ILR eligibility - sick leave whilst on T2 General

[micasa]

I have been in the UK for 4 years+ on a company sponsored visa (Tier 2 General), and will qualify for ILR in 10 months if my employment continues.

The problem is that I have been quite unwell due to some virus infection (don't know how it happened), causing me constant fatigue and fever. My doctor said it is going to take more than a couple of months, if not years, to recover, and advised to go on sick leave as conditions worsened in the past month. I am very reluctant to do so as I am worried about my job security, and more importantly, the adverse impact on my ILR eligibility due to the long-term leave of absence.

Can anyone please advise if I can still keep my T2 General status if I go on a sick leave lasting longer than 1 month, say 3 months? Will it reset or suspend my ILR clock? I believe I will be paid up until 6 months of continuous sick leave, but what if it is not paid after 3 months? I will remain in the UK during my sick leave so don't need to worry about 180 day rule.

Many thanks.

[micasa]

To add, 3-month unpaid leave would not affect the income threshold for the 12-month prior to application. Thanks.

[zimba]

Any leave must be approved by your sponsor and better be paid. This will NOT come up during the ILR application at all as long as you stay and rest in the UK. However if you decided to leave the country, then your sponsor needs to give you a letter of approval for such an extended absence from work and the UK during your ILR. You probably have to submit all your medical evidence too in that case.
At the end, it will be all at the discretion of HO to decide if your reasons for an extended absence from the UK are legitimate or not if you leave the UK. They can argue that a person on a necessary sick leave in which working was not possible, probably will not be able to travel either. You need to be careful with your decisions as it is generally hard to justify extended absences from the UK.

[micasa]

Thanks zimba88 and sorry for the late response.

And thanks for raising a good point. Although I plan to remain in the UK during my sick leave, there might be a situation where I need to fly to attend my family in case of emergency. I will keep it in mind to get a sign off from the employer if such a case arises.