Sick leave
Employees can take sick leave when they’re ill, injured, or need to care for a sick family member. Some employers offer paid sick leave, while others provide unpaid leave, depending on company policy or local labor laws.
- Read time2 min read
- Filed underHR & Compliance · 61 terms
- Written byHomebase Team
Related terms
SMALL BUSINESS INTEL, IN YOUR INBOX
Contents6 sections
What is sick leave?
Employees can take sick leave when they’re ill, injured, or need to care for a sick family member. Some employers offer paid sick leave, while others provide unpaid leave, depending on company policy or local labor laws.
Many states and cities require businesses to offer a minimum amount of paid sick leave, so it’s important to check local laws. With Homebase, businesses can create detailed sick leave and PTO policies, allowing employees to submit requests and automatically track available balances.
How does sick leave work?
Sick leave policies vary by employer and location, but common structures include:
- Accrued sick leave – Employees earn sick time based on hours worked (e.g., 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked).
- Fixed sick leave – Employees receive a set number of sick days per year (e.g., 5 days annually).
- Unlimited sick leave – Some employers offer unlimited time off for illness, trusting employees to use it responsibly.
Sick leave can typically be used for:
- Personal illness or injury.
- Medical appointments.
- Caring for a sick family member.
- Recovery from surgery or medical treatments.
Do employers have to offer paid sick leave?
Sick leave requirements depend on federal, state, and local laws. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires certain employers to provide unpaid job-protected leave for serious medical conditions. Still, many states and cities mandate paid sick leave for employees.
Even if not required, offering paid sick leave can:
- Improve employee morale and retention.
- Reduce workplace illness by encouraging sick employees to stay home.
- Help attract top talent who value strong benefits packages.
Managing sick leave policies effectively
To keep sick leave policies fair and compliant, consider:
- Clearly outlining sick leave policies in your employee handbook.
- Tracking sick leave usage to prevent abuse and ensure compliance.
- Staying up to date on local sick leave laws to avoid penalties.
- Encouraging employees to take sick leave when needed to maintain workplace productivity.
Managing sick leave manually can be a challenge, but Homebase payroll makes it easy by automatically tracking sick time and ensuring compliance with local laws.
How Homebase helps with sick leave tracking
Tracking and managing sick leave doesn’t have to be a hassle. Homebase simplifies it by:
- Automatically tracking sick leave accruals based on hours worked
- Ensuring compliance with local sick leave regulations
- Generating reports to monitor sick leave trends and policy effectiveness
- Syncing sick leave with payroll for accurate pay calculations
Sign up for Homebase today and take the stress out of sick leave tracking and payroll compliance.
Keep going
Related terms
6 more entries that share this one’s vocabulary.
Paid family leave
Paid family leave (PFL) is a benefit that allows eligible employees to take time off work—with partial pay—to care for a new child, a seriously ill family member, or to address certain family-related needs like military deployments.
HR & ComplianceSick pay
Sick pay refers to the compensation provided to employees when they are unable to work due to illness or injury.
Payroll401(k) plan
A 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored retirement savings program that allows employees to contribute a portion of their wages.
HR & ComplianceAffirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies and practices that promote equal opportunity in the workplace—especially for historically underrepresented or disadvantaged groups.
HR & ComplianceAt-will employment
At-will employment is a type of working relationship in which either the employer or the employee can end the employment at any time, for any reason—or no reason at all—as long as it's not illegal.
HR & ComplianceBenefit enrollment
Benefit enrollment is the process during which employees select the health insurance, retirement plans, and other job-related benefits they want to participate in for the upcoming year.
HR & Compliance
The everything app for hourly teams.
Spend less time wrangling logins and transferring data. Homebase comes with everything else you need to manage your team.