Leave and holidays
Sick leave: the paid days an unwell employee draws on
Sick leave is paid time off an employee draws when they are unwell, under treatment, or advised rest by a doctor. A short absence is usually granted on the employee's own word, and a longer one against a medical certificate at the number of days the employer's policy names. The entitlement comes from the Act covering the establishment, with the employer free to grant more.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Also called: SL, sick leave, medical leave
In plain English
Paid days for an employee who is ill and cannot come in. A short absence is taken on trust, and a longer one needs a note from a doctor.
How it works in detail
A sick leave day usually starts with a phone call before the shift. The supervisor marks the absence, the employee applies once they are back, and the approver decides whether the day is sick leave or something else. Most policies ask for a medical certificate past a stated number of consecutive days, and that number is the employer's to fix and write down.
The entitlement itself comes from the Shops and Establishments Act of the state, or from the Factories Act, 1948 where a factory is covered, and it differs by state and by category of establishment. Confirm what applies to you with your consultant. Where staff are covered under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, a sickness benefit is claimed from that scheme, and it sits separately from the leave your own policy grants.
A worked example
The setup
Suppose Farhan is a stores assistant on INR 21,000 a month with sick leave still in his balance, and dengue keeps him away for three working days in July.
The calculation
The employer counts 30 days in July. INR 21,000 / 30 = INR 700 per day. Left unpaid, the three days would have cost 3 x INR 700 = INR 2,100 and brought the month down to INR 18,900. Approved as sick leave, they are paid.The result
Farhan is paid the full INR 21,000. The slip counts those three days as paid sick leave rather than absence, and his balance for the year drops by three days.
Common mistakes
- Asking one employee for a medical certificate after a single day and letting another go a week without one. Fix the number of days past which a certificate is needed and hold everyone to it.
- Recording an illness as casual leave because the sick leave balance is empty. The day is either paid from a balance that exists or marked loss of pay, and the register should say which.
- Treating a sickness benefit under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 as a replacement for the leave in your own policy. The two are separate, and your policy still has to state what it grants.
How VTClock handles it
A request carries its dates, the leave type and any certificate the employee attaches. VTClock does not decide entitlement. An admin approves, and approved days are paid in the month's salary.
Frequently asked questions
When should I ask an employee for a medical certificate?
Whenever your written policy says so. The usual approach is to fix a number of consecutive days past which a certificate is required and to take shorter absences on the employee's own word. Put that number in the leave policy rather than deciding case by case, because a rule enforced on one person and waived for another is where a dispute starts.
Is a sick leave day paid at the full daily rate?
In most small business policies an approved sick leave day is paid the same as a day worked, so the payable days for the month do not change and the salary is untouched. Some establishments pay a reduced rate for part of the entitlement, which is only allowed where the policy says so and it stays within what the Act covering you requires. Check that with your consultant.
What happens when an illness lasts longer than the sick leave balance?
The extra days are not automatically unpaid. Many employers let the employee draw earned leave or casual leave next, and only mark the remaining days as loss of pay once every balance is exhausted. Decide that order in advance and write it into the policy, because settling it while somebody is in hospital is how an employer ends up applying a different rule to each case.
Related terms
- Casual leaveCasual leave, usually written CL, is paid time off an employer grants for short personal reasons that arrive at little notice: a bank errand, a family matter, a day of travel.
- Earned leaveEarned leave is paid leave an employee builds up by working, credited in proportion to days actually worked rather than granted upfront at the start of the year.
- Loss of payLoss of pay, usually written LOP, is a day an employee is absent with no leave balance or approval to cover it, so the employer pays nothing for that day.
- Half dayA half day is a working day on which an employee is present for only part of the shift and is counted for half the day's pay.
- ESIESI, the Employees' State Insurance, is a contributory scheme under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 that gives covered workers medical care and cash benefits during...
- Salary slipA salary slip is the statement an employer gives an employee for one wage period, setting out what was earned, what was deducted and what was paid.
Modules that touch this
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