Is the worker entitled to sick pay during a temporary lay-off?

The key question is timing, i.e. whether or not the temporary lay-off had been announced when an employee’s sick leave begins. If an employee goes off sick after a lay-off has been announced, they are only entitled to sick pay for the period during which they would otherwise have been at work, i.e. up to the beginning of the lay-off at the most. Laid off employees are not entitled to sick pay. If an employee went off sick before the lay-off was announced, the employee is entitled to sick pay until the end of their sick leave or until their statutory entitlement to sick pay from their employer ends. Employees on long sick leaves can only be laid off after their sick leave ends.