Sending Your Employer a Sick Day Email

A sick day email is a message that you send to your employer and team to let them know that you will be out of the office for the day. Since you don’t plan when you’re going to feel sick, you typically send this email only hours before your shift. You could also send it the evening before if you can already tell you’ll be too sick to come to work. What’s important is that you don’t wait until you’re supposed to be at work. You want to let your team know as early as possible.

It’s important to include that you are feeling under the weather, so your team understands why you aren’t giving much notice of your absence. In this email, you can include some general details about why you need to stay home and how you plan to make up your work.

Writing a sick day email is an important part of giving your team notice that you won’t be coming in for your shift. This gives them at least a little time to prepare for you being away. There are only two circumstances when it’s appropriate to send a sick day email:

• When you feel physically ill: If you feel too sick to work, it’s best to stay home. This way, you can get a chance to rest and hopefully feel better soon. Staying home from work is especially important when you have an infectious illness, such as the flu. Other physical ailments that aren’t necessarily an illness may prevent you from working too. For instance, a migraine or severe back pain may make it necessary to take a sick day.
• When you need a mental health day: More people are realizing mental health is just as important as physical health. If you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, it may be wise to take a day off from work. This can give you a chance to seek the support you need or to recharge.

Of course, there are plenty of other legitimate reasons to suddenly take a day off. In these cases, you would send a different type of email explaining your situation.

Follow these steps when writing your sick day email:

Know when to make the call

If you are too sick to actually get any work done, then it’s time to call in sick. The same goes if you’re worried about spreading your illness to others. Make sure to send your email at least an hour or two prior to your shift. If you work in the kind of job where someone would need to cover for you, directly reach out to your employer. Calling them on the phone and then writing your team an email after may be more appropriate. Always refer to your company’s guidelines surrounding sick days.

Only include important details

There is no need to disclose every single detail about your illness. You can simply say that you are feeling unwell and won’t make it into work today. You could also add the severity of your illness, in case you may need to take more than one day off of work. Share whether you plan to take an unpaid day or paid time off. You may also want to include any important tasks that you cannot complete for the day. This gives your employer a chance to delegate your work.

Share your availability

Let your team know if you will be available to answer any of their questions. Say whether you will check your emails or other messages throughout the day. If you are too sick to even get out of bed, take the entire day to rest. You can always make up your work when you return.

Use this template when writing a sick day email:

Dear [Manager’s Name],

Unfortunately, I am feeling unwell today. I will not be able to make it to work. I hope that after a day of rest, I can return to work tomorrow.

While I am away, I will be missing out on [tasks you cannot complete]. I plan to [your plan for making up this work] to make up for my day off. I will be using a [paid or unpaid] day for my absence. I am [your plan for checking emails] today.

Best,

[Your Name]

Here is an example of a sick day email:

Dear Charles,

Unfortunately, I am feeling unwell today. I will not be able to make it to work. I hope that after a day of rest, I can return to work tomorrow.

While I am away, I will be missing out on my meeting with Nelson. I plan to meet with him on Monday to make up for my day off. I have already discussed the details with him, and this will work out just fine. I will be using paid time off for my absence. If you have any urgent questions, feel free to email me. I will check my email a couple of times today.

Best,

Claire Walters