9 Good Reasons to Call in Sick and Miss Work at the Last Minute (with Examples)

Good reasons to call in sick or call out of work at the last minute are often hard to find.

Like having good excuses to leave work early, you’ll need good reasons to miss work on short notice.

When that happens, knowing how to call in sick professionally with good believable reasons to take leave at the last minute is important.

Reasons to not go to work often fall into one of these categories.

• Health issues
• Family emergencies
• Personal commitments

And if you are wondering if you should call in sick, you can take this short Quiz after this.

Good Reasons to Call In Sick and Miss Work On Short Notice

The best reason for sick leave to get out of work on short notice will be telling your employer that you simply aren’t feeling well. Even if you want to take a day off in advance, telling your employer that you aren’t feeling well at the last minute is a believable and good excuse.

Good reason to miss work is something that is relatable, believable and honest.

Honesty is often the best policy.

But if you are missing work on short notice for reasons you don’t want to share, here is a list of believable reasons to call in sick or get an excuse off work.

1. Musculoskeletal Pain

Musculoskeletal pain refers to pain in the muscle, bones, ligaments, tendons, and nerves.

Back soreness or back pain is one of the most common medical conditions that is widely accepted.

When you are having back pain, it is almost impossible for you to come to work.

Often, the discomfort can become unbearable or even health threatening and it is best if you can call in sick and seek medical help immediately.

Example on how to get sick leave due to musculoskeletal pain.

• “I am having back pain and will be seeing a doctor later.”
• “I have a sore back and required bed rest to let it heal.”

2. Contagious illness

Contagious illnesses are such as flu, colds, or strep throat, which can spread from person to person. Often, these illnesses spread through body fluid by physical contact, or airborne when someone coughs or sneezes.

If you are having a contagious illness, it is acceptable to call in sick and stay at home to rest, or see a doctor, if it doesn’t get any better after a while.

Common contagious illness:

• Common Cold
• Stomach Flu
• Influenza
• Pink Eyes
• Strep Throat
• Whooping Cough
• Hand, Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD)
• Covid-19

Not coming to work and taking sick leave can protect your coworkers and prevent the spread of the disease. This is one way of being a responsible and respectful coworker.

Example on how to get sick leave due to contracting a contagious illness.

• “I am having flu and I will like to rest at home.”
• “I had a sore throat and will need to see a doctor later.”

3. Accidents and Injury

Accidents do happen, and they can happen anywhere. Most employers will consider any conditions that make you unable to perform your job as a reasonable reason for taking sick leave.

Common injuries that may result in a sick leave are:

• Slips, trips, and fall
• Ankle sprain
• Muscle strains
• Knee injury
• Crashes and collisions
• Cuts and lacerations

When you’re injured, your boss will rather you recover quickly at home, than to come to work.

You are responsible of your own well-being.

Example on how to get sick leave due to a meeting with accidents or injury.

• “I have accidentally sprained my ankle, and I am unable to walk, will need to rest for the day.”
• “I had a car accident and have hit my head, I will be going to the hospital to have a check-up later.”

Ranking	Nature of Injury	Percentage
1	Sprains/ Strains	41.4%
2	Fractures	20.0%
3	Superficial/Contusions	19.0%
4	Open Wound	10.1%
5	Traumatic Brain Injury	4.5%
6	Dislocation	2.9%
7	Other	2.2%

According to National Health Statistics, fall is the main cause of these injuries.

• 2 in 5 people had sprains and strains due to accidents.
• 1 in 5 people had fractures due to an accident.
• 1 in 5 people had a superficial or contusion wound after an accident.

4. No Babysitter or Daycare

Saying a babysitter or daycare might not be available at the last minute, which requires you to work from home, taking a half day, being late for work, or even missing work for the day is a good reason to excuse from work on short notice.

Kids demand a lot of time and attention, it is normal that you need to miss work to attend to your child’s needs.

Example of getting an excuse off work due to a lack of babysitter or daycare.

• “My daycare has notified us they are going to be closed for today.”
• “My babysitter is unable to come today.”

5. Care for a sick child

Saying you need to take care of your sick child is one of the best excuses to get off work at the last minute.

This is especially true if your boss is a parent as well. Your boss will probably be able to relate to how worried and anxious are you when your child is sick and need attention.

Example of getting an excuse off work due to the need to take care of a sick child.

• “My child is having a fever and I need to take care of him.”
• “My baby is not feeling well, and I will need to bring him to a doctor.”

6. Emergency problem at home

Emergency happens, when things can go wrong, they often go wrong. Emergencies can range from household problems such as broken door locks, and flooding the basement, to break-ins by robbers, or collapsing rooftops.

When you want to use reasons to excuse yourself from work, make sure your reasons are believable and do not warrant concerns and questions from your coworkers when you are back at work.

Example of missing work due to an emergency problem at home.

• “My basement is flooding and I need to get it fixed before it floods my whole house.”
• “My main door is broken and I am unable to open the door, I need to get it fixed.”

7. Family emergency issues

Saying you have a family emergency is often an acceptable reason to miss work. Your boss will probably not dig deep into your private matters, but sometimes, they are concerned about your situation and will like to show their support.

Family emergency issues range from taking care of sick parents to getting into unfortunate events such as fatal accidents.

If a family emergency issue truly occurs, it is often good, to be honest.

It is best not to make up reasons that are unbelievable or cause great concern, such as, ‘someone from your family just died’.

But, if you are unwilling to talk about the reason. You can always let your boss know that you are uncomfortable talking about your personal family issues.

Or alternatively, you can use any other reasons in this list.

Example of missing work due to family emergency.

• “My sister had a car incident, I need to get to the hospital.”
• “My pregnant wife is going for her delivery.”
• “My parent is not feeling well, I need to take them to see a doctor.”

8. Expecting major delivery

Big purchases such as furniture, or expensive electronics will require your presence to receive the delivery.

Occasionally, they may need to come into your house to get it set up or installed.

Example on excusing yourself from work due to unexpected delivery.

• “My delivery man just called, they will be delivering my new bedframe today, thus I am unable to come for work.”

9. Picking someone up who comes from afar

Your elderly parents or relatives might be coming to visit, and you need to pick them up from the airport or station. When that happens, it is totally understandable to be excused from work at the last minute.

Example on excusing yourself from work due to unexpected arrival of visitors.

• “My partner’s elderly parents just notified me that they are arriving today, and I’ll need to pick them up from the station.

Why Do You Need a Good Excuse to Call Out of Work Last Minute?

Most employers understand that sometimes, employees will call out of work or have to leave work early on short notice for reasons such as health issues, personal matters, and family-related emergencies.

Like you, your boss is human, and they too sometimes call out of work due to various reasons.

Offering your boss a good excuse why you need to call out of work helps to make the life of your boss and you easier by:

• Give your boss a good reason to tell their boss why you are missing work.
• Give your boss a good reason to tell your coworkers why you are missing work.
• Give HR a valid reason why you are not at work.
• Know what arrangements needs to be arrange to keep the team going.
• Know if it is a one off event, or something that requires further discussion for special arrangements.

How to Get Out of Work Last Minute?

Getting out of work at the last minute requires you to do the following:

• Have a believable excuses to miss work, the excuse needs to be critical, urgent and valid.
• If you know you’ll be missing work especially on short notice give as much advance notice as possible.
• Offer alternative work arrangement like working from home or working extra hours on other days to make up for the time you have miss work.
• Be polite and professional when informing your boss that you need to take the day off.
• Inform your coworkers on the urgent things that requires immediate attention during your absence.

It’s best to avoid getting into a situation where you need to miss work at the last minute, however oftentimes many things are not within our control.

Be sincere and apologetic when informing your boss even when you have a valid excuses for missing work. The key is to be professional and respectful.

Frequently Asked Questions on Missing Work on Short notice

Can you call in sick due to mental health?

Mental health issues can be just as damaging as physical ailments. It is not wrong for an employee to call out sick from work even if they are not physically sick but mentally exhausted.

Although calling in sick due to mental health issues is not widely accepted by most employers.

If an employee needs time off because of a mental health issue, it’s important to take the matter seriously and be supportive.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, if the company have 50 or more employees, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave annually for family and medical reasons.

Can you call in sick due to lack of sleep?

Calling in sick because you haven’t slept enough is not a good reason, and most employers will not accept this reason, as it is seen as laziness and failure to prepare yourself for work for the next day.

That being said, calling in sick due to health issues caused by insomnia such as headaches might be an acceptable excuse for which you should be concerned about.

Lack of sleep can affect your immunity system, and people with prolong insomnia are more likely to get sick. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick.

Lack of sleep is a common issue that can lead to absenteeism from work. Some studies suggest that up to 27% of workers report some type of sleep issue in the previous month.

There are a variety of reasons why someone may not be getting enough sleep, including

• Work demands
• Family obligations
• Health issues.

While it is not always possible to get enough rest, there are some things that workers can do to improve their sleep habits, such as,

• Avoid caffeinated drinks before sleep.
• Avoid using phones or any digital devices 1 hour before sleep.
• Avoid doing high-energy activities before sleep.

Is it bad or unethical to call in sick when you’re not?

Yes, it is bad and unethical to lie. But if you are not feeling well, mentally or physically, and require a sick day to recover your physical and mental health so you can work productivity, it is often understandable.

No matter your reasons, do not abuse the benefits that your company have given you.

Taking an occasional mental health day when you are overly stressed out or facing mental issues is understandable, but calling in sick because you have something better to do is not.

Consider the consequences for your employer and your colleagues, before making any decision.

If calling in sick when you are not will cause inconvenience to your employer or coworkers, then you shouldn’t do it.

Up Next… Acceptable reasons to call in sick when pregnant.

“Why doesn’t everyone take sick leave even when they need it?”

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