Staff sickness in food businesses: the 48-hour rule

Sick food handlers can spread illness to customers very quickly. UK law and official guidance are clear about when staff must stay away from food and when they can come back.

What the law says

Anyone working with food who has, or may have, an illness that can be passed on through food must not handle food, and must tell their manager straight away.

Symptoms staff must report

• Diarrhoea or vomiting
• Stomach pain, feeling sick or a fever
• Yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice)
• Infected skin, nose or throat
• Someone at home with diarrhoea or vomiting

The 48-hour rule

Staff with diarrhoea or vomiting should not handle food until 48 hours after their symptoms have stopped. In Scotland, the guidance adds: 48 hours after the last dose of any anti-diarrhoea medicine.

For some infections, such as E. coli O157 or typhoid, the person may need medical clearance before returning. Ask your local council’s environmental health team if you are unsure.

Coming back to work

• Ask return-to-work questions before the person handles food again.
• Remind them to wash their hands thoroughly and often.
• Record the date they reported sick, the date symptoms stopped and the date they returned.
• Use the same questions for new starters and visitors who go into food areas.

Official forms: the FSA’s fitness-to-work questionnaire (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), Safe Catering form SC7 (Northern Ireland) and the CookSafe return-to-work questionnaire (Scotland).

Keep health records private

Illness records are health data, a special category of personal data under UK GDPR. Keep them separate from other records and let only the people who need them see them.