Sick leave

[Catsansan]

How many times a year do you take sick leave? If age matters, I’m in my late 30s. I’m not taking into account cases where people have serious conditions, just generally, for things like colds/flu and/or kids feeling unwell

Late 40's, no kids. I WFH and might have 1 sick day a year. If I was still working in an office, it might be 2-3 sick days a year.

Generally none, but I did go through about 2 years a decade ago where it was 2/3 times a year as I seemed to pick up everything going!

I'm late 30s and I've had one spell of sickness absence this year, which was 3 days for norovirus.

I've toyed with the idea of phoning in sick on two other occasions but pushed through, when it was genuinely manageable and I was being a bit of a baby about it.

I don't go into work if I'm genuinely sick and I'm annoyed at my staff if they do. My management mantra will always be: stay home and stop spreading your germs! Thankfully, my team don't take the piss.

One off colds/ flu maybe twice a year but my kids are older now when they were younger I was ill a lot more. My dd works in school and gets ill 4/5 times a year

Only when I really need it, never for kids being unwell as that’s against our company policy.

Maybe 1 or 2 a year, though has been more in the past when kids were smaller (and covid wiped me out for 2 weeks first time I got it). I wouldn't take sick leave for the kids being ill unless they passed it onto me as I quite like not getting fired for misconduct!

I have a problem with severe back pain, which is being investigated. I'm currently off since Monday as I can't stand straight. This is my fourth absence in the rolling year. I hate it, but what can I do. It's very frustrating as I love my job.

Late 40s, 3 kids, all older teens.
Have had 3 days sick in 28 years, all when pregnant with eldest DC 20 years ago.

I took a week off 6 years ago when I had a knee operation. Nothing since then. Adult kids but when they were young it wouldn’t be sick leave but unpaid leave. That would prob be 1 day every year max.

I had a month off recently following an operation but before that my last sick day was a migraine 18 months ago and the time before that was 3 days for Covid 3 years ago, they didn’t want me in the office understandably but I did also feel very poorly.
generally though I’ve got a robust immune system and i don’t really pick up much.

I've been in my current job for 3 years and only had about 2 hours off sick as I only get ssp but luckily I'm verry healthy generally

In my last job people were always off, playing the system I'm sure, some for a few months every year

None usually, but I had a couple of days off for a wisdom tooth removal once.

I WFH so very easy to still work when I'm not feeling great. I've had one day this year due to my child being sick. Last time I was off sick was last winter for 4 days with the mother of all flus.

2/3 a year, usually a couple of migraines then it's been a bout of COVID the last few years. Thankfully kids are older so no more sharing D&V 🤢😷

I am a bit younger than you, OP. Up until last year, I'd only ever been off work twice with flu. This past year, I've had to take regular time off with debilitating migraines which go on for six days. I feel guilty that other people end up having to do my work on top of their own, but if I can't walk, balance or drive, there's not much that I can do about it.

Mid 40, 1 primary school child, just realised I haven’t taken any sick leave at all this year, and had 1 day last year. I only work 3 or 4 days a week though. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve actually not been ill this year, or if I have been ill it’s happened to coincide with the days I wasn’t working anyway 🤔

Thank you all for your comments and I hope you feel better soon @HarryBlackberry1and they figure out how to help you. I was prompted to write this post after having chatted with someone who turns out has taken more leaves than me (same age male same, a dad) over the years (for reasons I have mentioned above). Also wfh.

hope it goes away soon @TheeNotoriousPIGi know how horrid migraines can be

2-3 days a year usually. I have twice had three weeks off for flu in 30 years of working full time.

I think the Bradford system makes these short absences difficult. We often have people in who really should have had a couple of days off with bad colds etc, spreading germs about, but people are afraid of the impact if they either end up needing time off for something serious later on or if they have already had a longer absence and so will fall into an absence management process, so they just soldier on.

Maybe 1 or 2 a year, generally when my young children bring something home and I catch it.

I can wfh though, which changes the threshold I think. Being too ill to commute doesn’t necessarily mean too ill to get to my desk and have a lunchtime lie down.

I'm late 50s. Been with the same company for 22 years and prior to June taken 0 days. Thanks to cancer I haven't worked since mid June although hope to go back with half days in October.

I retired last year, but my last sick leave prior to that was in 2011, when I was hospitalised with gallstones pancreatitis. So it was 14 years, in total.
It always shocked me how quick people were to take sick leave for minor ailments.

When I'm sick. This usually ends up being a few days twice each winter as I get a very bad cough and chest infection after a bad cold and usually seem to get COVID annually and feel horrible.

My last proper sick day was 2019, just 1 day

But when my son died i was off about a year (went back for a couple of months in between but couldn't cope)

Then 2023 6 weeks when my dad died and 6 weeks last year when my mum died.

I'm lucky that I don't get ill very often, although I was ill in 2024, but on leave anyway so didn't affect work