UK Disability Rights · 2026
What leave rights do disabled employees have in the UK?
Legal basis
Equality Act 2010 — section on legislation.gov.uk">Equality Act 2010 s.15 (discrimination arising from disability), s.20 (reasonable adjustments); Statutory Sick Pay regulations; Employment Rights Act 1996 — section on legislation.gov.uk">Employment Rights Act 1996 s.99 (automatic unfair dismissal); EHRC Employment Statutory Code.
Your rights
Standard SSP (£116.75/week 2025-26, day-1 entitlement post-April 2026 — check Employment Rights Bill commencement). Right to disability-related absences being treated differently from general absences (often not counted toward attendance management thresholds — this can be a reasonable adjustment). Right to phased return to work after long-term sickness (reasonable adjustment). Right to reasonable adjustments to PREVENT sickness absence (e.g., reduced hours, working from home, environmental changes).
Employer obligations
Pay statutory sick pay if eligible; not discipline/dismiss for disability-related absences without objective justification (s.15); consider extending paid sick pay as reasonable adjustment where appropriate; phase return to work; modify attendance triggers to exclude disability-related absences (often a reasonable adjustment); consult Occupational Health on long-term sickness management; not pressure premature return.
Practical actions
1) Disclose disability if not already done. 2) Document each sickness absence with disability link (when relevant). 3) Provide fit notes from GP after 7 days. 4) Engage with Occupational Health when referred. 5) Request specific reasonable adjustments BEFORE absences become a problem (e.g., flexible working to reduce flares). 6) On return from long-term absence, request phased return as reasonable adjustment — typically reduced hours building to full over 4-12 weeks. 7) For attendance management: request that disability-related absences be excluded from triggers — cite s.20 EqA. 8) Keep written records of all communications.
If your employer refuses
If employer counts disability-related absences toward triggers and disciplines/dismisses: claim under s.15 (discrimination arising from disability) and s.20 (failure to make reasonable adjustments). High-value claims because dismissal awards include extended financial loss. ACAS conciliation, then tribunal.
Worked example
Hannah has Crohn's disease. She had 28 days off sick over 12 months — nearly all related to flares. Her employer placed her on 'final attendance warning' under their Bradford Score policy. She raised a grievance citing s.20 EqA — exclusion of disability-related absences from triggers as a reasonable adjustment, plus s.15 (the warning was unfavourable treatment for absences arising from disability). Investigation: warning withdrawn; absence policy modified for her; flexible working granted to reduce future flare-triggered absences. Without challenging, the warning would likely have led to dismissal under their staged policy.
Recruiter pro tip
Bradford Score and similar attendance management policies are notorious for catching disabled employees. They're applied 'fairly' on the surface but disproportionately impact disabled people — classic indirect discrimination. Always request that disability-related absences are excluded from your trigger calculation. Most employers will agree once challenged because litigating it costs more than implementing it. Reference the EHRC Employment Statutory Code para 17 — explicit guidance that discounting disability-related absences can be a reasonable adjustment.
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