4 continuous weeks or more, your manager should offer you support to get back to work.  

Reasonable adjustments 

Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone's disability, or physical or mental health condition.

Talk to your manager if you need a reasonable adjustment to help you return to work. They should do all they reasonably can to create an environment where you feel safe and comfortable when talking about your disability or condition.

Managers can suggest a range of reasonable adjustments that could help you return to work. They can suggest a range of possible adjustments, such as a phased return to work, earlier start and finish times, or reducing your hours temporarily. Find out about applying for Access to Work and workplace adjustments. 

Some adjustments can be straightforward to discuss and agree together. Managers can also consider requesting an occupational health referral to get advice on how to support employees returning to work.  

Counselling and emotional support

Whatever your situation and no matter what you’re feeling or going through, we offer a range of support options and can help you find someone you can talk to.

Your annual leave entitlement while on long term sick leave 

Your holiday entitlement will continue to accrue while you’re on long term sick leave. If your absence period extends into the next holiday year, you will be able to carry over up to 5.6 weeks unused entitlement (pro rata for part-time workers). Read our Holiday Policy on the annual leave allowance page for more details. 

My Oracle will only automatically transfer up to 1 week’s outstanding leave (pro rata for part time employees) from one holiday year to the next, so you should refer to Carrying over annual leave to ensure that your unused and accrued annual leave is carried over for when you return to work.