How many sick days are you allowed to take?

[Abigail47]

In my last job, they didn't really care that much about sick leave. They would let people take up to about two weeks uncertified sick leave, and if you were certified for sick leave, you could take months of sick leave. They also didn't do return to work meetings for sick periods of less that five days.

I only took about four days sick leave in a year in that last job.

I started a new job seven months ago and I'm in shock.

I've taken four days sick leave in the whole seven month period. Two different periods of two days. I was sick. They were uncertified (as I had moved to a new area and hadn't registered with a local doctor in time) and I didn't get paid.

After each period I was called into an office with a manager and made to do a return to work meeting.
I was told in each meeting that too much sick leave can leave to contract termination.

My colleague just took five days certified sick leave, and on her return they said the same to her, that too much sick leave can lead to contract termination.

Aibu to think that four days sick leave in a whole year is not a lot.

Like we are going to get sick . Everyone does.
In one of my sick periods I totally lost my voice with a chest infection. I couldn't speak at all and I have a customer facing role.

What is sick leave like in your organisation?

I'm quite shocked by this, as I'm in Aus & It would be illegal to threaten people with termination or harass them for taking sick leave. You usually get 8-10 days a year, but then just cut into vacation or take unpaid leave.

There are rules around medical certs with most employers requiring a med cert after two-three days (can get via online service). Of course, a few shitty bosses will try to force people to work when ill. You can eventually be sacked if you take so much leave it affects your ability to do the job, but it's a treacherous area so happens rarely.

I've been at my job 6 months, had two lots of sick leave (three days) as it's winter & lots of viruses. I apologised & my employer said 'if you're sick, your sick, can't do much about it'. I have the leave so I'm entitled to it.

In my previous job I had 14 paid sick days a year and two personal days. My lovely manager insisted we all take those days for illness or mental health days

I am a social worker, if that matters

My uncle (self employed) said that once he started working for himself, he would never work for anyone else again.

I can see why.

It's just about having the freedom to be able to do things.

Return to work meetings are normal, from a H&S POV nobody should return to work without one. The employer needs to make sure the employee is fit to return to normal duties, and see whether they can be supported in any way. This is duty of care. No manager in my organisation would keep their job if they didn't do RTW meetings.

Uncertified 7 days full pay. Sick leave is unlimited but only 2 months full pay, and 2 weeks off in 6 months without it triggering absence management.

Read your contract. Yes, people get sick. But if you are on probation, any sick leave can in theory lead to termination depending on clauses - it depends on particular circumstances whether it does or not. On probation it's also often unpaid (so SSP only).

It would help if people read their contract and policies, but it seems hardly anyone does.

I do think that the UK is a bit behind other countries with regards to human rights and sick leave.

Yeah but the way you describe return to wprk meetings, is that they are supportive and caring.

My return to work meeting certainly wasn't like that.

My return to work meeting was nasty and threatening.

Are they supposed to be supportive?

Again no.

I've had to visit hospital a and e with pleurisy and while there I asked for and was given a sicknote. 2 weeks in fact.
Also suffered through weeks of sciatica until I'd had enough, it wasnt going. Called GP, got good painkillers, slept a whole night, next day painkillers wore off and I knew I wasnt going to work yet. Called GP again, sicknote 3 hours later.

I am truly shocked by posts like this ….my team think they are hard done by if they can only get 2 weeks of the school summer holidays off….I took 6 weeks off last chrsitmas for a special holdiay ( 3 weeks paid and 3 weeks unpaid) ….obviously that’s a one off ….but very rarely anyone gets refused leave requests …..and we get up to 2 weeks paid carers leave at managers discretion…..I don’t really moan about my job …lnhs clinical…..just about the pay sometimes….. but am feeling quite lucky after reading some of these posts

Wow. My annual leave has been refused the last three times that I've asked for it.

I don't see why they give employees a set amount of annual leave a year, and then never allow them to take it when they want anyway.

but .you don’t need a sick note from day 1 is what I’m saying…..government guidance is that you can self certify up to 7 days…..I always wait the 7 days then get a sick note when I know I’m going to be off longer….waste of gp time otherwise

I worked at very large well known corporations….I wasn’t cut out for that environment as I couldn’t take it.

I was then self employed for years working from home but now looking to get back to employed work.

I just can’t put myself through that sort of employment ever again though as it broke me mentally.

Fair enough.

Yes, they are supposed to be supportive. I'm ex in-house employment law and our guidelines and training to managers was clearly around welcoming and encouraging the employee back to work, updating them on what they missed, checking they were fine to return, and any support they needed.

Of course you have the element of making the employee aware of the policy (e.g. this is your 2nd absence in 6 months, so your third absence would trigger an absence review), but this can be done in a nice and professional way, while still making the point for those that take sick days without actually being sick.

I've certainly seen/heard some terrible RTW meetings too and unless the entire organisation has a nasty culture, it does help to raise them so the individual concerned gets extra training. But have certainly seen organisations where everyone s just horrible and unprofessional.

Did you earn a really high salary to make it worth your while? Genuinely interested? …..my top band is 50k pa pro rata …..won’t ever earn anymore as I haven’t any inclination to go higher… but thinking my leave entitlement and pension benefits and sick pay and carers leave and compassionate leave benefits make it well worth staying for …… I guess moneys not everything

Number of actual days off sick or number of periods of absence for sickness as they are two different things?

My place of work is a maximum of 3 periods of absence in 12 months, once you hit 3 you can’t be off again for a full 12 months otherwise you face disciplinary / capability to work meeting.

4 actual days doesn’t sound a lot and taken all together is one period of absence, but if you have taken 4 separate days for 4 separate incidences of sickness then whilst it doesn’t sound like a lot of days it would put you in the disciplinary category where I work. It would probably also be queried how ill you genuinely were if you only needed a single day off each time you are ill, red flags for skiving!

My place of work pay full pay for sickness absence for the first 3 absences up to a maximum of 12 weeks then it goes to SSP. More than 3 absences and not only are you on thin ice but you’re also not paid.

NHS here, we have a return to work after every absence but it’s mainly to check on your well-being & see if there are any work issues causing the absence / adjustments to help you. If you’ve been off 2 days with a virus it’s literally a 2 minute chat & a few ticks on a form. 4 absences in 12 months rolling triggers an absence management meeting. This could be 3 1 day absences or 3 2 week absences. Or short term absences totalling more than 8 days in a 12 months rolling period would also trigger a meeting!

Legally we are allowed 13 days at full pay. 13 days then half pay. Anything after that, zero pay.

It’s high amount of sick leave

i run a business with 5 employees. Maybe 2 or 3 if them are sick during a year.

If you worked for me, and in your first half year you’d been off twice of be very concerned and watching you closely.

Employee absence makes everyone who has managed to come in to work more difficult

I would be concerned you have a poor attitude to work. The last thing i would want is absenteeism coming into our work culture

I would be looking for a job where you can work from home some days of the week. I largely WFH and have had no sickness since I started this (with covid). It's been a real game changer for me.

If you feel a bit poorly you can still log on, check emails, do some light work. It's so much easier. Plus you're not getting germs from commuting.

Saying that it doesn't stop some of my colleagues from taking the P at times (in my opinion!)

Again it doesn't make any sense.

So in your example , an employee could take three lots of 12 weeks of
full pay sick leave.

So they could take 36 weeks of paid sick leave in a year and not get disciplined.

But if someone took one day in four different incidents, so they took four days sick leave, they would get disciplined.

I think your sick leave policy sounds normal. I’ve been with my employer for 11 years and have had about 5 days sick in total over that period. Once for a bad ear infection and once for covid.

Could they be looking at the timing of it - e.g a sarurday and sunday (on both ocassions) after pay day (so an element of suspicion/you arent taking wellbeing seriously or responsibility seriously) or was it on days with tasks you really did not want to do or really busy days. Just thinking of why a serious/harsh line is taken. Could you have turned up with the lost voice and let them take the decision that wasnt right. Idk, just thinking of other options. As you say, if you are genuinely not fit to work, then thats that.

Most places ive worked have a return to work conversation - its to check that you are fit to return and iron out if it was work related illness. Its good for you and for the employer.

Current job in a private company we get one months full pay in any 12 month period. No real monitoring. Return to work interviews are only if people have been seriously ill to look at phased returns and support.
Public sector job had higher allowance for sick pay, but return to work interviews were bullying and people were sacked for fairly low levels of sick leave.
But worst was working in a nursery. Zero sick pay, and a very harsh response to anyone off sick. So everyone came in even when pretty ill. We had staff coming in with diarrhoea and just hiding it from the manager with support of the team.

Definitely not I was on an average salary for that type of work, pay has not increased in that time either so circa £30k.

You are far far far better off working in your sector.

My partner has a similar salary to you working for a company who works for the NHS. But none of those perks. Always worried about redundancy so darent take sick days ever, no other leave options that I/we know of, pension is not that great but at least has one (I don’t) and standard number of days holiday per year.

Recently seems to be allowed to take it more in line with when we would like and we actually have 2 weeks booked off in October ….used to only ever be allowed one week. we only ever ask for term time dates so colleagues with kids can have the dates they need but in the past there were set dates that would always be declined which was so frustrating. For some weird reason April every year (not the Easter holidays) was declined eight years in a row so we gave up asking for a week off then, one year we asked a year in advance still was declined.

That's absolutely awful

Yes breeding ground for germs and I'm sure COVID has not gone away