Sick leave annual leave

[Sarah2025]

So I am back at work about 2 months after being in long term sick. I had booked one day a/l a few weeks ago but I got flu the day before my a/l and the day after. As I had so much a/l to take upon returning to work I asked my manager if I could take these sick days as a/l instead. I just got paid this month and I am down over £500. I'm so pissed off. She must have recorded it all as sick leave or 2 separate sick leaves. Is there anything I can do? I'm really going to struggle this month being down this much pay.

Sarah- What does your Attendance Management Policy say? Mine does not allow managers the latitude to put sickness down as A/L, it has happened but the manager would be subject to disciplinary action if they choose to go against policy.

No, you can’t take annual leave once you’ve told your employer you are sick. It would potentially be fraudulent.

That's incorrect

I don't know but I asked her and she agreed. I had no idea my pay would be down this much. It was with my permission and we were both struggling to find what a/l days I could use before next March.

Why would it?

I work in the nhs and sick leave is not allowed to be taken as annual leave. You need to check the policies for your individual workplace/ company.

So 2 days went down as sick instead of annual leave and your pay is £500 down? Either you earn an insane amount or there is something else

Where I work it also wouldn’t be allowed to be taken as sick leave once you’d notified your manager you were too ill to attend work.

It's because I was on long term sick leave and not long back in work. I definitely do not earn an insane amount lol.

I work for the public sector and sick leave has to be taken as sick leave.

So the £500 isn't because of the just the 2 days so slightly irrelevant to your question as you would have been down on your usual amount anyway because of long term sick.

As others have said, you may not have been allowed to do it, but your manager should have warned you ahead of pay day, do you not get your payslip a few days before pay day?

No I was back on full pay last month.

She could have used her discretion-noone would have cared. I had no idea that amount would be deducted for 2 days.

Its your fault for telling them that you were ill.

Its not OK for staff to feel pressurised to use their leave for sick. At my place managers putting sick in as AL would face a disciplinary

It isn't. My LM has done this for me previously.

My DF was having treatment for serious illness that took very long time, we spoke to HR asking to book some of it as AL and they said they could not do it by law (UK). I must say they were very supportive with my DF illness and taking time off to recover so they weren't being difficult or just saying ig out of spite)

It is perfectly legal to have annual leave on sick leave. Dont know why people are saying otherwise. Depends on your company policies I suppose.

https://www.acas.org.uk/checking-sick-pay/sick-pay-and-holiday-pay

£500 down for three days suggests you are on at least £20 an hour. If you aren’t then there’s something else amiss. Check your payslip.

Surely if you feel ill but don’t want to take sick leave, you just phone up and ask to take an emergency annual leave day. No explanation needed or just lie that you have to do emergency child care or take a parent to a medical appointment?

If the employer has been told that the employee is sick and unable to work, they may be eligible for SSP. Once the employer is claiming that, it can be considered fraudulent to then withhold those funds from the employee and give them annual leave instead.

It also could cause the employer difficulties if it later came to light at Employment Tribunal that they had not kept proper records of an employee’s sickness. For example, if that absence was related to a disability.

Sorry just seen it’s 2 days in which case you’d need to be on about £30 an hour

Right...so losing £500 is just for those 2 days? In which case my first comment stands

Stackable offence for management to record sick leave as annual leave where I work.
If she has done it then you have complained your manager could have been disciplined

@Purplewarrior if the employee asks to take it as annual leave and the employer agrees then it's legal for it to be changed from sick leave to annual leave. It also means the employee would get their normal pay rather than SSP which is lower (if that's what they company offers)

From .gov website:

An employee can ask to take their paid holiday for the time they’re off work sick. They might do this if they do not qualify for sick pay, for example. Any rules relating to sick leave will still apply

Employers cannot force employees to take annual leave when they’re eligible for sick leave.

What does your pay slip say? How many hours? When is pay roll cut off?

She may well have put in AL instead of sick leave but in my company if this is done after pay roll cut off (about 14 days before actual pay day) then that money will only come in the next pay slip