Yes, you can be fired for taking too much sick leave in the UK — but not simply for hitting a number. Dismissal for sickness absence is a capability dismissal, and it is only fair if the employer has followed a proper process, taken medical advice, considered adjustments, and treated dismissal as a last resort. Acas is explicit that an employer should take steps to avoid dismissing an employee on the grounds of capability.
There is no statutory number of sick days that triggers lawful dismissal. Trigger points in an absence policy are a prompt to start a conversation, not a licence to end the employment.
Key Takeaways
- Sickness dismissal is lawful only after a fair capability process — medical evidence, consultation, adjustments considered, dismissal last.
- There is no legal maximum number of sick days. Absence triggers are internal policy, not law.
- If the underlying condition is a disability under the Equality Act 2010, the employer must first make reasonable adjustments — and disability discrimination has no qualifying period.
- The unfair dismissal qualifying period is two years throughout 2026, dropping to six months from 1 January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
What Kind of Dismissal Is Sickness Absence?
It is a capability dismissal, not misconduct. That distinction matters because it changes the process the employer must follow and the questions a tribunal will ask.
Two different fact patterns sit under the same heading, and they are handled differently:
| Frequent short-term absence | Long-term continuous absence | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical picture | Repeated one- and two-day absences, often unrelated causes | One condition, months off, uncertain return |
| Core question | Is the level of attendance sustainable for the business? | Is the employee likely to return within a reasonable time? |
| Evidence needed | Absence record, return-to-work notes, any pattern | Occupational health report, prognosis, fit notes |
| Fair process centres on | Formal warnings about attendance, review periods | Consultation, medical opinion, redeployment search |
Getting the category right is the first thing an employer should do, and one of the first things a tribunal checks. Applying a warnings-based short-term absence procedure to someone recovering from major surgery is a strong sign the process was not properly considered.
What Makes a Sickness Dismissal Fair?
Broadly, a tribunal looks for four things. Treat these as the checklist.
- Genuine, current medical evidence. Not just the employee’s fit notes — usually an occupational health report obtained with consent, addressing prognosis, likely return date, and whether the condition is likely to meet the Equality Act definition of disability.
- Real consultation with the employee. Meetings where the employee understands their job is at risk, can be accompanied, can respond to the medical evidence, and can propose alternatives.
- Serious consideration of adjustments and alternatives. Phased return, reduced hours, changed duties, different location, redeployment to a suitable vacancy. Acas points employers toward “making changes to their role” or “using a phased return to work” before dismissal.
- Dismissal as a genuine last resort, with a right of appeal.
Skip any of the four and the dismissal is at real risk, even where the absence level was objectively unsustainable. Most sickness dismissals that fail at tribunal fail on process, not on the underlying business case.
Does the Two-Year Rule Still Apply in 2026?
Yes — for now, and the position is mid-transition, so be precise about dates.
As at July 2026, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is two years. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, that period reduces to six months. The UK government’s employment changes guidance confirms the qualifying period “will be reduced from two years to six months” from 1 January 2027.
So the practical picture is:
- Dismissal with an effective date of termination in 2026: two years’ continuous service needed to claim ordinary unfair dismissal.
- Dismissal with an effective date of termination on or after 1 January 2027: six months.
Employers who assume “under two years, no risk” are already working from a rule with an expiry date. If you are planning a capability process in late 2026 that will conclude in 2027, plan against the six-month rule.
Crucially, none of this affects the day-one protections. Discrimination claims, including disability discrimination, and automatically unfair dismissal grounds have never required any qualifying service, and the Act does not change that.
What If the Illness Is a Disability?
Then the ground shifts substantially, and this is where most employers get into difficulty.
Under the Equality Act 2010, you are disabled if you have “a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities” (GOV.UK). “Long-term” generally means the effect has lasted or is likely to last at least 12 months. Many conditions that drive high absence — chronic pain conditions, long-term mental health conditions, some cancers and MS from the point of diagnosis — meet that test.
Where it applies, the employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments before dismissal is even on the table. Adjustments in an absence context commonly include:
- Discounting disability-related absence from absence trigger points
- Extending the trigger thresholds for that individual
- Adjusting duties, hours, or working pattern
- Allowing more time for recovery before the process escalates
- Redeploying to a role the employee can sustain
Dismissing without doing this exposes the employer to a discrimination claim — one with no qualifying period and no cap on compensation, which is a materially bigger exposure than ordinary unfair dismissal.
Are Absence Trigger Points Lawful?
Yes, and they are useful — but only as a review trigger, never as an automatic outcome. Whether you use a simple day count, a spells-based rule, or the Bradford Factor, the score should open a conversation.
The point where trigger systems become dangerous is when they run mechanically. A Bradford Factor of 500 that produces an automatic written warning, applied identically to someone with recurring migraines linked to a diagnosed condition and someone with three unconnected colds, is a discrimination claim waiting to happen. Build a documented manager override for disability-related absence and use it.
Our guide to absence management covers how to set triggers that surface problems without pre-judging them.
What This Means for You
If you are an employee facing an absence process: get the medical evidence in, be clear about your diagnosis and prognosis, say explicitly if you consider your condition a disability, and propose the adjustments that would let you sustain attendance. Adjustments you never asked for are much harder to argue about afterwards.
If you are the employer: never dismiss off a spreadsheet number. Get current medical evidence, run the consultation properly, document every adjustment considered and why it was or was not workable, and offer an appeal. And check your absence data is actually accurate before you rely on it — a large share of contested absence records turn out to have been reconstructed from memory months later.
Leave Balance records every absence with dates, type and duration as it happens, keeps disability-related absence flagged separately from your trigger counts, and gives you a defensible record rather than a rebuilt one. Flat $10/month, unlimited employees, 14-day free trial.
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This article is general information, not legal advice. The statutory position described is correct as at July 2026 and the unfair dismissal qualifying period changes on 1 January 2027; check GOV.UK or take advice for your specific circumstances.