Can you be off sick during your notice period?

Falling ill after notice has been given — whether you resigned or were dismissed — does not pause or extend your notice period. It continues to run through the sickness absence unless your contract says otherwise, and your employment still ends on the same date.

What you should be paid

The pay position depends on how your contractual notice compares with the statutory minimum. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996:

• During the statutory minimum notice period (one week after a month's service, then one week per complete year up to 12 weeks), you are entitled to your average weekly earnings — full notice pay, not just Statutory Sick Pay.
• If your contractual notice is longer than the statutory minimum, you may only be entitled to SSP during the excess contractual period, unless your contract provides for full sick pay.

SSP itself is payable in the normal way during notice if you meet the conditions — £123.25 a week (2026/27) or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower — and if your employer gave you notice of dismissal, they must still pay SSP for sickness days falling within it. Work out your minimum notice with our notice period calculator and your sick pay with the SSP entitlement calculator.

Other rights that continue

Everything else attached to employment carries on through notice, sick or not:

• Holiday keeps accruing — whether you are working, on garden leave or off sick — and any accrued, untaken leave must be paid when employment ends.
• Contractual benefits continue until the termination date.

If your employer dismisses you without the notice you are owed and without a valid payment in lieu of notice, that is wrongful dismissal, and you can claim the wages and benefits you would have received during the notice period — within three months at the Employment Tribunal or six years in the civil courts. If your employer will only pay SSP where the statutory rules entitle you to full notice pay, raise a written grievance first and take advice from Acas.