And to clarify further for the US audience, this first 5-10 days doesn't come out of holiday (vacation) time/pay, there isn't combined "PTO" in the UK; sick day

And to clarify further for the US audience, this first 5-10 days doesn't come out of holiday (vacation) time/pay, there isn't combined "PTO" in the UK; sick days and vacation time are treated separately. In fact, you even still accrue vacation time while off sick, I was off sick for a year and when I came back HR came to me with the news that I had extra holiday to use the next year because it been rolled over from when I was off sick. If you're sick while on holiday you can even try to claim the days back although most people don't as that's seen as taking the piss a bit.