Sick Leave Act 2022

PART 3

Employment Rights

Protection of employment rights

11. (1) Without prejudice to any contractual or other right that an employee may, apart from this provision, otherwise enjoy, an employee shall, during a period of absence from work by the employee while on statutory sick leave, be treated as if he or she had not been so absent and such absence shall not affect any right related to the employee’s employment whether conferred by statute, contract or otherwise.

(2) Absence from employment while on statutory sick leave shall not be treated as part of any other leave from employment (including annual leave, maternity leave, additional maternity leave, leave under section 16 (1) and (4) of the Maternity Protection Act 1994 , adoptive leave within the meaning of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 , additional adoptive leave within the meaning of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 , paternity leave, transferred paternity leave and parent’s leave) to which the employee concerned is entitled.

(3) Where—

(a) an employee who is on probation in his or her employment or is undergoing training in relation to that employment or is employed under a contract of apprenticeship takes statutory sick leave, and

(b) his or her employer considers that the employee’s absence from employment while on statutory sick leave would not be consistent with the continuance of the probation, training or apprenticeship,

the employer may require that the probation, training or apprenticeship be suspended during the period of statutory sick leave and be completed by the employee at the end of that period.