Sick leave

Salary and studentship stipend costs

Wellcome will abide by the terms and conditions of your employing organisation for sick leave and pay. 

If you receive a Wellcome studentship stipend, where possible, we expect your organisation to provide you with the same sick leave and pay entitlements as an employee.

We will provide additional funds for actual salary or stipend paid to you while you’re on sick leave, less any recoverable statutory sick pay.

We’ll fund these costs if you’re:

• the grantholder and Wellcome funds your salary
• staff member on a Wellcome grant that funds your salary
• a student in receipt of a Wellcome studentship stipend.

The costs can include:

• your basic salary
• employer’s contributions (for example, National Insurance contributions if you’re based in the UK) and pension scheme costs
• any incremental progression up the salary scale
• any paid leave accrued during your time off.

They must not include:

• any recoverable statutory sick pay

Research costs

We’ll provide additional funds for the direct research costs if you:

• are a grantholder and the sole lead of the research, even if Wellcome doesn’t fund your salary and
• take leave for a month or more.

You don’t have to ask us for these costs. We'll automatically give them to you when you return to work and we know how long you've been on leave.

We will pay 50% of your research costs, pro-rata, for the period you are on leave.

The amount is based on the costs in your original award letter. It doesn’t include:

• your salary (see ‘Salary and studentship stipend costs’ above)
• fellowship supplements and Royal Society contributions (if applicable)
• overseas allowances
• inflation
• any costs we’ve given you for public engagement
• any supplement we’ve provided since your grant started.

For example, if you took six months’ leave the supplement would be £12,000, if we awarded you £240,000 for your research costs and your grant is for 60 months. 

Just before you return to work, your research office must complete and submit a Returning from sick leave form.

Do not share any sensitive personal health information with us.

Contact us if you need help to complete the form.

When we receive the completed form, we’ll supplement your grant and write to let you know the supplement amount and confirm any change to the grant end date. 

You don’t have to ask us for additional research costs – we'll automatically provide these. 

Tell us as soon as possible if you, or your staff member, decide not to return to work.

If you are the grantholder you can extend the end date of your grant to match the amount of sick leave taken. If a staff member on your grant has taken sick leave and you want to extend the grant contact us to discuss further. 

If you decide to return to work part-time your employing organisation must agree to it.

If you’re the grantholder you must tell us about this change. We may extend the end date of your grant further. Contact us to discuss this.