Employee Called In Sick Near a Company Holiday: What Do I Do?
It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and an employee calls in sick. Or it’s the Monday after a holiday Friday, and someone who was already planning a long weekend is suddenly “ill.” You’re suspicious. You’re short-staffed. And you’re wondering: what are my options here?
This is one of the most common and most mishandled attendance situations in small businesses. Here is how to think through it.
Start With Your Written Policy
The answer to almost every question about a holiday sick day starts the same way: what does your policy say? If you have a written PTO and attendance policy that addresses what happens when an employee calls in sick adjacent to a holiday, that policy governs. If you do not, you are making a judgment call with no documented standard, which is inconsistent and legally risky.
Many employers include a provision that requires employees to work the scheduled day before and after a holiday in order to receive holiday pay. This is a legitimate policy, and if it is clearly written and was communicated to employees, it is generally enforceable.
Holiday Pay and Sick Days Are Different Things
First, be clear on what you are actually dealing with. The holiday itself, if it is a paid company holiday, is not affected by the employee calling in sick on a surrounding day. Employees are entitled to their holiday pay regardless, unless your policy specifically ties holiday pay eligibility to attendance on adjacent workdays.
The sick day on the non-holiday workday is a separate question. If the employee used paid sick time or PTO for that day, they used it. If your policy has a provision that disqualifies employees from holiday pay when they call in sick on an adjacent day, that provision applies only if it was written clearly, communicated in advance, and applied consistently.
Do Not Require a Doctor's Note Unless Your Policy Says So
A common instinct when an employee calls in sick on a suspicious day is to demand a doctor’s note. Be careful here. Several states limit employers’ ability to require documentation for short absences, particularly when the employee has accrued paid sick leave. Some states require employers to accept self-certification for absences of a certain length without demanding medical documentation.
More importantly, if you require a doctor’s note for a one-day absence adjacent to a holiday but do not require the same documentation for a one-day absence on a random Tuesday, you are applying your policy inconsistently, which is both unfair and legally risky.
Only require documentation if your written policy specifies when it is required, and apply that requirement consistently.
Attendance Patterns Matter More Than Individual Days
One sick day adjacent to a holiday, by itself, is rarely worth a disciplinary response. What matters is whether this is part of a pattern. An employee who has called in sick before multiple holidays, long weekends, or other convenient days over a period of months is showing you an attendance pattern. And patterns are what progressive discipline is designed to address. If you need a refresher on how that process works, see How to Write a Progressive Discipline Policy.
Document each occurrence. If a pattern develops, address it through your progressive discipline process, starting with a conversation about attendance expectations, referencing your written policy, and documenting what was discussed.
What You Cannot Do
• You cannot discipline an employee for using legally protected sick leave, even if the timing is suspicious
• You cannot require documentation that you would not require in other circumstances
• You cannot dock pay for a sick day if the employee has accrued paid sick leave and your state’s sick leave law applies
• You cannot assume illness is fake without evidence. Your suspicion is not documentation.
For a deeper look at how attendance policies should be structured, see How to Handle a No Call No Show Employee.
The Practical Response
For a single occurrence with no prior pattern: note it in your records, do not make a production of it, and move on. If it happens again, you have the beginning of a documented pattern.
For a recurring pattern: address it directly. Have a conversation about attendance expectations, reference your written policy, document the discussion, and make clear what the consequences of continued absences will be.
In either case, the foundation of your ability to respond effectively is a written attendance policy that defines what is expected, what constitutes a pattern, and what the consequences are.
Get a PTO & Attendance Policy Template
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