Do you go to work when you are sick?

[Jackie G]

What an interesting and strange statement to make.  What happens if you have a broken leg and can't move?!!!

In the States and elsewhere (not UK) do you all actually have 'sick days' in your entitlement package... because the way all your posts are worded, it sounds like you do.

In the UK there is no such thing as 'sick days' but if you phone in sick you still get paid - we have statutory sick pay or SSP.  However, if an employee was to, say, regularly phone in sick in a Monday morning or a Friday, an employer could get mighty suspicious about hangover (Monday) or long weekend (Friday) and could be entitled to give employee a grilling about the reasons and then possibly a verbal warning on the first steps to dismissal, if it goes that far.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[misslynn]

Yes, most employers in the US have "sick days".  My employer offers 5 days of sick pay to use through a year and can be used for personal illness, illness in the family or court appearances (not jury duty, that's different).  Sick time doesn't accrue the way vacation time does, whatever you haven't used at the end of the year you lose and resets again at 5 days.

[spitfire78]

Thanks Tif - I thought I was the lone wolf out here!

We have an exceedingly generous sick policy. You get 1 sick day per month (up to 12 per year - July 1-June 30).  In addition, you can accumulate them and they will rollover up to 90 sick days.  So, for example, if I have 90 sick days accumulated as of July 1 and then do not take any sick days for the rest of that year, by the following June 30 I will have 102 days.  However, on July 1 it will go back to 90.  I currently have 88 days in my bank and due to get another awarded the end of April.  

That is one reason why it frosts me so much when people insist on coming in and acting as if they are indispensable.  We are allowed plenty of time and there's no reason why they can't take it.  In the last year, we have changed just about every top level manager there is, including 2 major ones within a week of one another (quite unexpectedly to boot), and believe it or not, the place is still running along just fine.  While there may be instances where people absolutely need to come in for meetings that can't be rescheduled without difficulty or a particular project, for the most part I think our people here just like to THINK of themselves as indispensable when, in fact, no one really is.

Again, I'm not saying anything about any of you - this is how it is in the division of my company - other companies are completely different.

[shelliereneebug]

I go to work sick - I have found that it is better for them to send you home than to call off work.

[tiffanyctd]

There are days that I miss working for the agency I used to work for. Your sick leave accrued to a certain point and then, if you didn't take it, you couldn't carry any more over, but you have to take it. My husband is at that point now, so he ends up taking off all the time because his boss says he has to use up the excess leave. My brother-in-law was in the same situation and ended up being able to take off every Friday afternoon for a year! Ahhh...wishful thinking!
Tif

[countrigal]

In my company, we accrue sick leave every pay period, just like AL, and it continues to accrue from our first day to our last, rolling over and accumulating.  Basically, we get 1 day a month, every month, till we retire, and so can add up to a lot of leave.  When you retire, you can get paid for a certain percentage (may be all of it, not sure) of your sick leave that you have accrued, as an enticement not to take it.

I hear what y'all are saying about not coming in sick to work, because of causing sickness in others... and once I get enough accrued so that I can be off for my illnesses and my childrens, then I won't.  But right now, I've got to get paid (hence me working) and I know that my kids will get sick, so my leave is for them.  Since our maternity leave is also considered part of our sick leave (ie: if you don't have the sick leave hours,  you don't get paid for the maternity leave), I've used up all of my sick leave and am accruing it very slowly when I have to take time for well-baby appts, doctor appts due to illnesses, and then just general sick babies.  I believe I have somewhere along the lines of 18 hours of sick leave right now because of this.  I just had to take 11 hours of leave last week because of my baby having an ear infection (doc appt - 3 hours), running a fever (8 hours - not able to stay at daycare because of this), and no family or friends around that can watch him while I go to work.  And hubby does what he can, but he works too and he doesn't get sick leave, he just gets annual leave, so when he's off, it costs him vacation days.

So I applaud those of you who have the ability to think of everyone else and not go to work sick.  And for those of us who must... we just need to do what we can not to share our germs.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[misslynn]

Just curious, for those who have sick pay that accrues, do you also have vacation time?  I get 5 days of sick pay per year, which I have to use or I lose it, but I accrue vacation time separately.

[diamondlady]

Same as you misslynn, we finally went to an accrual system a couple of years ago, prior to that it was use em or loose em both on vacation and sick time.  This is much better.

Diamondlady
Peer Moderator

[spitfire78]

Yes, we also have vacation time that is separate from our sick leave.  Unlike Countrigal, we do not get paid for any unused sick time when we retire.  However, my feeling is that if I retire with 90 sick days accrued and lose them on retirement, I've been a lucky person because that means I've very rarely been sick!

Countrigal, I hear what you're saying, believe me.  And I also understand for new employees who haven't accrued a lot of time.  What frosts me are the ones who have the time and just refuse to take it.  My office mate gets a severe case of bronchitis every winter.  She comes in coughing so bad it sounds like she's coughing up a lung, her face is flushed (so she's obviously feverish), and she looks and quite obviously feels like sh**.  When you say something to her like why doesn't she go home since she obviously doesn't feel well, she responds with "why - there's nothing wrong with me - I feel fine!" (at the same time she coughs like she's dying).  The woman just absolutely refuses to believe that she's sick, and the whole reason is because she feels she MUST be here.  She's worked here for 4 years, while I've been here for 24 years - I can certainly run the office for a few days without her.  She doesn't have any special duties or responsibilities that can't be handled by me or someone else if she is gone.  A few times she has only gone to the dr. because the other secretary in the office harped on her until she finally said - OK there's absolutely nothing wrong with me, but I'll go.  Of course, when she goes, he tells her she has severe bronchitis and an ear infection.  She doesn't ask him if she should stay home, so she comes right back to work.  When you ask her about staying home, she says - "the dr. didn't tell me I should stay home".  Well of course he doesn't say anything if you don't ask!

Well, time to get off my soap box. Again, I totally understand people saving their time for their families or people who are just starting out and don't have time accrued.  The only ones who annoy me are the ones who insist on coming in when they don't REALLY have to.  

[tiffanyctd]

Spitfire,
Have you been reading my mind??? That sounded exactly like what I was going to say.

As for leave time, we get Employee Time Benefit, which we can use for whatever we want (ie-sick time, vacation, maternity leave, whatever).

Tif

[spitfire78]

Ah Tiff - I wish you and I could be office mates

[duque]

Crumbs, I'm really surprised with the system used in UK and USA. As you may know I'm in Spain, and while the general opinion is that Spain is a very backward country (spaniard's opinion as well) I belive our system is far much better than yours.

My first question would be how can you know whether and when you will be ill? It's not something you can plan. In Spain we do not have a fixed illness allowance, but if you're ill you take whatever time necessary off work, though always under the supervision of a Doctor in the social security system.

The first three days of sick leave, the company pays your salary. As from the fourth day off onwards, your salary is paid by the Social Security, through your own company; This way it does not cost the company anything and you don't realise anything different is happening.

The only limit would be that if you are on sick leave for over 18 months, (say for severe back problems, etc.) you would then "leave" the company and get a permanent state pension.

Penny.

[tiffanyctd]

Penny,
That's a cool idea! Just out of curiosity, how does your vacation time work?
Tif

[officeguru]

That idea seems like a good idea, Penny.  Have you ever noticed anyone taking advantage of 'sick' days?  How do companies go about preventing such occurrances?

For my company - (as a non-union employee) we get 10 Personal days.  Typically these are used when calling off or leaving work early for whatever reason.  These are not accrued, whatever isn't used is cashed out at 50% at the end of the covering period (1st pay period of Jan - 1st pay period of Jan).   We have vacation time - which starts at 5 days (1 work week) at 6 mths, and then another 5 days at 1 yr anniversary.  After 4 years and then 9 years - you earn an additional 5 days.

The main difference between the two 'banks' (what we call them) is that the personal time can be taken in 15 min increments - but vacation can only be taken in 4 & 8 hour increments.  

We also get an 8 hour to use for 'school participation' - when my kidlet had a play at her school, I used 4 of those hours since I was participating in something at her school.  Always think this is a cool idea - because my kidlet knows that I will help out in the classroom or go on a field trip at least oncee during the school year.

[duque]

Well, normally we all get 22 labour days (not including week-ends or national holidays), plus 14 national or local holidays, and in some cases depending on the trade, up to 6 further days for what is call "private matters", as in my case. Not bad at all eh?