Sick Leave
An employee employed under a continuous contract is entitled to sickness allowance if the following conditions are fulfilled:
- the sick leave taken is not less than four consecutive days* (unless for any day off taken by a female employee for her pregnancy check-ups, post confinement medical treatment or miscarriage, any such day on which she is absent shall be counted as a sickness day and, subject to the following conditions, be paid sickness allowance);
- the sick leave is supported by an appropriate medical certificate
- the employee has accumulated sufficient number of paid sickness days
*A minimum of four consecutive sick days must be captured when recording sick leave. You can reduce the required number of consecutive days by creating a new entitlement policy and specifying the required Minimum Number of Consecutive Sick Days to Qualify for Pay. For more information about creating an entitlement policy, please go to:
Paid sickness days are accumulated at the rate of two paid sickness days for each completed month of the employee’s employment during the first 12 months, and four paid sickness days for each completed month of employment thereafter. Paid sickness days can be accumulated throughout the whole employment period, but shall not exceed 120 days at any one time.
As leave cycles and entitlements on the system are based on employees’ appointment dates, please ensure that these are entered correctly. For more information about how to enter / change an employee’s date of appointment, please go to:
The daily rate of sick leave pay is a sum equivalent to four-fifths of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the first day of the sick leave. If an employee is employed for less than 12 months, the calculation shall be based on the shorter period.
For more information about how the average daily wage is calculated, please go to:
For more information about sick leave, please visit the Labour Department website.