Can my employer sack me for being off sick?

Being off sick is not, by itself, a lawful reason to dismiss you — and your employer certainly cannot sack you just because your Statutory Sick Pay has run out.

What the law requires before a sickness dismissal

Dismissal for ill health falls under "capability", which is a potentially fair reason — but only if the employer acts reasonably and follows a fair procedure first. For long-term absence that means:

• Obtaining up-to-date medical evidence about your condition and prognosis
• Consulting you about your absence and likely return
• Considering reasonable adjustments — a phased return, reduced hours, or amended duties
• Exploring alternative roles before any decision to dismiss

Acas recommends a staged return-to-work approach before any dismissal decision. If your condition qualifies as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 — a long-term condition with a substantial effect on day-to-day activities — your employer has a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments, and dismissing you without doing so can be disability discrimination on top of unfair dismissal.

A fit note stating you "may be fit for work" with conditions should trigger a conversation about adjustments; if none can be made, it is treated as "not fit for work".

Your pay and rights while off sick

While you recover you are entitled to SSP of £123.25 a week (2026/27) — or 80% of your average weekly earnings if lower — for up to 28 weeks, and since 6 April 2026 it is a day-one right with no minimum earnings test. If your contract promises occupational sick pay above SSP, your employer must honour it — the shortfall can be claimed as an unlawful deduction from wages.

If SSP is ending and you are still unwell, your employer must give you an SSP1 form at least three weeks beforehand so you can claim Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit. If you are dismissed over sickness without a fair process, contact Acas promptly: you must start Early Conciliation within three months less one day of dismissal, and you generally need two years' service for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim — but no qualifying period applies to discrimination claims.