What to keep when you are off sick for a few days

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Most short absences pass without any paperwork beyond a message to your manager. The few that go wrong usually do so over a small detail: the day you rang in, whether two absences count as one, or a payslip that does not match the days you were off. A few minutes spent keeping a simple record makes those queries quick to settle. This article sets out what the rules ask of you and what is worth keeping, using the figures the sick pay calculator works with.

What the rules ask of you

Three points cover most short absences.

Tell your employer in time. You must tell them within their deadline, or within 7 days if they have not set one. They cannot insist that you do it in person or on a special form. If you are late without a good reason, they do not have to pay SSP for the days you reported late.

Self-certification covers up to 7 days. If you are off for 7 days or less, you do not need a fit note or other proof from a healthcare professional. When you return, your employer can ask you to confirm you were off sick, usually with a form or an email. How you do that is agreed between the two of you, so check what your handbook says.

A fit note is needed after more than 7 days in a row. The count includes weekends and bank holidays, not only working days. A fit note is free if you ask for it after being off for more than 7 days, and a fee may be charged if you ask for one for a shorter absence. GOV.UK says you should keep the original and that your employer can take a copy.

For the detail on notes and evidence, our guide to fit notes and self-certification goes through each case.

What SSP looks like on a short absence

Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first qualifying day of sickness rather than the fourth. A qualifying day is a day you would normally have worked. The rate is £123.25 a week or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, and it is paid through your usual wages with tax and National Insurance taken off.

A worked example shows why records matter. Say you work five days a week and earn enough for the full rate. The daily rate is £123.25 divided by five, which is £24.65. Three days off on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday comes to £73.95 before deductions. If your payslip shows two days of SSP, you know something is out of line, but only if you can show which three days you were off and when you reported them.

Linked absences

Two short absences can be treated as one. GOV.UK says periods of sickness are linked if each lasts more than one full working day and they are 8 weeks or less apart. Linked periods count towards the same 28-week maximum, and SSP stops if a continuous series of linked periods runs past 3 years.

That is why dates matter even for absences that felt trivial at the time. If you have been off twice in six weeks, a dated list lets you check how your employer is counting them.

A short record to keep

Keep these in one place:

1. The dates. First and last day off, and the day you returned.
2. How you reported it. The date, time and method (call, text, email), and who you spoke to.
3. Any self-certification form you completed, or a copy of the email you sent.
4. The fit note, if you had one. Keep the original, as GOV.UK advises.
5. The payslip for the period, so you can compare the SSP days with your own list.
6. A copy of the sickness policy from your handbook or contract, since your employer may pay more than SSP under an occupational scheme.

None of this needs to be elaborate. A single sheet per absence is enough.

Keeping it in one place

Paper and phone notes get lost between jobs, house moves and clear-outs. A tidy system is cheap, and it only has to hold a few sheets a year.

An Ad expanding document folder with A to Z tabs lets you file payslips, forms and letters by month or by topic. If you would rather keep one note per absence in a bound book, Ad a hardback A5 notebook with numbered pages makes it harder to lose a page, and numbered pages help if anyone asks to see your notes in order.

Cutting down on loose paper helps with a longer absence or several short ones. Ad Clear punched pockets for a ring binder keep a fit note flat and readable. Labelling each one helps too, and Ad self-adhesive file labels make it easy to find the right year in a hurry.

A calendar helps with the linked-period rule, because gaps of 8 weeks are hard to judge from memory. Ad A year wall planner with a dry-wipe surface shows every absence at a glance, and you can copy the dates into your notes once a month. For payslips, contracts and fit notes that need to stay together year to year, Ad a box file for A4 papers is enough, and a lockable box is only worth it if others have access to where you keep things.

When the payslip does not match

Compare your list with the payslip as soon as it arrives. The things to check are the number of qualifying days paid, the daily rate, and whether the absence was treated as linked to an earlier one. If a figure looks wrong, ask payroll to show how they reached it. Our guide to how SSP is worked out has a table of daily rates by working pattern to check against.

If your employer will not pay SSP at all, the steps to take are in the guide on what to do if your employer will not pay SSP. Having dates, a reporting record and a payslip in front of you makes any conversation with HMRC or your employer shorter.

After you are back

Add the return date to your record, file the payslip when it arrives and note the date of any conversation with your manager.