Who it’s for: Administrators and users with the relevant permissions
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: All plans
Before you begin
Make sure:
☑️ You’re logged in
☑️ You know the Sickness reasons your organisation needs to record
☑️ You know which people your Sickness rules should apply to
☑️ You know which reasons should require a fit note, trigger a Return to Work (RTW), be treated as paid absence, or be included in your absence scheme
☑️ You know which Return to work form should be used for each reason that triggers RTW
Overview
Sickness is managed differently from Working and Time-off events in Event Manager.
Sense HR includes one standalone system Sickness event. You cannot create additional Sickness events, and the Sickness event itself cannot be renamed or deleted.
Instead, you manage:
the people your Sickness rules apply to;
the sickness reason names available when sickness is recorded; and
how each sickness reason behaves for the people covered by a rule.
Sickness rules contain only two configuration sections:
Scope
Absence reasons
They do not have Booking, Approval, Entitlement or Outside working hours configuration.
Understand where Sickness settings are managed
The Sickness configuration page lets you manage two distinct parts of the Sickness event:
Event details — click Edit details to change the Sickness icon and colour and maintain the list of Sickness reason names.
Rule configuration — use the main configuration page to control who the selected rule applies to and how each sickness reason behaves for those people.
💡 Tip: To change the name of a sickness reason, use Edit details.
Navigation path
From the Sense HR dashboard, go to:
Settings > Calendar & Planner > Event manager
Use Search or scroll to Sickness.
View sickness reasons from the Manage events page
Click the dropdown arrow 
the start of the Sickness row to expand the event and see the sickness reasons currently available.
You can also delete an eligible sickness reason directly from this expanded list.
🖊️ Note: You cannot delete a sickness reason if planner or system records are linked to it.
Open the Sickness configuration
Click Sickness in the Manage events page.
The Sickness configuration page opens.
From here, you can:
click Edit details to change the Sickness icon and colour or manage the list of Sickness reason names.
configure who the selected Sickness rule applies to;
view sickness reasons and their current settings;
click a sickness reason to configure its behaviour; and
add additional Sickness rules,
Manage sickness reason names
Click Edit details on the Sickness configuration page.
The Edit event window opens.
From here, you can:
change the Sickness icon and colour;
add sickness reasons;
rename sickness reasons; and
delete sickness reasons where permitted.
You can also change the Sickness Event icon and Event colour from this window.
The Sickness Event name is locked and cannot be changed because system processes rely on it.
🖊️ Note: The Sickness event has no Event name field because its name cannot be changed. System processes rely on the Sickness event and its name.
Add a sickness reason
Click + Add sickness reason.
Enter the sickness reason name.
Click ✓ to confirm the name.
Click Save changes.
✅ The new reason is added to the Absence reasons list on the main Sickness configuration page.
🖊️ Note: Default settings for new sickness reasons
When you add a new sickness reason:
Fit note required is OFF.
Return to work (RTW) is OFF.
Paid absence is OFF.
Include in absence scheme is ON.
After adding a reason, click it in the Absence reasons list to review and configure these settings.
Rename a sickness reason
To change a sickness reason name:
Open Sickness > Edit details.
Find the reason in the Sickness reasons list.
Click the edit icon
beside the reason.Change the reason name.
Save ✓ the reason.
Click Save changes in the Edit event window to update the Sickness event.
✅ The updated reason name appears in the Absence reasons list on the main Sickness configuration page.
🖊️ Note: Renaming a sickness reason does not change its existing rule configuration. Settings such as Fit note required, Return to Work (RTW), Paid absence, and Include in absence scheme are retained.
Delete a sickness reason
You can delete a sickness reason from:
the Sickness reasons list in Edit details; or
the expanded Sickness row on the Manage events page.
If planner transactions or system records are linked to the reason, the Delete icon is disabled.
Hover over the disabled icon to see why the reason cannot be deleted.
🖊️ Important note: Deleting a sickness reason removes the reason itself and all configurations associated with the reason. Reasons linked to existing data or records are protected from deletion.
Change the Sickness icon or colour
To change how Sickness appears in calendars and planners:
Open Sickness.
Click Edit details.
Click Select event icon and colour.
Select the Event icon and Event colour you want to use.
Click Save changes.
Configure a Sickness rule
A Sickness rule controls who the configuration applies to and how each sickness reason behaves for those people.
Select the rule you want to configure from the tabs at the top of the Sickness configuration page.
Configure who the Sickness rule applies to
The Scope section determines which people the selected Sickness rule applies to.
Configure:
Rule name
Enter a clear name that identifies the rule.
Rule name is required.
Assign to
Use Assign to to select the people the rule should apply to.
Assign to is required.
Exclude people
Use Exclude people where someone who would otherwise match the rule should not be covered by that particular rule.
Being excluded from one Sickness rule does not necessarily mean Sickness is not applicable to that person. Another rule for the Sickness event may still apply.
Use View filter results to check which people match the rule criteria.
Click + Add rule if different people or groups need different Sickness configurations.
🖊️ Note: Everyone is a dynamic Smart filter. It includes everyone in the system who has not been deleted, including active employees and people marked as leavers who have not yet reached their removal date. New starters are included automatically.
Each person can be covered by only one rule for the Sickness event. If saving would put someone into two Sickness rules, the rule is not saved.
Use View filter results to identify the overlap, then update Assign to or Exclude people before saving again.
Understand the Absence reasons list
The Absence reasons list shows each sickness reason and its current settings for the selected rule.
Each reason shows the status of:
Fit note required
Return to work (RTW)
Paid absence
Include in absence scheme
Settings that are enabled appear as highlighted indicators. Settings that are off appear as plain text.
For example:
Setting | Enabled | Off |
Fit note required | Fit note | No fit note |
Return to work (RTW) | RTW: [Form name] | No RTW |
Paid absence | Paid | Unpaid |
Include in absence scheme | Absence scheme | No scheme |
Absence reasons list showing configuration indicators.
Click a sickness reason in this list to configure what happens when that reason is used.
🖊️ Note: Clicking a reason here does not let you rename it. To add, rename, or delete sickness reason names, click Edit details. See Manage sickness reason names.
Configure a sickness reason
To configure how a sickness reason behaves:
Select the rule you want to configure from the tabs at the top of the page.
Find the reason in Absence reasons.
Click the reason.
You can configure:
Fit note required
Return to work (RTW)
Return to work form
Paid absence
Include in absence scheme
Require a fit note
Turn Fit note required on where sickness recorded using the reason requires a fit note.
When enabled:
Sense HR creates a To Do for the employee to provide their fit note.
The sickness absence is identified in reporting as requiring a fit note, helping HR check that one has been uploaded.
Leave Fit note required OFF where a fit note is not required.
Configure Return to Work
Turn Return to work (RTW) ON where the sickness reason should trigger a Return to Work process when the employee returns from the absence.
When RTW is enabled, the Return to work form setting becomes available.
Select the form that should be used for this sickness reason and the people covered by the rule.
The standard Sense HR Return to Work form is available on all plans.
On Elite and Enterprise, additional or customised Return to Work forms can also be created in Screen Designer and selected from the same list.
💡 Tip:
On Elite and Enterprise, Return to Work screens are created and managed in Settings > Screen designer > Screens.
👉 See: Screen Designer: Create custom Screens
👉 See Return to Work Workflow for what happens after sickness triggers a Return to Work process.
🖊️ Note: Return to Work uses the rule configuration that applied when the sickness absence was recorded. Turning RTW on afterwards does not apply it to sickness absences that have already been recorded.
Configure paid or unpaid absence
Turn Paid absence ON if sickness recorded using the reason should be identified as paid.
Leave it OFF if the reason should be identified as unpaid.
The reason is shown as Paid or Unpaid in the Absence reasons list.
🖊️ Note: Paid absence currently records how the sickness reason should be treated. It does not affect pay calculations, payroll extracts or reporting.
Include the reason in the absence scheme
Turn Include in absence scheme ON if sickness recorded using this reason should count towards your configured absence scheme.
Leave it OFF if the reason should not contribute.
When enabled, sickness recorded using the reason contributes to the measure used by your absence scheme, such as:
Bradford Factor
Number of absence instances
Total days absent
It can therefore contribute towards the trigger points and actions configured for the absence scheme.
💡 Tip: See Calendar & Planner: Implementing an absence scheme (Admin) to learn how to choose an absence scale and configure its trigger points and actions.
Save the sickness reason configuration
When you have finished configuring the rule, click Save changes at the top right.
The updated settings are shown against each reason in Absence reasons.
If you leave the page with unsaved changes, Sense HR asks whether you want to discard them.
Clicking Discard changes removes any changes made since the configuration was last saved.
Add another Sickness rule
If different people or groups need different Sickness rule configurations, click + Add rule.
Configure the new rule’s Scope, then configure the sickness reasons in Absence reasons as required.
Then click Save changes.
For example, different groups could have different:
fit note requirements;
Return to Work requirements or forms;
paid or unpaid settings; or
absence scheme settings.
🖊️ Important note: Each person can be covered by only one Sickness rule. Make sure the rule Scopes do not overlap.
Because Smart filters are dynamic, changes to someone’s profile information can also cause previously valid Sickness rules to overlap. If someone matches more than one rule, this can cause inconsistencies in which Sickness rule configuration is applied until the conflict is resolved.
Use View filter results to identify the overlap and update the rule Scope.
Best practice
✔ Use clear and consistent sickness reason names
Choose reason names that employees, managers and HR will understand and that support consistent reporting.
✔ Remember that adding a reason and configuring it are separate steps
Add or rename sickness reasons through Edit details, then click the reason in Absence reasons to configure how it behaves for the selected rule.
✔ Review the defaults when adding a reason
New sickness reasons are included in the absence scheme by default, while Fit note required, RTW and Paid absence are off.
Review these settings before the reason is used.
✔ Avoid unnecessary duplicate reasons
Create separate sickness reasons only where their meaning or required behaviour genuinely differs.
✔ Check the Return to Work form
Make sure the appropriate Return to work form is selected for each sickness reason that triggers RTW.
✔ Check rule Scope carefully
Use View filter results to confirm which people each Sickness rule applies to.
Remember that Smart filters are dynamic, so changes to profile information can change rule membership and potentially create overlaps.
✔ Be cautious when changing reasons already in use
Existing planner transactions, system records and processes may depend on a sickness reason.
FAQs
Click for answers to frequenlty asked questions
Click for answers to frequenlty asked questions
Q: Where do I add, rename or delete sickness reason names in Event manager?
A: To add, rename or delete sickness reason names in Event manager, open the system Sickness event and click Edit details.
Use the Sickness reasons list in the Edit event window to manage the reason names, then click Save changes.
Q: Where do I configure what happens when a sickness reason is used in Event manager?
A: To configure what happens when a sickness reason is used in Event manager, open Sickness, select the applicable rule and click the reason in Absence reasons.
From there, configure Fit note required, Return to work (RTW), Return to work form, Paid absence and Include in absence scheme.
Q: Why are sickness reasons called Sickness reasons in one part of Event manager and Absence reasons in another?
A: Sickness reasons and Absence reasons in Event manager currently refer to the same underlying reasons.
Sickness reasons appears in Edit details, where you add, rename and delete reason names.
Absence reasons appears on the rule configuration page, where you configure how each reason behaves for the selected rule.
Q: What settings does a new sickness reason have by default in Event manager?
A: A new sickness reason in Event manager has Include in absence scheme turned on by default.
Fit note required, Return to work (RTW) and Paid absence are turned off.
After adding the reason, click it in Absence reasons to review or change these settings.
Q: Can I require approval for sickness recorded through Event manager?
A: No. You cannot configure approval for Sickness in Event manager.
Sickness rules contain only Scope and Absence reasons. They do not have Booking or Approval configuration because sickness is recorded rather than requested for approval.
Q: Why can’t I create another Sickness event in Event manager?
A: You can’t create another Sickness event in Event manager because Sense HR provides one standalone system Sickness event.
Add and configure sickness reasons and rules within the existing Sickness event instead.
Q: Why can’t I rename or delete the Sickness event in Event manager?
A: You can’t rename or delete the Sickness event in Event manager because system processes rely on the event and its name.
You can change its icon and colour, manage its sickness reason names, and configure its rules.
Q: Why is the Delete icon disabled for a sickness reason in Event manager?
A: The Delete icon is disabled for a sickness reason in Event manager when planner transactions or system records are linked to that reason.
Hover over the disabled icon to see why the sickness reason cannot be deleted.
Q: Can different sickness reasons have different settings in Event manager?
A: Yes. Different sickness reasons can have different settings in Event manager for Fit note required, Return to Work, Paid absence and inclusion in the absence scheme.
The settings are also configured per Sickness rule, so the same reason can behave differently for different groups of people.
Q: What happens when Fit note required is enabled for a sickness reason in Event manager?
A: When Fit note required is enabled for a sickness reason in Event manager, Sense HR creates a To Do for the employee to provide their fit note.
The sickness absence is also identified in reporting as requiring a fit note, helping HR identify relevant absences and check that a fit note has been uploaded.
Q: What happens when Return to work (RTW) is enabled for a sickness reason in Event manager?
A: When Return to work (RTW) is enabled for a sickness reason in Event manager, that reason triggers a Return to Work process when the employee returns from the sickness absence.
The process uses the Return to work form selected for that sickness reason and rule.
The standard form is available on all plans. Elite and Enterprise can also have additional or customised Return to Work forms created through Screen Designer.
Q: Why hasn’t a sickness absence triggered a Return to Work form?
A: A sickness absence only triggers a Return to Work process if Return to work (RTW) was enabled for the applicable sickness reason and rule when the sickness absence was recorded.
In Event manager, open Sickness, select the rule that applies to the person and click the sickness reason in Absence reasons. Check that Return to work (RTW) is enabled and that the correct Return to work form is selected.
If several Sickness rules exist, also check that the intended rule applies to the person.
Turning RTW on after the sickness absence was recorded does not apply the Return to Work process retrospectively.
Q: Does Paid absence in Event manager affect an employee’s pay or payroll?
A: No. Paid absence in Event manager does not currently affect an employee’s pay, pay calculations, payroll extracts or reporting.
The setting records whether sickness using that reason should be identified as paid or unpaid. The applicable status is shown as Paid or Unpaid in the Absence reasons list.
Q: Can the same sickness reason be paid for some employees and unpaid for others in Event manager?
A: Yes. The same sickness reason can be paid for some employees and unpaid for others in Event manager because Paid absence is configured separately for each Sickness rule.
Use separate Sickness rules for the relevant groups, then turn Paid absence on or off for the sickness reason under each rule.
Make sure each person is covered by only one Sickness rule.
Q: What does Include in absence scheme mean for a sickness reason in Event manager?
A: Include in absence scheme in Event manager determines whether sickness recorded using that reason contributes to your configured absence scheme.
When enabled, the sickness absence contributes to the measure used by the scheme, such as Bradford Factor, number of absence instances or total days absent. It can therefore contribute towards the trigger points and actions configured for the absence scheme.
Q: How do I make only certain sickness reasons count towards the absence scheme in Event manager?
A: To make only certain sickness reasons count towards the absence scheme in Event manager, open Sickness and select the applicable rule.
Click each sickness reason in Absence reasons and turn Include in absence scheme on for reasons that should contribute to the scheme and off for reasons that should not.
Q: How do I require a fit note for only certain sickness reasons in Event manager?
A: To require a fit note for only certain sickness reasons in Event manager, open Sickness and select the applicable rule.
Click the sickness reason in Absence reasons and turn Fit note required on for reasons that require a fit note. Leave it off for reasons that do not.
When Fit note required is enabled, Sense HR creates a To Do for the employee to provide their fit note.
Q: Why do I get a rule conflict when saving a Sickness rule in Event manager?
A: You get a rule conflict when saving a Sickness rule in Event manager when at least one person is included in more than one rule for the Sickness event.
Each person can be covered by only one Sickness rule. The conflicting rule is not saved.
Use View filter results to identify the overlap, then update Assign to or Exclude people so that each person is covered by only one Sickness rule.
Q: Why is the wrong Sickness rule applying to someone after their profile details changed?
A: The wrong Sickness rule may apply after someone’s profile details change if the change causes them to match more than one Sickness rule.
Smart filters are dynamic, so changes to fields such as Job title or Location can change which rules someone matches. If they match more than one Sickness rule, this can cause inconsistencies in which rule configuration is applied.
Use View filter results for the Sickness rules to identify the overlap, then update Assign to or Exclude people so that only the intended rule applies.
Q: Why am I getting a Sickness rule conflict in Event manager for rules that worked before?
A: You can get a Sickness rule conflict in Event manager for rules that previously worked because Smart filters are dynamic.
Changes to someone’s profile information can cause them to start matching more than one Sickness rule, even if the rules did not overlap when they were originally configured.
Use View filter results for each Sickness rule to identify the overlap, then update the rule Scopes so that each person is covered by only one rule.