Is an employee entitled to a performance-related bonus when they are on long-term sick leave?

When an employee is absent on long-term sick leave, their entitlement to benefits (including bonuses) will be governed by their contract of employment, alongside their employer’s statutory sick pay scheme and internal policies.

Generally speaking, performance-related bonuses are enshrined in an employee's contract of employment and require certain criteria to be fulfilled by the employee in order for them to become entitled to the bonus. Often, such bonuses will be calculated by reference to objective performance criteria (either on the part of the individual employee themselves, the business as a whole or a combination of both). However, there is also potential for the criteria to be much