Wednesday 30 September 2026 6:01 am  |  Updated:  Tuesday 29 September 2026 6:45 pm

The Debate: Should you be allowed to text in sick?

By: Anna Moloney

Deputy Comment and Features Editor

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The government’s back-to-work tsar wants you to call, but is texting in sick really an issue? We hear the case for and against in this week’s Debate

YES: If someone is routinely dishonest, whether they text or call is unlikely the biggest issue

To me, the core of this debate comes down to a more foundational issue around the fact that employers seem to feel that adults cannot be trusted to be adults. 

If I employ someone, at the bare minimum, I am confident that they understand cause and effect I.e. they are aware that I’m running a business and that their performance in return for cash is dependent on that performance being reasonable/good. I trust therefore, that they will take responsibility for their work and, it follows, that they also know when they are too genuinely unwell to do that. 

When we break it down on a practical level, what difference does it then make if they text or call me to let me know that they are sick? As long as it is timely and informative? 

For some people, particularly those who are neurodivergent or anxious, a........

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