What is a sick leave email?
A sick leave email is simply an email sent to your employer to request some time off to address your health issues. It is a leave of absence letter that is delivered via electronic means. Most companies have polices that enables their employees take time off during the year to take care of their health without loosing their pay. A sick leave is a different from a sick day. You would not have to formally apply for a sick day because the problem is usually temporary and has already occurred by the time you are taking the day off. A quick call to your employer or manager would be sufficient for a sick day.
A sick leave email can be written in place of a sick leave letter. These days, most companies consider an email as a formal document and a such would accept a sick leave email.
Sample Sick Leave Email
Subject: Request for one month sick leave
Dear (Name of Manager or Person in HR)
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to work with your great team and company! In the last week I have not been feeling well! I have been to the doctors and I am told told that I have to go through several tests!
As a result of the numerous tests that I have to take I would like to request for a sick leave of one month starting from Monday May 25th. Should my request be granted I hope to return to work on 25th of June 2015.
I have made arrangements with Mr Jones to handle the files and clients that I am currently work on
I have attached a photo of my doctor’s report for the records,
Yours faithfully
Elise Malot
Design Assistant
1-989-333-3333
Other considerations when writing a sick leave email
When writing your sick leave email, you should consider the person to whom the email will be sent and the
culture of your office. In some organizations most communications are informal. In such organizations you would need to write a less formal email. In place of the format above, you may choose to use the following format.
Dear Jack Doe,
I am sorry that my health is failing me at this time. I would like to take one month off work to deal with health issues that have been troubling me lately. My doctor has advised me to take at least 30 days off, to take some tests and rest my back…… (add the date you hope to start and when you plan to return to work)…
This is a semi formal email. It should be addressed to the appropriate person in the organization. You may choose to copy the human resource department if your organization has one. In any case, ensure that your immediate boss gets a copy.
As you write your sick leave email, it is good to remember that the company must continue to function in
your absence. This is why it is very professional to indicate in your email how you propose to make sure that things run smoothly in your absence. It is obvious that your employer still has the final say on how things will run in your absence, however you would have made it clear that you take the success of the business seriously.
Here is a line you may include
Ms. Jane Lowes has graciously offered to take up my workload and prepare my reports for the week. Should you prefer to hand my workload to another employee please feel free to do so.
How much detail is required in a sick leave email?
The amount of details to be included in a sick leave email depends on the nature of your sickness and how much your boss or manager already knows. If for example you suddenly feel ill on the weekend or you had an accident that would keep you away from work for a couple of weeks, it is important you explain why you cannot be at work including the details of how the accident occurred.
If however you have been taking a day off work from time to time and your boss already knows of an ongoing issue, you may simply mention that things have escalated and you would like to take time off to deal with it. In all cases, you should let your boss know what is going on and when you hope to return to the office. In some cases you may not know exactly how many days or weeks you would need. In such cases, let your boss know that you will let him or her know how things develop.
