Quick answer

Philippine law does not give every private-sector employee a separate number of paid “sick leave” days. Paid sick leave usually comes from the employment contract, company handbook, collective bargaining agreement (CBA), or an established company practice.

A covered private-sector employee who has completed at least one year of service is generally entitled to five days of paid service incentive leave (SIL) each year, which may be used for sickness or other leave purposes. Unused statutory SIL is generally convertible to cash. Separate cash assistance may also be available through the SSS sickness benefit, but that benefit is not itself a blanket right to take job-protected leave.

Government personnel generally follow Civil Service rules, including 15 days of sick leave annually with full pay for covered officials and employees. Special rules also exist for gynecological surgery, maternity, work-related illness or injury, disability, mental health, solo parents, domestic workers, and particular occupations.

Situation	General entitlement
Private employee with company sick-leave benefit	Follow the contract, handbook, CBA, or established practice
Covered private employee after one year of service	At least five paid SIL days annually, subject to statutory exceptions
SSS member unable to work for at least four days	Possible SSS sickness cash benefit if contribution, medical, and notice requirements are met
Covered government employee	Generally 15 days of sick leave annually with full pay, subject to Civil Service rules
Gynecological surgery	Up to two months of special leave with full pay if statutory conditions are met
Work-related sickness or injury	Possible Employees’ Compensation benefits in addition to ordinary leave or SSS benefits

Private-sector sick leave: what is actually required

There is no universal separate sick-leave quota

The Labor Code does not require every private employer to provide 10, 15, or any other fixed number of annual sick-leave days. If a company grants paid sick leave, the controlling terms are usually found in:

The employment contract;
The employee handbook or leave policy;
A CBA;
A company memorandum or benefits plan; or
A consistent and deliberate company practice that has become an employment benefit.

A medical certificate proves or supports illness; it does not automatically create additional paid leave when the employee has no remaining statutory or company leave. If no paid leave applies, the ordinary result may be leave without pay under the “no work, no pay” principle, unless the employer agrees to another arrangement.

An employer generally may adopt reasonable notice, documentation, clinic-validation, and return-to-work rules. Those rules must still comply with labor law, special leave statutes, anti-discrimination protections, and data-privacy requirements.

Five-day service incentive leave

Under Article 95 of the Labor Code, a covered employee who has rendered at least one year of service is entitled to five days of paid SIL each year. “One year” generally means service within 12 months, whether continuous or broken, counted from the start of employment and including authorized absences and paid regular holidays.

SIL may be used for sickness, vacation, or another personal reason permitted under the employer’s leave procedure. Unused statutory SIL is generally commutable to its cash equivalent at the end of the year. It may also become payable upon termination if it remains unused and unpaid. The DOLE Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits Handbook provides the agency’s detailed guidance.

Employees commonly excluded from the Labor Code SIL minimum include:

Government employees governed by Civil Service rules;
Managerial employees;
Field personnel and certain employees whose time and performance are genuinely unsupervised;
Employees already receiving an equivalent or better benefit;
Employees already enjoying at least five days of paid vacation leave;
Employees in establishments regularly employing fewer than 10 employees; and
Employees of establishments specifically exempted by the Secretary of Labor and Employment after considering viability or financial condition.

An exemption cannot always be established merely by a job title, a “commission-based” label, or wording in a contract. Actual duties, supervision, and the real employment arrangement may matter.

A company’s combined leave bank may satisfy the SIL requirement if it is genuinely equivalent or more favorable. Whether a particular sick-leave plan also satisfies statutory SIL—and whether unused days must be converted to cash—depends on the plan’s actual terms, not only its label.

Probationary, fixed-term, and project employees

Probationary, fixed-term, seasonal, or project status does not automatically exclude an employee from all leave laws. For ordinary SIL, however, the employee normally must first complete the required one year of service and must not fall within another exemption. Company policies may provide paid sick leave sooner.

Other statutory benefits have their own service requirements. For example, maternity leave is not limited to regular employees, while solo-parent parental leave generally requires at least six months of service.

Kasambahays

A kasambahay who has rendered at least one year of service is entitled to five days of paid annual SIL under the Batas Kasambahay. Unlike ordinary Labor Code SIL, unused kasambahay SIL is expressly not cumulative and not convertible to cash.

Government sick leave and wellness leave

Covered appointive government officials and employees generally earn 15 days of sick leave and 15 days of vacation leave annually with full pay, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. Unused sick-leave credits may accumulate. Special personnel systems, part-time work, teachers’ leave rules, uniformed services, and other specific laws can produce different results.

Under the Omnibus Rules on Leave:

The employee should notify the immediate supervisor or agency head of the absence.
A sick-leave application for one full day or more is filed on the prescribed form, ordinarily immediately upon return.
Sick leave exceeding five successive days must be supported by a proper medical certificate.
A medical certificate may still be required for a shorter absence when the approving authority has a reasonable doubt.
Sick leave may be requested in advance for a medical examination, operation, or medically advised rest.
Sick leave may also cover sickness or disability of an immediate family member, subject to the applicable rules and available credits.

Since January 1, 2026, the Civil Service Commission has also authorized government agencies to grant up to five days of Wellness Leave. This is not an automatic five-day entitlement in every agency: the grant is subject to agency discretion. If adopted, the leave is separate from vacation and sick leave, may be used for mental-health care, physical wellness, or a general break, and may be taken for no more than three consecutive days at a time. It is noncumulative and nonconvertible to cash. Applications are generally filed five days beforehand, except in emergencies. Contract-of-service and job-order workers depend on their contracts and applicable issuances. See CSC Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2026.

SSS sickness benefit: cash support, not a separate leave balance

The SSS sickness benefit is a daily cash allowance for an approved period when a member cannot work because of sickness or injury. It should not be confused with company sick leave, SIL, or a guarantee that the employee’s position will remain open indefinitely.

Who may qualify

Under Section 14 of the Social Security Act of 2018, a member generally must:

Be unable to work and be confined in a hospital or at home, with SSS approval, for at least four days;
Have at least three monthly contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of sickness or injury;
Give the required notice to the employer or directly to SSS, as applicable; and
If employed, first use all current company sick leave with full pay, except where a specific SSS rule provides otherwise.

“Home confinement” does not merely mean staying home voluntarily. The condition, period of incapacity, and supporting medical evidence remain subject to SSS evaluation.

Amount and limits

The daily benefit is 90% of the member’s average daily salary credit. The statutory calculation uses the six highest monthly salary credits in the relevant 12-month period and divides their total by 180.

The benefit is limited to:

A maximum of 120 days in one calendar year;
No carryover of unused days to the next year; and
No more than 240 days for the same illness or confinement. A continuing condition after that point may need evaluation as a disability claim.

If the employee has no paid company sick leave to exhaust, an approved four-day-or-longer confinement can be compensable from its first day. The employee cannot receive full-pay company sick leave and the SSS sickness allowance for the same day.

Notice deadlines

For an employed member under home confinement:

Notify the employer within five calendar days from the start of confinement.
The employer must notify SSS within five calendar days after receiving the employee’s notice.

Employee notice is not legally required when the confinement is in a hospital or when the employee became sick or was injured while working or on the employer’s premises. Prompt written notice is nevertheless prudent because it creates a record and allows the employer to process the claim.

For a self-employed, voluntary, OFW, non-working-spouse, unemployed, or separated member:

Notify or apply directly to SSS within five calendar days from the start of home confinement.
For hospital confinement, file within one year from discharge.

Late notice may reduce or defeat the claim. Where five-day notice was required but given late, SSS may treat the confinement as having started no earlier than the fifth day immediately before notification.

How an employed member files

Inform HR or the employer immediately using a traceable channel.
Submit the current SSS Medical Certificate form, showing the complete diagnosis, recommended leave or recuperation period, clinic contact information, and physician’s license details.
Submit certified supporting medical records when applicable, such as laboratory results, imaging reports, clinical abstracts, or operating-room records.
The employer files the sickness notification online through its My.SSS account.
Once approved, the employer advances the benefit and later seeks reimbursement from SSS.
If SSS emails a request to confirm receipt of the advance, the employee must confirm through the provided link or My.SSS within seven working days. Failure to act can cause rejection of the employer’s reimbursement transaction.

Employers generally file reimbursement claims within one year from the start of home confinement or within one year from hospital discharge. The current filing instructions, documents, disbursement methods, and over-the-counter exceptions are on the official SSS Sickness Benefit page.

If the employee gave timely notice but the employer missed its SSS deadline, the employer’s reimbursement may be reduced or denied. That employer error should not be shifted to the employee by withholding an advance that was legally due.

Special medical and health-related leave rights

Special leave after gynecological surgery

A woman employee in either the private or public sector may qualify for special leave under Section 18 of the Magna Carta of Women if she:

Has rendered aggregate employment service of at least six months during the preceding 12 months; and
Undergoes surgery caused by a gynecological disorder.

The benefit is up to two months, commonly administered as a maximum of 60 calendar days per year, with full pay based on gross monthly compensation. The actual period should correspond to the medically required recuperation period. It may be used for every qualifying surgery, subject to the annual maximum.

This benefit applies following surgery. A consultation, diagnosis, medication, or nonsurgical treatment alone does not necessarily qualify. Absence before surgery may have to be charged to company leave, SIL, or other available leave.

For a scheduled private-sector procedure, apply within a reasonable period before surgery. For an emergency procedure, file immediately upon return. Documents ordinarily include a medical certificate and clinical summary identifying the disorder, procedure, confinement, and expected recuperation, together with applicable operative or histopathology records.

The benefit is separate from SSS sickness benefit, noncumulative, and normally nonconvertible to cash. An equivalent company or CBA benefit may count as compliance, but any shortfall must be addressed. The Philippine Commission on Women’s official FAQ explains the filing and documentation rules.

Maternity-related incapacity

Pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, and emergency termination of pregnancy are primarily governed by the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law, not ordinary sick leave.

The general periods are:

105 days for live childbirth, regardless of delivery method;
An additional 15 days for a qualified solo parent;
60 days for miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy; and
An optional additional 30 days without pay after live childbirth, with the required notice.

Maternity benefits cannot be combined with SSS sickness benefits for the same period. Payment details may depend on SSS contributions, employer salary differential obligations, statutory exemptions, and whether the worker is in the private, public, informal, or voluntary-member sector.

Mental-health conditions

Private-sector law does not create a separate universal quota called “mental-health leave.” A medically supported mental-health condition may be covered by the employer’s sick-leave policy, SIL, SSS sickness benefit, or an agreed medical leave, depending on the facts.

The Mental Health Act requires employers to develop mental-health policies and programs, address stigma and discrimination, and provide support and referral mechanisms. DOLE’s Department Order No. 208-20 supplies private-sector workplace guidance. These requirements do not automatically convert every wellness break into paid leave.

Disability and reasonable accommodation

A long-term illness may amount to a disability, depending on its effect. Under the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, a qualified employee with a disability is protected against employment discrimination. Before dismissing an employee because disability allegedly impairs satisfactory work performance, an employer must first seek to provide reasonable accommodation.

Possible accommodations include modified schedules, accessible facilities, adjustment of policies, equipment changes, or reassignment to a suitable vacant position. Accommodation is fact-specific; it does not require eliminating essential job functions or guaranteeing an arrangement that the law does not consider reasonable.

Actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status also cannot lawfully be used, even partially, as a basis for discriminatory employment action. HIV information receives particularly strict confidentiality protection under the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act.

Caring for a sick family member

There is no general private-sector equivalent of a broad family-and-medical-leave law covering every employee who must care for a relative. Available options may include company family leave, SIL, vacation leave, an agreed unpaid leave, or a CBA benefit.

A qualified solo parent with at least six months of service may receive up to seven paid working days of parental leave each year. This can support parental duties requiring or benefiting from the parent’s physical presence, including a child’s health-care needs. A valid Solo Parent Identification Card and reasonable notice are required under the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act rules.

Work-related sickness or injury

If work caused the illness or increased the risk of contracting it, ask about the Employees’ Compensation Program in addition to ordinary leave and SSS sickness benefits.

A listed occupational disease may qualify when its prescribed conditions are met. An unlisted disease may still be compensable if evidence shows that working conditions increased the risk. Possible benefits include temporary or permanent disability income benefits, medical reimbursement, rehabilitation, and related assistance.

Take these steps promptly:

Report the incident, exposure, diagnosis, or work-related symptoms to the employer in writing.
Ask that the event be entered in the workplace accident or sickness record.
Preserve schedules, job descriptions, safety reports, exposure records, witness information, and medical opinions connecting the condition to work.
File with SSS for private-sector coverage or GSIS for public-sector coverage.

The ordinary EC claim period is three years from accrual of the cause of action. For sickness, this generally relates to when the employee lost earning capacity. The previous pandemic-related suspension of this period was lifted effective January 18, 2024. Consult the current ECC employee guide and SSS Employees’ Compensation page.

Medical certificates, fit-to-work clearances, and privacy

A useful medical certificate should be authentic, legible, dated, and issued by a properly licensed professional. It should address the information genuinely needed for the claim, such as:

Whether the employee is unfit to work;
The relevant dates;
The expected period of rest or recuperation;
Work restrictions;
Whether follow-up treatment is required; and
When the employee may be reassessed or return safely.

SSS and special-leave applications may lawfully require more detailed diagnoses and supporting records. For an ordinary short company absence, the proper level of detail depends on the policy, occupational-safety needs, and applicable law.

Health information is sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act. Employers must have a lawful basis for collecting it and should limit collection, access, use, disclosure, and retention to a legitimate and proportionate purpose. The National Privacy Commission has advised that access to an employee’s entire medical record may be disproportionate when a fit-to-work certificate would be sufficient. See NPC Advisory Opinion No. 2019-010.

Send records only through official HR, clinic, SSS, GSIS, or agency channels. Keep your own copies and proof of submission.

Can an employee be dismissed because of illness?

Not automatically.

For a private employer to terminate employment specifically on the authorized ground of disease under Article 299 of the Labor Code, the employer must establish that:

The employee has a disease whose continued employment is prohibited by law or prejudicial to the employee’s health or that of co-workers;
The disease cannot be cured within six months even with proper treatment; and
A competent public health authority—not merely the employer or an ordinary private company doctor—has issued the required certification.

The employer bears the burden of proving these requirements. The Supreme Court has repeatedly treated dismissal without the public-health certification as invalid; see, for example, SRL International Manpower Agency v. Yarza.

If the disease can be cured within six months, the implementing rule directs the employer to place the employee on leave and reinstate the employee upon restoration of normal health. This does not authorize an employee to remain absent indefinitely without communication or medical support; the facts, records, applicable leave balance, and employer process remain important.

A valid disease-based termination carries separation pay of at least:

One month’s salary; or
One-half month’s salary for every year of service,

whichever is greater, with a fraction of at least six months treated as one whole year. Procedural due process must also be observed.

Absence-related discipline is a separate issue. Even a genuinely ill employee should follow reasonable notification and documentation rules whenever medically possible. Repeated or prolonged unauthorized absences can lead to discipline under a valid policy after due process. On the other hand, mere absence does not by itself prove abandonment, and an employer cannot disguise an unsupported disease-based dismissal as “AWOL.”

Practical steps when you need medical leave

Get medical care first. Ask the physician to state the dates you are unable to work, recommended recuperation, restrictions, and expected reassessment.
Read the governing documents. Check your contract, handbook, CBA, leave balance, SSS record, and any special-sector rules.
Notify the correct person immediately. Send a written message to your supervisor and HR. State that you are ill or injured, the expected absence, and when supporting documents will follow.
Identify the correct leave category. It may be company sick leave, SIL, special leave for women, maternity leave, solo-parent leave, government sick leave, or an agreed unpaid leave.
Protect the five-day SSS deadline. For home confinement, do not wait until recovery before notifying the employer or SSS.
Ask for written confirmation. Request acknowledgment of your notice, leave classification, approved dates, leave balance charged, and any required return-to-work document.
Explore a workable accommodation. If you can work with restrictions, propose a medically supported temporary schedule, remote-work arrangement, reduced physical activity, or reassignment. Approval depends on the law, policy, job, and operational facts.
Escalate promptly if refused. Use the grievance procedure, union assistance, HR appeal, agency personnel office, DOLE, SSS, GSIS, CSC, or ECC as applicable.

Evidence to preserve

Keep copies of:

Employment contract and appointment papers;
The employee handbook and all later policy versions;
The CBA and grievance procedure;
Leave applications, approvals, denials, and leave-balance records;
Medical certificates, clinical abstracts, prescriptions, laboratory and imaging results;
Hospital admission and discharge records;
Fit-to-work certificates and stated work restrictions;
Emails, text messages, chat records, and call logs notifying the employer;
Proof of when documents were sent or received;
Payslips and payroll records showing leave deductions or SSS advances;
My.SSS contribution records, transaction numbers, emails, and claim status;
Workplace incident, exposure, and safety reports;
Witness names and relevant schedules for a work-related condition; and
Notices to explain, return-to-work directives, suspension or termination letters, and any proposed resignation or quitclaim.

Preserve original files and complete message threads. Do not alter medical or employment documents.

Common mistakes

Assuming every private employee automatically has 15 paid sick-leave days;
Treating an SSS cash benefit as an independent right to unlimited leave;
Waiting more than five calendar days to report home confinement for an SSS claim;
Reporting illness only by an unrecorded phone call;
Submitting a medical certificate that does not cover the actual dates of absence;
Ignoring the company’s notice or return-to-work procedure;
Believing that a job title alone proves a managerial or field-personnel SIL exemption;
Claiming SSS sickness and maternity benefits for the same period;
Failing to consider an EC claim when work caused or aggravated the condition;
Giving broad medical records to unauthorized co-workers instead of the proper HR or clinic channel;
Signing a resignation, quitclaim, or settlement without understanding its effect; and
Waiting until a statutory filing period is about to expire.

When help is urgent

Seek prompt legal or agency assistance if:

You were dismissed, locked out, forced to resign, or refused reinstatement after medical clearance;
The employer claims you abandoned work despite receiving your medical notices;
A statutory leave was denied even though you met its conditions;
The employer refuses to process or advance an approved SSS sickness benefit;
Your SSS records show missing or understated employer contributions;
The illness or injury may be work-related;
You were discriminated against because of pregnancy, disability, mental-health condition, or HIV status;
Your confidential diagnosis was disclosed without a lawful reason;
You are being required to sign a resignation or quitclaim before receiving wages or benefits; or
A filing or notification deadline is approaching.

For private-sector disputes, an employee, group of workers, union, employer, or kasambahay may file a Request for Assistance through the DOLE Assistance for Request Management System or at a participating DOLE, NLRC, or NCMB office. The Single Entry Approach generally provides up to 30 calendar days of mandatory conciliation-mediation before an unresolved case proceeds to the proper forum.

Money claims arising from employment generally prescribe in three years from accrual. Illegal-dismissal claims generally prescribe in four years. Filing a SEnA Request for Assistance tolls these periods under the 2025 NLRC Rules, but employees should not delay.

For benefit-specific questions, contact:

DOLE: Hotline 1349 or the appropriate regional/provincial office;
SSS: Hotline 1455, My.SSS, or an SSS branch;
ECC: SSS for private-sector EC claims or GSIS for public-sector EC claims; and
CSC: The agency personnel office or the appropriate CSC Regional Office for Civil Service leave disputes.

Frequently asked questions

How many paid sick-leave days must a private company give?

There is no universal separate private-sector sick-leave quota. Check the contract, handbook, CBA, and established practice. A covered employee who has completed one year of service generally has at least five days of statutory SIL, subject to exceptions.

Is a one-day illness covered by SSS?

No. SSS sickness benefit generally requires incapacity and approved home or hospital confinement for at least four days. A one-day absence may instead be covered by company sick leave, SIL, government sick leave, or leave without pay.

If the SSS requirement is four days, are the first three days unpaid?

Not necessarily. Once a confinement of at least four days is approved, the compensable period can begin on the first day, but SSS payment starts only after the employee’s full-pay company sick leave for the current year has been exhausted.

Is a medical certificate always required for one day of private-sector sick leave?

Philippine law does not impose one universal rule for every private employer. The company policy or CBA may require a certificate, subject to reasonableness, applicable special laws, and privacy rules. SSS claims use their own medical-document requirements.

Can my employer force me to use SIL before SSS sickness benefit?

SSS sickness allowance begins only after the employee’s available full-pay company sick leave has been exhausted. Whether the employer’s SIL or combined leave bank counts as “company sick leave” depends on the policy’s terms and how the leave is administered.

Can I be dismissed while receiving medical treatment?

Employment is not automatically protected for an unlimited period, but dismissal because of disease requires strict substantive and procedural conditions. A medical absence can also raise disability, maternity, discrimination, accommodation, CBA, or company-policy issues. The result depends on the diagnosis, prognosis, records, communications, job requirements, and stated ground for dismissal.

Does mental illness qualify for sick leave?

It may. A medically supported mental-health condition can be handled under the same company sick leave, SIL, government sick leave, or SSS rules that apply to other illnesses. Private-sector law does not create a separate automatic mental-health leave quota.

Can unused company sick leave be converted to cash?

Only if the contract, CBA, company policy, or established practice provides for conversion, or if the days form part of statutory SIL that must be converted. Not every company sick-leave benefit is automatically cash-convertible.

Official references

This article provides general Philippine legal information, not legal advice or a prediction of any particular claim. Rights may depend on employment status, workplace policy, CBA, medical evidence, contribution records, agency rules, and the documents in the case. Sources and procedures were checked as of July 31, 2026.