How much sick pay do you get?

[Teddypops]

How much sick pay do you get?

Trying to work out how much to offer a new employee.

Thanks in advance.

First three days are unpaid but you can request discretionary payment via your line manager. That you won't be paid for the first three days means people come into work ill, it is the most stupid sickness pay policy I have ever come across so whatever you put in place, please avpid this. It just leads to the unecesseary spreading of illnesses and people taking so much longer to recover than they would if they could stay at home when they need to.

For the first year it's only SSP, then it rises after that and in the end is a maximum of six months full pay, six months half pay. It takes a while to get to that entitlement though.

Mostly we just don't go sick, because we have bills to pay, so we come into work with our illnesses and spread them merrily. I assume this must be SMT's aim as why else would you have a punitive sick pay policy?

One week a year which is 4 days for me as part time.

I am now starting to realise why sickness absence is so high in the public sector

I am now starting to realise why sickness absence is so high in the public sector

Pretty much. It tends to be measured on instances as well rather than duration, so someone who has a day or two a few times a year is in the same position absent management wise as someone who takes weeks at a time. You can't help when you are actually unwell of course, but it is not overly challenging to get a doctor's note.

Yes @anniegun I agree. 6 months at full pay. Good grief.

@Sandybval most organisations use the Bradford factor to measure sickness absence. It gives you a worse score if you have lots of small absences as opposed to a big one.

I agree too Anniegun. I once took at temp job to cover a council employee who had been off with stress for close to a year. He came back when I had been there for 3 months so I had to depart. I then heard that he took his accrued 6 weeks holiday and shortly after that went sick again. Quite ridiculous.

6 months at full pay. Good grief.

Obviously that would have to be medically backed up! Colleague had to have a knee replacement, it was medically necessary but if she’d had to go onto SSP for the operation and three month recovery period she wouldn’t have been able to pay her mortgage and bills.

Surely if you are only going to get SSP then most people will go to work even when unwell.... so cooks going to work despite having stomach upsets etc......

As a PP said, it’s not just a case of “I get paid even if I’m off sick”, it is all monitored and we don’t get paid if it’s too many instances. I’d get paid if I was off for four weeks with a broken leg but I wouldn’t if I was off one day per week for four weeks IYSWIM.

I am now starting to realise why sickness absence is so high in the public sector
Can you please link the source for this.

As i find the issue interesting and id like to read around the it more. Look at illness rates etc in both. Being undergoing chemotherapy then Straight back to work in the private sector etc etc.

6 months at full pay. Good grief.

Why the good grief? You don't just get to phone up and go "I don't feel well, I won't be in for six months,". There are processes to follow. You have to evidence your sickness.

Corporate company - after 12 months, 12 weeks full pay - the rest is at managers discretion.

• Why the good grief? You don't just get to phone up and go "I don't feel well, I won't be in for six months,". There are processes to follow. You have to evidence your sickness.”

Well, yeah, but you must know that loads and loads of people either get no sick pay or only a few days regardless of if it’s a sprained wrist or terminal cancer.

That’s why those who are in that situation and can afford to pay the relevant health and income insurance.

Lots can’t afford it and so have no choice but to go back to work far to soon after major surgery or illness.

Swings and roundabouts though, public sector jobs mean you sometimes have better terms and conditions, but the pay is worse there are no bonuses and very few other perks. Most people who work for private companies get some things paid for like hot drinks works nights out etc.
I know there's a lot of people who get neither, which is wrong and the government should make companies treat their staff better imo.

I work in the public sector and it is definitely true that long term sickness is far more common than when I worked in the private sector. Things like anxiety after a bereavement or because of workplace dispute seem to get repeated certificates quite easily and then people have a miracle recovery just as their pay runs out.

That's not to say these people aren't genuinely anxious and struggling but if their pay stopped earlier I do think in many cases the "recovery" would have come sooner. That may have meant they were in work when they were unwell or it might not.

10 days, or a month if signed off by a GP.

I also think the long extended leave can be counter productive for MH. We offer loads of confidential counselling support to help people get back to work , for example, but staff rarely take it up. While they're not at work we can't help resolve the dispute or put things in place at work to help them, etc

When I worked in the private sector (large corporate) sick pay was discretionary and almost always paid for short term absence, unless the absences became frequent. Things like cancer treatment would usually be paid long term although there was no "right" to it.

SSP only. Working in large company with around 600 employees.

Things like anxiety after a bereavement or because of workplace dispute seem to get repeated certificates quite easily and then people have a miracle recovery just as their pay runs out.

A friend of mine took 6 months off after a bereavement and then had a staggered return. I thought at the time if the pay ended sooner she would have started to deal with the bereavement sooner. It wasnt a miracle recovery. It was being forced to move forward.

I read on here once about a woman who became a millionaire but she had Always suffered from really bad anxiety. Now Having money meant she didnt need to work anymore, so stopped workIng, then stopped going out at all. Having to work made her carry on. Not needing to work allowed the anxiety to get beyond her control. Was really sad to read.

6 months full, 6 months half - that's the maximum after 5 years' service, before that it's staggered. In the first six months (probation) it's SSP only. I work for a multinational corporation.

I'm sure it was Lily, but I sometimes wonder if "being forced to move forward" earlier would be better for the staff member's recovery.

I don’t actually know but the couple of time’s I’ve had to take the odd day off for the kids or when I had to self isolate in March my salary was never any different.

My boss probably can’t be arsed having to actually put the SSP through the payroll!

Large company, private sector...52 weeks full pay

I'm not sure what my company were thinking when they wrote the contract... people joining now definitely don't get that!

None ssp only

@Gumbo Surely that's horrific for new starters, could be seen as discriminatory and really unfair for those who have underlying health issues?

6 days paid then SSP - medium sized manufacturer. Resets in January each year.