You can apply for up to 13 weeks of funded sick leave in a 12 month period for medical reasons, if you are currently in receipt of either UKRI or University funding, and receive a termly stipend payment.
Paid sick leave is available to both full time and part time PGR students.
During this time, you will continue to receive stipend payments, retain access to University facilities, and your deadlines will be extended by the length of your sick leave.
Please note that:
- you will receive paid sick leave only if the request is fully supported by a Fit Note/medical certificate.
- you do not need to follow the standard interruption process if the interruption is for up to 13 weeks on evidenced medical grounds. However, if your illness extends past 13 weeks, you will need to complete the standard interruption request process.
- If you are funded by an external agency, but the funding is administered through Royal Holloway (i.e. the University receives money from an agency and the University pays out your maintenance), your supervisor will need to check directly with the funder whether the terms and conditions set allow Sick Leave or Interruption of studies at any point. If they do not, then you cannot be considered for Sick Leave. This excludes any UKRI funded DTP/CDT.
If you are planning on seeking medical funded sick leave, you must inform us as soon as possible.
The process for University funded PGR students mirrors that for UKRI funded students, and you can find further details on the UKRI website.
- You should only complete this form once you have discussed your intentions with your supervisor.
- You may wish to seek guidance from Student Advisory and Wellbeing by emailing them or going to their webpages.
- You can also seek guidance from the Students' Union Advice Centre by emailing them or going to their webpages.
No, non-funded students are not eligible for funded sick leave. If you need to take a period of leave for sickness, and are not in receipt of any funding, or you wish to take a period of leave after your funding has ended, you can request an interruption for medical reasons
here.
- Yes - you can apply for a maximum of 13 weeks of funded sick leave per 12 month period of studies on the grounds of medical reasons. This is the same for both full time and part time PGR students.
- You will continue to receive your stipend payments for up to 13 weeks, and your funding end date will be extended by the period of sick leave taken, as well as any outstanding deadlines.
- You will retain access to all University facilities.
- Your application MUST be accompanied by a medical Fit Note covering the period of sick leave being requested.
- Any period of sick leave above the maximum 13 weeks permitted must be requested as a standard Interruption to studies.
- Returning from a long-term sickness absence may require a phased return to your studies. If you feel that you would benefit from this provision, a Fit Note should be provided confirming your fitness to work, along with a written plan to return to working full-time. This arrangement is limited to a maximum of 4 weeks, during which time full stipend will be paid and your funding end date and submission deadline will be extended for the period of sick leave taken during the phased return. This should not be used where there is a clear need for you to move to part-time on a longer-term basis.
Your supervisor will need to check directly with the funder whether the terms and conditions set allow Sick Leave or Interruption of studies at any point. If they do not, then no, you cannot be considered for funded Sick Leave for any portion of your funding, i.e. if you are 50% co-funded by University, you are not entitled to apply for 50% of the sick leave you require, but you should instead apply via the standard interruption process.
No, if you are no longer funded, you are not eligible for funded sick leave. If you need to take a period of leave for sickness, and your funding has ended, you can request an interruption of studies for medical reasons here.
- Your request for funded sick leave MUST be accompanied by a Fit Note which cover the dates of your leave request, up to a maximum of 13 weeks.
- If your Fit Note is in a language other than English, this must be translated and clearly show the start and end dates of the note.
- No other medical evidence can be considered for funded sick leave.
- You can find examples of a Fit Note here.
Students who have interrupted their studies on the grounds of funded sick leave remain registered students of the University and subject to University Regulations, and retain the use of University facilities. As such you must complete enrolment accordingly.
Should you have any queries, please contact us.
Yes, if your interruption is due to funded sick leave, you will retain access to facilities throughout the whole period of leave. We will inform the relevant colleagues of this, but if you find any problems when accessing facilities, just
let us know!
If you have a Student Route / Tier 4 visa, you should discuss the implications of any period of interruption, including funded sick leave with our
International Student Support Office (ISSO) prior to making an application. For further advice, please contact
internationaladvice@royalholloway.ac.uk.
If your funding covers your writing up year and you are in receipt of maintenance/stipend payments during that time, then you can apply for funded sick leave.
If your funding does not cover your writing up year, then in extenuating circumstances you can apply for an interruption via a suspension of regulations request.
You will need to complete the standard interruption request process.
If you require a period of leave that exceeds 13 weeks, this period of time should be applied for as a period of interruption and this will need to go through a formal approval process. Please read about the interruption process for more information.
If you are applying for funded sick leave followed immediately by an interruption, you should apply for both at the same time by completing the online interruption request form, and uploading your completed Sick Leave request form and Fit Note to this request.
You should not apply for funded sick leave retrospectively. However we are aware that there are sometimes delays in obtaining medical evidence, so if you are intending to apply for funded sick leave, you should inform the Doctoral School and your supervisor of your intentions immediately.
If you are unable to update your supervisor of your intention to request funded sick leave until after the event, due to extreme illness or hospitalisation, you must provide an explanation of this on your request for funded sick leave form.
- Your deadlines are extended by the period of funded sick leave taken.
- Your new deadlines will be emailed to you once your funded sick leave has been processed.
- Your funding end date will be extended by the period of funded sick leave taken.
- Your new funding end date will be emailed to you once your funded sick leave has been processed.
If you do not return to your studies at the end of the period of funded sick leave (i.e. in effect withdraw from your studies), you will be required to repay the sick leave payments made to you, unless there are serious extenuating circumstances.
I've read the information above and have decided to apply for funded Sick Leave. What do I need to do?
If you wish to request an interruption of studies of up to 13 weeks on the grounds of funded sick leave:
- You must contact your supervisor to discuss the details of your funded sick leave
- You MUST read all sections above before completing the request form
Your form will be sent to the School Director of PGR Education for academic approval.
After the form has been processed and your student record has been updated, you will receive a confirmation email from the Doctoral School to confirm how the funded sick leave affects your:
- upgrade deadlines (if not already upgraded)
- thesis/dissertation submission deadline
- funding end date