Employee illness policy template for restaurants, built for the 2026 Food Code
New in the 2026 FDA Food Code: every food establishment keeps a written employee illness policy (§2-501.11). This template covers the three parts the section names, plus a staff acknowledgment and an illness log. It applies where your health department enforces the 2026 Food Code.
A template from Patrono, the food safety, scheduling and food cost app for US restaurants.
Updated
What §2-501.11 requires
The section names three parts. The template follows them in the same order, with blanks for your establishment and your person in charge.
- 1.Illness symptoms. Diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat with fever, jaundice, and infected wounds or cuts.
- 2.Diagnosed illnesses. Norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Shigella spp., typhoid fever, non-typhoidal Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
- 3.Exclusion, restriction and reinstatement. When an employee stays out of work or works away from exposed food and clean equipment, and when they come back after the symptoms or the disease resolve.
Who must have it, and when it applies
For the first time, the Food Code requires every food establishment to have a written employee illness policy. FDA’s guidance in Annex 3 calls it “a new requirement in the 2026 Food Code for all food establishments.” The duty sits with the permit holder, the person or entity legally responsible for the operation that holds the permit (§1-201.10).
The policy covers food employees, who work with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces, and conditional employees, who have a job offer that depends on medical questions or examinations (§1-201.10). The person in charge makes sure each of them is informed of the duty to report, in a verifiable manner (§2-103.11(P)).
FDA’s model inspection form checks the policy under item 5, “Illness Documentation,” together with your written procedure for cleaning up after vomiting and diarrheal events (§2-502.11).
The policy applies where your regulatory authority enforces the 2026 Food Code. Ask the health department that issued your permit which edition it enforces. More in what the 2026 Food Code changes for restaurants.
What is in the file
A fillable PDF of 10 Letter pages and a Word file to edit:
- The policy, with blanks for your establishment, your persons in charge and your regulatory authority. Parts 1 to 3 follow §2-501.11(B), then come the duties of the person in charge and confidentiality.
- A one-page staff acknowledgment of the duty to report, modeled on FDA’s Form 1-B, with signature lines for the permit holder or representative and for the person in charge.
- A one-page illness log, one line per report, with the action taken and the reinstatement.
To roll it out in one week, fill in the cover, have each food employee and conditional employee sign the acknowledgment, and start the log. The FSMS starter names this policy as its employee health procedure.
Keep the records in one app
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Frequently asked questions
Does the 2026 Food Code require a written employee illness policy?
Yes. The permit holder must provide a written employee illness policy, available upon request (§2-501.11(A)). FDA’s guidance calls it a new requirement in the 2026 Food Code for all food establishments. Whether it applies to you today depends on the Food Code edition your regulatory authority enforces.
Which symptoms and illnesses must employees report?
Five symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, and a lesion containing pus, such as a boil or infected wound, that is open or draining and not covered as the Code describes. Six diagnoses by a health practitioner: norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Shigella spp., Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, typhoid fever and non-typhoidal Salmonella. Also typhoid fever in the past three months without antibiotic therapy, and exposure to some of these illnesses (¶2-201.11(A)).
What is the difference between exclusion and restriction?
An excluded employee may not work as an employee in the food establishment or enter it as an employee. A restricted employee keeps working, but not with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, or unwrapped single-service or single-use articles (§1-201.10). §2-201.12 says which one applies to each symptom and diagnosis, and for some it depends on whether you serve a highly susceptible population. For the six diagnoses, removing an exclusion or restriction needs the regulatory authority’s approval (§2-201.13).
Does my state use the 2026 Food Code?
Ask the health department that issued your permit which edition of the Food Code it enforces. FDA tracks adoption of the Food Code by state and territorial agencies on the page linked under Sources. The template has a blank for the edition on its cover.
Do employees have to sign it?
The Code requires the policy itself (§2-501.11) and that the person in charge informs every food employee and conditional employee of their duty to report, in a verifiable manner (§2-103.11(P)). A signed acknowledgment is FDA guidance, not a general Code duty. Annex 3 names a signed reporting agreement, such as FDA’s model Form 1-B in Annex 7, as one way to show it. It is the simplest way to show the verifiable manner, so the template includes one. The exception: if your regulatory authority approved bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food, the Code requires documented acknowledgments from employees and the person in charge (¶3-301.11(E)(3) and (4)).
How do I get the file?
Enter your email on this page. The file arrives within a minute. There is no account to make.