Sick leave after termination of employment. When are you entitled to it?

JUDr. Ondřej Preuss, Ph.D.
12. December 2025
9 minutes of reading
9 minutes of reading
Labour law

If you are on sick leave, your employer pays you first and then you get sick pay. But how does it work if you don’t have an employer? When are you entitled to sick pay in this case and when are you also entitled to wage replacement? You can find the answer to these questions in this article.

Quick overview

  • Sick pay is payable from the 15th day of incapacity for work.

  • After the end of employment, a 7-day protection period starts.

  • You will no longer receive wage compensation after the end of your employment.

  • The maximum support period is 380 calendar days.

  • Termination during the protection period has statutory exceptions.

Not sure if you meet the conditions of the protection period or if your employer is refusing to pay you back pay? Our online legal advice service will quickly assess your claim and suggest a course of action.

What is sick pay?

Sick pay (sick pay) is a form of social insurance that provides income replacement for people who are temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury. Sick pay is a sickness insurance benefit to which both employees and employers contribute through compulsory social security contributions.

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Conditions for entitlement to sick leave:

  • Temporary incapacity for work: the person must be recognised by a doctor as temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury. Sick pay is then paid only from the 15th day.
  • Sickness insurance: Only a person who pays sickness insurance is entitled to sickness benefit. Employees have their sickness insurance automatically paid by their employer.

Time limit and amount of benefit:

  • Start of payment: Employees are only entitled to sickness benefit from the 15th day of incapacity for work. The first 14 days of sick leave, they receive wage replacement from the employer.
  • Duration of payment: Sick pay is paid until the end of the temporary incapacity for work, but for no longer than 380 calendar days from the date of incapacity for work.
  • Exceptions: Sickness benefit is paid for the duration of the temporary incapacity for work, but for no more than 380 calendar days from the date of its occurrence; there is no longer any specific limitation on the period of sub-support for recipients of old-age or third-level invalidity pensions.

Sick pay is granted for calendar days, including weekends and public holidays, and is calculated on the daily assessment base.

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Sickness, vacation or holiday. These quite different situations for employees have one thing in common: they may give rise to a claim for wage replacement. What are the conditions under which this happens and how much is the salary compensated? Find out in our next article.

How is sick pay paid?

You are entitled to wage replacement from your employer during the first 14 calendar days of sickness. This compensation is determined according to the rules of the Labour Code and is due for the shifts that the employee was scheduled to work and did not work due to temporary incapacity for work. If the employee was not scheduled to work a shift on a public holiday, he shall not be entitled to wage compensation for that day.

Sickness benefits are payable from the 15th calendar day of sickness and are part of sickness insurance. This benefit is granted for calendar days, including weekends and public holidays, and is calculated on the daily assessment base.

Tip for article

You can read more about how much you get from your employer in wage compensation in our article on: What an employee is entitled to when sick.

Termination of employment and sick leave

If you fall ill while working, it’s straightforward – you’ll get wage replacement from your employer for the first 14 days and start receiving sick pay from the 15th day. But what if you get sick after you’ve left your job and don’t have a new one yet?

Yoursickness insurance ends when your employment ends. However, there is still a 7-calendar-day protection period afterwards. You are still entitled to sickness benefits during this period. However, you will no longer be entitled to wage replacement from your employer.

In practice, we often see people confusing the cooling-off period with the notice period. The cooling-off period starts after your employment ends, not during your notice period. It is also a common mistake for an employee to have a sick leave slip issued on the eighth day after the end of the employment relationship – in this case, there is no entitlement to sick pay.

Tip for article

For more on the protection period and the protection period, see our next article.

Sick leave within the notice period

Sick leave during the notice period is not uncommon. It works in a similar way as if you were on sick leave in the traditional way. This means that you are entitled to wage replacement from your employer for the first 14 days and then start receiving sick pay from the 15th day. However, if you get sick towards the end of the notice period, you would only be entitled to wage replacement for the days you were still on notice.

Let’s explain this with an example: Mr Novotny gave his notice and the two-month notice period started. One week before the end of this period, Mr Novotny fell ill. During the first week of his sick leave, he received wage compensation from his employer (as his notice period was still running). However, the second week he received nothing from his employer, as he was no longer his employee. At the beginning of the third week (on the 15th day) he started to receive sickness benefits.

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Termination of sick leave

The last topic around which questions abound is how it works with notice in the case of sick leave. Can you give it or get it?

Can I get notice during sick leave?

If you are currently on sick leave, you are also in a protected period. Your employer cannot give you notice during this time. Exceptions include situations where:

  • You are on probation: your employer can dismiss you without reason during your probationary period. However, if you are on sick leave, they must first wait until 14 days have passed before they are obliged to pay you back pay.
Tip for article

For more on sickness, pregnancy and probationary leave, see our article.

  • Does your employer have the right to give you immediate notice: you can be given notice even during your sick leave if you have violated your work duties in a particularly serious way (for example, if you come to work drunk or take something from work that does not belong to you). This also includes situations where you have been convicted of a deliberate offence and received a minimum of one year’s imprisonment, or where you have been convicted of a deliberate offence with a minimum of 6 months’ imprisonment if you committed the offence in connection with your work.
  • Employer going out of business: you can also be given notice if your employer is going out of business and therefore no longer needs any employees.
  • Employer moves its business: your employer may also dismiss you if it moves outside the area where your work is to be carried out under the contract of employment and therefore has no need to continue to employ people in that area.
  • There is a breach of sick leave rules: you may also be dismissed if you breach the rules on temporary sick leave. This includes, in particular, staying away from your place of residence (or other designated place) and failing to keep up your appointments.

If your employer fires you on sick leave and has none of the above reasons for doing so, you may be able to defend yourself. Specifically, within two months of the date of termination, you must file a lawsuit with the competent district court to declare the termination invalid.

Tip for article

It is better not to file the lawsuit yourself. You will only succeed in court if your claim is bulletproof. We will be happy to conduct a careful analysis of your case and then prepare a pre-suit notice, a statement of claim, an appeal or represent you in court where we will vigorously enforce your rights.

Can I quit on sick leave?

As an employee, you can give notice at any time, including when you are on sick leave. You do not even have to give a reason.

Are you unsure whether you meet the conditions of the protection period or is your employer refusing to pay you what you are entitled to? Contact us. We will assess the situation and propose a specific solution.

Summary

Sick pay is a form of social insurance that provides income replacement for people who are unable to work because of illness or injury. Employees are entitled to wage replacement from their employer for the first 14 days of sickness, then sickness benefits, which are paid until the end of the temporary incapacity for work, up to a maximum of 380 days.

After the end of the employment relationship, there is a 7-day protection period during which the employee is still entitled to sickness benefits but not to wage compensation from the employer. The same rules apply if the employee is in the notice period.

During sick leave, the employee is protected and the employer cannot give notice. However, the exceptions to the rule are probation at home, gross misconduct or violation of sick leave rules, the employer’s business being closed or the employer moving. An employee may resign at any time, even during sick leave, without giving any reason.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days after I stop working am I entitled to sick leave?

Seven calendar days from the end of employment, the protection period runs.

Will I receive a wage replacement after my employment ends?

No. Wage compensation is payable only during the period of employment.

What if I get sick on the eighth day after I quit?

If the employment relationship has already ended and more than 7 days have passed, you are not entitled to sick pay.

Can my employer give me notice during my sick leave?

Generally not if you are in a period of protection, but there are legal exceptions.

How long is sick pay paid?

Maximum 380 calendar days from the date of incapacity for work.

Can I give notice during sick leave?

Yes, an employee can resign at any time.

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Author of the article

JUDr. Ondřej Preuss, Ph.D.

Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.

Education
  • Law, Ph.D, Pf UK in Prague
  • Law, L’université Nancy-II, Nancy
  • Law, Master’s degree (Mgr.), Pf UK in Prague
  • International Territorial Studies (Bc.), FSV UK in Prague

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