Sickness
Feeling unwell or off work for health reasons — often short and vague.
Ladder step 1: What happened — What words do you naturally use to describe it?
This is
- A casual way to say you cannot work today
- May appear on sick note s or HR forms
This is not
- A policy disability test
- Proof that benefits are payable
ClaimBuddy resources
Cross-links to Clinical Atlas, glossary, traps, and policy terms — hover for a quick summary.
How do you know?
Practical signs that this term applies to your situation — not legal advice.
- You feel too unwell to attend work — today, this week, or for a short stretch.
- HR accepts a sick note without asking whether core duties are impossible.
- You or others describe it in everyday language: 'off sick', 'not feeling well'.
What triggers it?
Events or thresholds that typically activate this concept in a claim.
- Calling in sick to your manager or HR.
- A GP issues a brief medical certificate ('sick leave').
- Usually no insurer waiting-period or disability test — unless absence becomes prolonged.
Check yourself
Highlighted words link to language-map explainers.
- Am I describing a few days off, or weeks/months unable to do my real job?
- Has anyone linked my sickness to material duties — or only to attendance?
- If I returned to light duties , would HR still call it ' sick leave '?
How this links to other terms
Short sickness can develop into a longer illness with ongoing health impact.
HR may accept sickness while the insurer disputes policy incapacity.
Brief sickness alone does not satisfy a group IP waiting period.
First sick day is often not your policy DOA — that comes when duties stop.
Evidence
Sick note , HR absence record
Often mixed with
Confusion drill-downs
Side-by-side guides for pairs people mix up with Sickness.
"I have been off sick for two weeks."