What to include in a letter of resignation due to illness
- The date you are writing the letter.
- Your name and contact information.
- The name and contact information of the person you are addressing.
- When you plan to leave your current position.
- Any details you wish to share with your employer.
An employee cannot be made redundant due to ill health, although they can be fairly dismissed on grounds of capability, as long as the employer has acted reasonably in all the circumstances and made any reasonable adjustments within the workplace, wherever possible.
However, if you leave without serving the correct notice period, you're likely to be breaching your contract. This means that your employer could potentially sue you.
Getting paid in your notice periodYou should get your full normal pay if you work during your notice period. For example you might only get statutory sick pay if you are off sick. However, you're entitled to full pay for 1 week of your notice period, whether you give notice of only 1 week or more than 1 week.
And a common question from employees is, “How long can you be on sick leave before dismissal?” Well, most employers usually consider long-term sickness absence as four weeks or more. Before you consider dismissing your employee, you must consider their right to contest your decision.
7 days off sick or lessIf you're off work sick for 7 days or less, your employer should not ask for medical evidence that you've been ill. Instead they can ask you to confirm that you've been ill. You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work. This is called self-certification.
Can I work for someone else while on furlough? Technically you can get another job while on furlough - as long as your boss doesn't mind. Being on furlough means you are still employed by your employer, which means you could be in breach of contract if you do accept a new role.
An employer can set out a contractual notice period in the employment contract. If no agreement is reached, and you refuse to work the notice period required by your employment contract, you'll be in breach of contract and your employer will not be required to pay your notice.
In short, yes. You can quit your job while you're on furlough. You will have to give your notice is in as you normally would when leaving a job, to the standard of your employer's notice period requirement.
If you have another job lined up, then it probably makes more sense to quit rather than wait to be fired. If you don't have a job lined up, then waiting to be fired could give you more time to job search while still getting paid. Employers are sometimes hesitant to hire someone with a track record of being fired.
Your employer should keep paying it until you're no longer eligible. You won't have to pay it back. For example, if you worked for your employer for 26 weeks before your qualifying week, you're entitled to 39 weeks' statutory maternity pay, even if you leave your job.
Your employer cannot discriminate against you because of your disability - you're protected by the Equality Act 2010. They must also keep your job open for you and cannot put pressure on you to resign just because you've become disabled.
Many employers, however, will ask you to leave immediately when you give them two weeks' notice, and this is perfectly legal as well. The upside is this may make the employee eligible for unemployment when they wouldn't have been otherwise.
Your job won't end until the end of your notice period, even though you don't have to come to work. This will increase your redundancy pay if it means you'll have completed another full year with your employer. This means you shouldn't start another job in your notice period unless your existing employer agrees.
Put your resignation in writing
- Clearly state what date you will be leaving.
- The official name of your position.
- The last date you will be at work.
- Gratitude to your employer for hiring you.
- Offer to train your replacement or leave a handover.
- Well wishes for the future of the company.
- Your contact information.
If you left your job due to stress, you may have to claim benefits until you find work again. Whether you are eligible for benefits will depend on the “proof” you bring regarding your reason for living. Your trade union can give advice if you are making a claim for benefits and think you might face sanctions.
