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Work and career · South Africa

Sick pay in South Africa: Income and protection when you cannot work

This article was created with artificial intelligence support.

When illness prevents work, identify who pays, what evidence they need and when responsibility changes. Paid sickness benefits, permission to be absent and protection from dismissal are separate rights to check.

Find who pays and whether you qualify

Start with your employer policy, employment contract and the documented statutory scheme below. Employer continuation of wages and a public sickness payment may cover different periods or different groups of workers.

Confirm employee status, qualifying service and contribution conditions before estimating income. An occupational injury can follow a separate route. Self-employed workers and people already out of work should check their own coverage.

Rules and programmes in South Africa

Basic Conditions of Employment Act · sections 22–24 / UIF illness benefit

Employees who work at least 24 hours a month for the employer. Occupational injuries and diseases fall under compensation law instead; collective agreements may restructure sick pay only within statutory limits.

Employer-paid sick leave

6 weeks' working days per 36 months

The employer pays the ordinary daily wage from the first day of sick leave, for example 30 days on a five-day week; in the first six months, one day accrues per 26 days worked.

Medical certificate

More than 2 consecutive days

Section 23: on request, the employer may refuse pay without a certificate for absences over two consecutive days or on more than two occasions in eight weeks.

UIF illness benefit

Illness of 7 days or more

When sick pay is exhausted or reduced, the UIF tops up to its benefit level, subject to credit days; apply within six months of stopping work.

Report absence and keep the medical evidence

Tell the employer through the required reporting route and record when you did so. Check when a medical certificate is required, who can issue it and which authority must receive it.

Retain evidence of continuing incapacity and any extension requests. A certificate can support absence without automatically establishing payment entitlement. Ask which employment and benefit forms are both required.

A short absence and a longer illness

Use the rules for Basic Conditions of Employment Act · sections 22–24 / UIF illness benefit to find who pays during each part of an absence and what they require. Record when illness starts, when you obtain medical evidence and when each payment begins.

Example assumptions

Use these cases to organise your documents and decide what to check. Confirm benefit eligibility, dismissal rights and severance for your own situation.

The salary calculator estimates employment income. Entering a benefit as salary would apply the wrong rules: benefit entitlement and its tax treatment must be checked separately.

Coverage and exceptions
Employees who work at least 24 hours a month for the employer. Occupational injuries and diseases fall under compensation law instead; collective agreements may restructure sick pay only within statutory limits.

Plan the monthly income gap

Enter confirmed amounts after deductions. Keep recurring income separate from savings and one-off payments. Leave an unknown amount blank; enter 0 when you have confirmed there is none.

Use a dot or comma for decimals, with up to two decimal places. Leave out thousands separators. · ZAR

Enter all four confirmed amounts to calculate the income gap.

This budget uses fixed monthly income and costs and assumes you can use the whole reserve immediately. Payment delays, changing benefits, interest and extra costs can change how long it lasts. It does not calculate a legal entitlement.

A brief certified absence

An employee misses several days. Check whether service conditions and waiting days apply before assuming the full usual salary continues.

Next step: Report the absence, submit the required evidence and verify the payer for those dates.

Employer payment ends

An employee remains unable to work when the employer-paid period ends. Public support under Basic Conditions of Employment Act · sections 22–24 / UIF illness benefit may require an application and its own conditions.

Next step: Confirm the handover documents and expected first transfer before employer payments stop.

A gradual return

An employee can return for some hours. Salary, sickness support and medical certification may each change, so an ordinary part-time comparison is incomplete.

Next step: Obtain the work arrangement and benefit treatment in writing, then update the monthly budget.

Use the part-time guide for the salary side of an agreed reduction in work; verify sickness benefits separately.

Estimate your usual take-home pay

List full pay, partial pay and unpaid days

Make a timeline of employer payments, public benefits and any waiting days. A scheme rate can use a defined insured-earnings base and a cap, rather than the entire salary.

Add contractual or collective supplements only when you have confirmed them. Compare expected cash after relevant deductions with normal household costs. The salary calculator cannot convert a sickness payment into an entitlement estimate.

Plan the handover during a longer absence

Check what happens when employer-paid time or statutory sickness entitlement is exhausted. A transfer to another payer may need a new claim and continuing medical evidence.

Prepare the documents before the expected change and verify the first payment date. Longer-term disability, rehabilitation and occupational-injury support may have different eligibility tests; do not treat them as automatic extensions of sick pay.

Check employment protection and return arrangements

Permission to take sick leave and protection from dismissal are distinct from payment. Check the applicable rules, any protected period and the employer obligations relevant to your situation.

Discuss adjustments, a phased return or reduced duties where appropriate. Confirm how working part of the time affects salary and benefits. A proportional part-time salary example alone does not model medical leave or benefit withdrawal.

Check payments against the absence dates

Compare the absence dates, certificates and approved rate with employer statements or the public award. Ask which period a payment covers before assuming a reduced transfer is an error.

Use the official source to identify the correction or review route. Keep reporting obligations current while disputing an amount. Preserve correspondence and the date each document was submitted.

When illness interrupts work

  • Report absence and establish medical-evidence requirements.
  • Check qualifying service, contribution conditions and waiting days.
  • Map employer pay, public support and any change of payer.
  • Verify return-to-work arrangements and longer-term support separately.

See your own numbers

The articles use example figures. Enter your salary in the calculator to see your own result.

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Official sources · Coverage and exceptions

Coverage and exceptions

Contract terms, collective agreements, contribution history and regional law can affect which rules apply to you. The dates below show when we checked the official sources. Ask the responsible authority or an employment adviser how the rules apply to your situation.

  • Employees who work at least 24 hours a month for the employer. Occupational injuries and diseases fall under compensation law instead; collective agreements may restructure sick pay only within statutory limits.

Official sources