to think DH's work are DISGUSTING for not paying people when they are sick?

[MoomieAndFreddie]

he has worked for them for 5 years, been an absolutely exemplary, loyal employee. he started as a warehouseman and has been promoted 3 times since being there, and is now a senior manager. he has completely turned around his branch and its earning about 5 x the profit it was when the last manager was in charge. the last time he took time off sick was about 3 years ago (for 2 days) when he had swine flu.

he has gone in to work on loads of occasions when he has felt unwell, because they DON'T PAY SICK PAY. basically, they just ASSUME people are skiving.

so anyway, he is really poorly with flu. yet he has dragged himself in today, so he is going to infect his whole team, customers and probably not be able to even do his job properly just for the sake of "presenteeism"

and who does he work for, I hear you ask? well, its not just a small back street business who probably genuinely can't afford to pay when workers are absent - this is a huge, multi, multi million organisation....

YOU TIGHT, STINGY, HORRIBLE BASTARDS, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES.

[NOTE FROM MNHQ: OP has been edited to remove company name at the OP's request]

I work for the same company, possibly a different brand, but we can definately take sick days, they are paid, but over a certain number of days can affect bonus payments and reflect badly against the branch? Are you sure that your DH's contract stipulates no sick pay or is he trying to protect the branch record? As a manager myself I always encourage anyone suffering flu-like symptoms to stay away, otherwise there's always a domino effect with everyone else and people are back up to full speed quicker if allowed to recover rather than dragging out an illness by trying to work through it. That doesn't mean i'm a soft touch to the monday morning scivers out there of course!

I don't get sick pay because I'm self employed - and unfortunately earn too little to be able to put any away to cover off time off when I'm ill .... which has meant that I've worked through (genuine) flu when I could hardly see straight, and after miscarrying upstairs, literally came down and carried on though I was hurting, flooding and very upset. This aspect of being self employed is the one I find hardest because I can't afford to take time off very often (either for sickness or holiday come to that) after being employed in jobs (years ago) when I did get sick pay. I admit I kind of assumed that most jobs paid it - and would certainly have expected larger companies to do so. It's a really shit attitude towards your "valued" employees isn't it ... to basically make out that they can't be trusted and must be lying and will therefore have to use up their annual leave if they're ill. Yep .... lots of people would love a job of any kind, but unfortunately, that very fact means it's an employer's market right now and many are taking full advantage of that to not only pay crap rates but to drive people into the ground with unreasonable demands and unsympathetic practices. They know bloody well that people will struggle on no matter how ill they are - and regardless of potentially spreading infection - because they're scared of losing their job.

It is a false economy to have people in spreading their germs. BUT at the same time SOME people take the Mickey so I think that's why companies do it. Bigger companies can be less discretionary as they have to be seen to be fair

YANBU he should be paid.

But I'm struggling to understand how anyone can actually go to work with a proper dose of flu, swine flu or otherwise.

catsmother the problem is that when companies do pay it, alot of 'valued' employees take the piss.

yes catsmother - agree with everything in your last post, exactly.

and yes, i know i shouldn't have named them, have asked MNHQ to delete their name. i don't see why the whole thread should be pulled though? freedom of speech anyone?

and pickles - thats interesting. its actually the management of DH's particular region that say no sick pay, so others who work in different areas probably still get paid for being off sick.

DH used to work in civil service and I'm a teacher so we both assumed it was normal and legal to have paid sick days. Bit of a shock when he moved job to a private company (in I.T.) and found that sick days are taken off holiday! It's really rubbish but luckily he can work from home if need be, so they (informally) work on the basis that if someone gets sick they can work from home ('so not to spread the germs').
YANBU to be upset about this.

OP another poster has named them as well. Get the thread pulled!

It is extra frustrating when you hurt yourself at work, doing your job, and still don't get sick pay.

SAHM now, but I've never worked anywhere that didn't pay sick pay indefinitely.

In fact, my last firm had insurance to pay long-term absentees 75% of their salary indefinitely. They had had someone off for a decade.

Sensible sick policies keep all employees healthier and happier.

I can see both sides of it. I can understand why it's so frustrating for the employee.

But at the same time the employer may have to pay others overtime or rely on their goodwill to work extra hard to cover the sick employee. Or maybe in the case of a longer period of absence they may have had to hire a temp in? And lastly businesses employ people to work so from that perspective why have to pay someone who hasn't worked?

If your DP has a non-disclosure agreement or clause in his contract forbidding him to use social media to the detriment of his organisation, he'll be in trouble from what you've posted. And he's highly identifiable from your info. But hey, I'd hate to interfere with your freedom of speech so close to Christmas an' all

If HE has a clause about not using social media, how will be be fired because someone else has written about him? Don't be daft.

OP - get this thread pulled, you shouldn't have named his company.

niceguy, you could say the same about holidays.

Apart from a short period when I was self-employed, I'm lucky enough to have never worked anywhere that did not pay sick pay and this has been for small companies and large multinationals. Sure, there were limits and if you took the piss you'd expect to be called up on it. Nevertheless, this thread has genuinely come as a real surprise to me.

Is it worth him getting hauled over the coals though ?

This thread isn't going to change the company's sickness policy, and could (a tiny chance, but a chance nevertheless) cause him to have some explaining to do at work

For what ? Op got some stuff off her chest. She has since acknowledged she shouldn't have named, and could still have had a vent here without specifying exactly who against

His P is using confidential information which she could only have got from him, which may be enough to set off a disciplinary in his organisation. I don't know that for a fact, of course. But why take the risk? And what AF said.

Yes Snorbs. Except holidays are usually written into your contract when you join the company. And everyone is roughly in the same position as in they will all also take days off. So for example, the people covering for me when I go off, I usually cover for them during their holidays. They are also planned in advance meaning the company knows and can plan the work accordingly.

Sickness is different. If I call in sick today my boss is left with a real headache as to whom to assign my work to...or if it can be delayed etc.

I thought sick pay was only payable after the first 3 'waiting days' so you only get paid from sick day 4? so surely if your only off for 1-3 days you go unpaid, no?

I can't believe the amount of people who get no company sick pay!
The fact that NHS staff get only SSP is truly appalling.
We'd have been stuffed last year if that was the case, DH was off for 7 weeks after surgery and got full pay throughout, in fact we were better off as he wasn't putting £50 of diesel in per week.
I honestly thought that any company employing more than a certain number of staff, had to provide sick pay by law - DH has had 8 jobs and all bar one had full sick pay for at least 12 weeks.

I work in retail, no sick pay here. I thought that was normal. Obviously not after reading this thread.

I'm really surprised - everywhere I've worked has sick pay. At my current company though, there is a small bonus if you don't use any sick days in a quarter. It is a small bonus, so if you're sick for a day it's a consideration but not if you're sick for a week.

DH doesn't get sick pay but then he's paid by the day rather than a monthly salary.

Where I live, employers have to pay their employees full pay for the first six weeks they are off, after which their compulsory health insurance kicks in at a slightly lower rate.

There are loads and loads of small businesses, wages are mostly decent and the economy is doing very well.

I find employers' attitude to sickness in the UK bizarre.

I hadn't realised how lucky I am, TBH. Paid sick pay here.

I also give our nanny paid sick leave. It never occurred to me not to. She's incredibly responsible, so I know that on the very few occasions when she's called in sick it's because she really isn't capable of looking after my children.

Too many people have taken the piss claiming to be sick when they are not. That's the root of the problem.