Would you be off sick if you weren't being paid?

[MakeMineALarge1]

I work for the NHS, the sick package is very good, full pay for 6 months then half pay for another 6.

I know that its very stressful at the moment in acute care, sickness in our department is currently at 30% with up to 6 members of staff off per shift.

Lots of people citing stress etc, needing time out, and this is granted on full pay.

If you were self employed or hourly paid, would as people still be off with stress and still need "time out"

It seems a lot of threads on here start with "my anxiety" or I have PTSD or I am depressed. Is it too easy nowadays to ring your GP and be signed off on this basis?

I work for the NHS and have been off recently with diagnosed PTSD and stress. I’m thankful for the sick pay, but when I first went I couldn’t have cared less about whether I was getting paid or not, I was too distressed. But I think not having the additional worry about money and being able to focus on my mental health helped my recovery

Many Public sector workers take the piss and then complain about high workload, when their own behavior is contributing to the workload.

I have a good sick pay package as have been with same employer for over 20 years
I only take time off sick if I really need to as no one else does my job (senior management) so I just come back to more work
Sick pay schemes vary with length of service and none of my team of 12 ever take much time off
We do provide direct services to vulnerable people so this is also a factor as if we are not in we are letting a client down as well

I'm paid a day rate (IT consultant) and I go sick if I need to. But whether I'm perm or contract I only ever take sick days if I absolutely need to for flu or migraine or something serious.

PTSD or depression, anxiety etc are used too readily to describe every day emotions.

I'd argue that society in general has been overmedicalized in large part because every day pains and emotions are too readily dismissed as unimportant. People continue to up the ante to be taken seriously. Even within medical settings, there is a major issue for many of struggling to have their pain - physical and/or emotional - taken seriously (and of course the cases where HCPs try to get their patients to take things more seriously).

I get the annoyance of those taking the piss and that any illness has an impact on others around us, but the focus on that too often leads to dismissing those in pain and people pushing to breaking point to avoid getting put in with the piss takers/causing problems. I did until I was hospitalized, and maybe even more since when I can. That drip-drip-drip of messages can really fuck you up.

A lot of NHS staff are suffering from mental health issues as a direct result of working through the pandemic. I am, as a result of the horrific events I was involved in on the covid wards during the first peak. I have taken minimal time off because of this, but I am sad that as an NHS worker, you have so little sympathy for mental illness, especially given the context currently.

I think the big difference is that workinh i. The nhs makes you sick. I work part time nhs and part time privately - the nhs work is significantly harder due to conditions abs ridiculous expectations whilst being underfunded.

I work in CAMHS. Lots of folk off sick because of the sheer fucking pressure (wait lists, dealing with risk, blame culture), which leaves those of us still in to carry the brunt. It's unsustainable. 1/3 of posts in mental health services are vacant. It's unsustainable.

And the Tories know full well.

I'm a nurse in the NHS in a very, demanding and stressful area. I have recently been off sick with a non covid infectious illness, there is no way I could have worked nearly 13 hour shifts the way I was feeling, also risk of passing it on to patients and other staff members. I have worked with people in the past who were off sick for months then would come back after 6 months full sick pay so some people do probably play the system.
I am rarely off sick but my job is such that I need to be physically and mentally fit, being on my feet constantly and looking after very sick patients. I have also had a hard time mentally as well over the years dealing with family illness and deaths then covid struck which made it even worse. The feeling of dread before going into work. I'm looking for jobs in less stressful areas and no shifts but they are hard to find.

I wouldn’t want to be treated by someone in the NHS who had severe anxiety and was being pressured into being at work.

But self employed can adjust their workload, adjust hours/days, work from home or hire help.

We have 5 days full paid sick leave, and after that it's unpaid or SSP if you hit the criteria.

The 5 days is a 12 month rolling cycle.

It kind of works. Also, doesn't.

Would I have taken more sick leave this year if I had more paid to take? Yes absolutely. But that's because I've had things like SIRVA following an injection, and my job is very manual. Instead I took painkillers, naproxen namely, and pushed through...which meant the injury took longer to heal and my down time was ruined, I couldn't do any of my normal activities for weeks.

People absolutely take advantage, when a good friend of mine started in the NHS she counted the sick days as part of her holiday allowance! I'm self employed so no work- no pay, I haven't had a day off sick in 6 years....funny that.

I don't think they would.
I couldn't take time off unpaid.
I couldn't afford it.

I think the issue is when a lot of people are off sick at the same time it causes more pressure and work for the people who are at work. Yes they may be more emotionally resilient but everyone has a threshold where it's difficult to cope. If a department has a high level of sickness the managers need to look at what support they are giving people with mental health problems and how they can encourage them to come back to work. In some ways the longer you are off the harder it is to go back to work because it's nice been at home been paid and you know the level of support you will receive at work just won't be good enough. I personally feel the NHS gets worse and worse. High levels of sick only cost the NHS and the taxpayers as staff are still needed at work so someone else has to fill the gap. Occupational health should have more power to assist people in the work place and I feel more work places should be kind and compassionate to each other. I think GP will listen to what you feel is best. They make no decisions about where you work, what support you receive or hours. That's occupational health and your management. GPs just look at medication and referral to other services. I think personally you sound fed up and it sounds like your department is not a very nice place to work!

I am an employer and only pay ssp. Unless its covid related i cant even claim it back! Its tuff as an employer can get saddled with an employee who has literally done zero work, but we have to pay them ssp for up to 6months!

Its unfair because someone who is sick is the employers problem, unfair on small businesses.

Employers should be able to claim SSP for all illnesses. Share the burden.

Currently off sick (been off for 6 weeks and will be off for another 2 weeks) when hopefully I can go back. I am just into my second year with the NHS and my line manager has told me that I will only get paid for 4 weeks and then nothing. I have no idea if this is correct and I can't do anything about it but glad to be pre-warned and happy to have some savings I can use. Luckily I am pretty debilitated anyway and not spending.

I have been in same job for 18 years
Don't get paid if off sick....can claim SSP when it kicks in
I've had about 15 days off

I suffer with depression ...I take lots of meds for that .....I just have to get on with it ...if I'm unwell I just get i with it ...I had time off with flu once and once a bad case of tonsillitis..I'm just grateful I've got a good immune system ...re depression there are times when I find a cupboard and cry at work ..or I just keep my head down and don't talk to try get through.
It's rubbish

We get full pay if off sick or we're supposed to anyway. But the only time myself or my husband call in sick is if we have something contagious as it would breach our contracts if we went in whilst contagious with something

I don’t get paid if I’m off sick. Joys of a zero hours contact.
I have been signed of a few times due to mental breakdowns. I’ve had to suck up the wage loss.

I've certainly dragged myself into work when I was far too sick to be there just because it was that or starve/not pay my rent. I don't think it benefits anyone, I can say I probably wasn't a very good worker on those days.

My Dh is currently in hospital. No idea if he will get paid sick. I am being temporarily laid off for a month soon, unpaid. So potentially, no income.
When I have discussed this with friends who have jobs in public sector jobs, they can’t believe it. It is the way for many and it’s shit but it is the norm for our industries.

My old employer didn't pay sick for the first 3 days. It weedled out the piss takers.

Educate yourself on mental health. The last paragraph of your op is ignorant.
As someone with PTSD and a whole load of mental health problems, I can adamantly say there was nothing easy about being diagnosed. I was formally diagnosed by a therapist, and my GP, whilst being put on suicide watch and feeling like a complete failure - so no, it's not easy. HTH.

We're in a pandemic and earning money is more important than your health? Sorry I'd be off work no matter, but I appreciate it has to be affordable. Typically a few days off no pay and SSP for a few days would make little difference to your monthly take home pay if you earn more than £40k a year. Stay well!

I'd have probably soldiered on but then eventually I'd have probably killed myself. Any better for you?