Can You Take Sick Leave During Probation?

Yes. A full-time or part-time employee can accrue and take paid sick leave during probation when they cannot work because of personal illness or injury, have enough accrued leave and meet notice and evidence requirements. Probation does not suspend National Employment Standards entitlements.

Paid personal leave starts accumulating from the first day of employment. A new employee may have only a small balance, so a longer absence can be partly paid and partly unpaid unless the employer agrees to leave in advance or another arrangement applies.

Taking genuine sick leave is different from whether the employer ultimately considers performance, conduct or suitability satisfactory. An employer can manage legitimate probation concerns, but it cannot lawfully act for a prohibited reason, such as because an employee exercised a protected workplace right.

For the broader leave framework, read Sick Leave Entitlements in Australia. The article on the difference between sick leave and personal leave explains the shared terminology.

This is general workplace information, not legal advice about a dismissal or adverse action claim. Probation clauses, award coverage, business size, length of service and the real reason for an employer’s decision can materially change the analysis.

Key Points

• Probation does not remove National Employment Standards leave entitlements.
• Full-time and part-time employees accrue paid personal leave from day one.
• A new employee can use only the amount accrued unless a more generous arrangement applies.
• Casual employees do not receive paid sick leave under the minimum standards.
• Employees must notify the employer as soon as practicable.
• An employer can request reasonable evidence for one day or less.
• A genuine absence should be kept separate from performance concerns.
• Probation and the unfair dismissal minimum employment period are related but not identical concepts.
• General protections can apply before unfair dismissal eligibility begins.
• Employees should act quickly after dismissal because legal filing deadlines can be short.

Medical Certificates

Fair Work’s Probation Rule

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s probation guidance says employees on probation continue to receive the same entitlements as employees outside probation, including National Employment Standards rights.

It specifically confirms that full-time and part-time employees are entitled to accrue and access paid leave such as annual leave and sick leave while on probation.

An employment contract cannot postpone the statutory minimum until a three- or six-month review. A more generous employer can make leave available in advance, but the minimum accrual itself starts with employment.

How Much Leave Is Available Early in Employment?

The yearly paid sick and carer’s leave amount is 10 days for a full-time employee and pro rata for a part-time employee, based on ordinary hours. It builds progressively rather than appearing automatically as a full annual balance.

After four weeks, a standard 38-hour full-time employee has accrued roughly 5.85 hours before deductions, subject to the payroll calculation. That may not cover a complete 7.6-hour shift.

Read How Personal Leave Accrues in Australia and full-time sick leave amounts for hour-based examples.

A New Employee Example

Priya starts a full-time role and becomes ill during her third week. She notifies the manager before her shift and provides evidence after it is requested. She can use the paid personal leave accumulated by then.

If the balance covers only part of the missed ordinary hours, the remainder may be unpaid. The employer may agree to personal leave in advance or annual leave, but those alternatives are not automatic.

Probation does not make the illness ineligible; the small balance reflects progressive accrual. Payroll should show the paid and unpaid portions accurately.

Part-Time and Casual Probation

A part-time probationary employee accrues a pro-rata paid entitlement based on ordinary hours. The guide to part-time sick leave explains irregular and changed roster issues.

A casual employee does not receive paid sick leave under the National Employment Standards, whether or not the workplace calls an initial period probation. The casual should still notify the employer promptly about an illness-related missed shift.

Casuals can have unpaid carer’s leave and other workplace rights, but a medical certificate does not convert a missed casual shift into paid sick leave.

Calling in Sick During Probation

The employee should use the workplace call-in process as soon as practicable and give the period, or expected period, away. Where possible, notify before the shift so coverage can be arranged.

A new employee may not know the correct manager or system. Save induction instructions, ask early and keep a time-stamped record of the message. Telling a co-worker may not satisfy policy.

The guide How Much Notice Should You Give When Calling in Sick? explains emergencies and late-notice circumstances.

Medical Certificates and Other Evidence

The Fair Work notice and evidence guidance says an employer can request evidence for one day or less. Medical certificates and statutory declarations are examples of evidence that may satisfy a reasonable person.

Probation does not create a universal evidence-free period or allow the employer to demand unsupported medical detail. The award, enterprise agreement, contract and policy can specify timing or accepted forms, subject to law and reasonableness.

Read when a medical certificate is required for work and every-day certificate policies before assuming a single day is exempt.

Does Sick Leave Extend Probation?

A contract or policy may say probation can be extended after significant absence so the employer has enough time to assess performance. Whether that clause is valid and how it operates depends on its wording and the circumstances.

Extending an internal probation review date is not necessarily the same as extending the statutory minimum employment period used for unfair dismissal eligibility. The legal service period is calculated under the Fair Work Act.

An employer should explain an extension in writing, state its reason and avoid using it as punishment for exercising a workplace right. Employees should seek advice if the extension appears discriminatory or retaliatory.

Can the Employer End Employment During Probation?

An employer can end employment during probation for a lawful reason and must follow applicable notice, contract and process requirements. Probation is not an absolute guarantee of employment until the review date.

However, an employer cannot take adverse action for a prohibited reason. Ending employment because the employee exercised a workplace right to take lawful personal leave can raise a general protections issue.

The real reason matters. A documented performance concern that existed independently of the absence is different from a message stating the employee will be fired for calling in genuinely sick.

Book Online Consultation

General Protections Apply During Probation

The Fair Work protections at work guidance says employees are protected from adverse action because they have, use or propose to use a workplace right.

Workplace rights can include a benefit under a workplace law or instrument. Dismissal, detrimental job changes and withholding legal entitlements can constitute adverse action when taken for a prohibited reason.

These protections are not switched off simply because an employee has not completed probation. A claim is fact-specific, and employees should preserve messages, call records, evidence and performance feedback.

Unfair Dismissal Eligibility Is Different

The Fair Work unfair dismissal page states that an employee generally needs at least six months’ service, or 12 months with a small business employer, plus other eligibility requirements.

A contractual probation period can be shorter or longer than that minimum employment period. Finishing a three-month probation does not automatically create unfair dismissal eligibility, while a six-month contractual probation may align with the larger-employer threshold.

Not being eligible for unfair dismissal does not eliminate general protections, discrimination, workers compensation or other possible rights. Different claims have different tests and remedies.

Temporary Absence Protection

Fair Work also describes protection from dismissal because of a temporary absence due to illness or injury where regulatory evidence and duration conditions are met. Paid sick leave usage and the amount of absence over a 12-month period can matter.

This protection is not a guarantee against every dismissal while someone happens to be sick. The employer may rely on another lawful reason, and long-term incapacity can involve additional legal questions.

Employees and employers should obtain advice rather than treating a certificate as complete immunity or treating probation as permission to ignore an evidenced illness.

Disability and Reasonable Adjustments

A condition may amount to a disability and raise anti-discrimination or reasonable adjustment issues. Temporary symptoms do not automatically meet every legal definition, and employers do not need to remove the inherent requirements of a role.

The employee can describe functional impact and request a workable adjustment, such as a short schedule change or equipment modification. The employer should assess it genuinely and seek only relevant health information.

Probationary performance should be evaluated with any lawful adjustment in place rather than attributing disability-related limitations to attitude without investigation.

What Employees Should Do

1. Read the probation, leave and call-in clauses at commencement.
2. Notify the employer as soon as practicable when illness prevents work.
3. Give the expected period and update if it changes.
4. Arrange genuine evidence promptly when requested.
5. Keep certificates, messages, rosters and performance feedback.
6. Ask payroll to explain any unpaid portion of the absence.
7. Separate health communication from unrelated performance discussions.
8. Seek urgent advice if employment ends and a prohibited reason is suspected.

What Employers Should Do

Explain leave and evidence rules during induction, apply them consistently and keep the probation assessment focused on genuine role requirements. Record performance concerns when they arise rather than reconstructing them after an illness.

Do not tell a new employee they have “no rights until probation ends”. Calculate accrued leave accurately, consider reasonable barriers to evidence and protect medical information.

Obtain workplace advice before dismissal where illness, disability, a complaint or use of an entitlement is part of the timeline.

Urgent Health Needs

Do not delay urgent treatment because of fear about probation. Call 000 or seek emergency care for chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, stroke signs, major bleeding, reduced consciousness or another immediate danger.

Notify the employer when practicable. A family member can assist if the employee cannot communicate, and hospital records may later support the evidence process.

More of Our Services

Using Dociva

Dociva's active services include online sick-leave, carer's leave, study and multi-day medical certificate requests. An Australian registered medical practitioner considers the supplied clinical information and work impact independently.

Dociva does not guarantee a certificate, backdate evidence, calculate accrued leave or decide whether a probation decision is lawful. Some conditions require an in-person or urgent assessment.

For a current illness affecting work, review the medical certificate application. Follow the employer’s notice process separately and seek workplace advice about dismissal concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)