How do I text my boss that I’m sick and can’t come in to my serving shift?
The short answer
Copy-paste texts
Pick the one that fits. Names and times are made up.
| Version | Text |
|---|---|
| Short | “Hi, it’s Sam. I’m sick and can’t work my 5 p.m. shift tonight. Letting you know now so you have time to cover. I’ll check in tomorrow about Friday.” |
| With a cover offer | “Hi, it’s Sam. I’m sick and can’t make my Saturday lunch shift. I asked Jordan and she can take it if you’re OK with that. I can pick up one of hers next week.” |
| Same day, close to the shift | “Hi, it’s Sam. I’m sorry for the late notice. I got sick in the last hour and can’t work my 4 p.m. I’m calling you now too.” |
| Throwing up or diarrhea | “Hi, it’s Sam. I’ve been throwing up since this morning, so I can’t be around food and can’t work my 5 p.m. tonight. I’ll let you know when I’ve been symptom-free for a day.” |
If you’ve been throwing up or have diarrhea
Say it plainly. Under the FDA Food Code, vomiting and diarrhea are symptoms a food worker reports to the person in charge, and a worker who has them is excluded: kept out of work, unless the cause is noninfectious.
Don’t plan to “push through” a dinner shift. With no diagnosis, the Food Code lets you come back after at least 24 hours with no symptoms, or with a health practitioner’s note that the cause isn’t infectious.
Not tax or legal advice. Your handbook’s call-out rule and your local health department’s rules come first.
Plain English
When to send it
As soon as you know you can’t work. A text at 9 a.m. for a 5 p.m. shift gives your manager a whole day to find cover. A text at 4:30 doesn’t. If you wake up unsure, send a heads-up (“I’m not feeling well and may need to call out tonight; I’ll know by noon”) and then follow through by the time you said.
What the Food Code says
The FDA Food Code is a model food-safety code that state and local health departments adopt, sometimes with changes or in an earlier edition. It covers “food employees,” meaning anyone who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces. That can include servers who garnish drinks, plate food, or handle clean utensils.
| Symptom | What the Food Code says for a regular restaurant |
|---|---|
| Vomiting or diarrhea | Excluded: kept out of work, unless it’s from a noninfectious condition |
| Jaundice that started in the last 7 days | Excluded, unless a health practitioner documents it isn’t hepatitis A or another fecal-orally transmitted infection |
| Sore throat with fever | Restricted: kept away from exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, and linens |
| Infected wound or boil, open or draining, not covered | Restricted |
There’s more detail, including how coming back works, in Calling in sick as a server.
Will the day be paid?
The U.S. Department of Labor says there are currently no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave. Your state may have its own sick-leave law, and your employer may have its own policy. Check your handbook, and look up your state through DOL’s list of state labor offices.
Do you have to find your own cover?
That’s a house rule, not a federal one. If your restaurant expects you to find cover, say who you asked in the text. If you’re throwing up, don’t let a missing cover talk you into working.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until an hour before your shift to decide.
- Texting a coworker instead of the manager.
- Leaving out that you’ve been throwing up.
- Coming back the next day while you still have symptoms.
- Over-explaining. One line about what’s wrong is enough.
Official sources
Last verified:
Checked the employee-health sections of the FDA Food Code 2022 and 2026, which read the same on these points, plus DOL’s Sick Leave page and state labor offices list.
Still open: Your health department may enforce an earlier Food Code edition or local changes. State and local sick-leave laws aren’t covered here.