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?

We don't have an allocation. I think you might go down to statutory sick pay at some point...three months or so?
We have to get a sick note after three consecutive days, which includes weekends. However, most GPs here will just sign you off for a week anyway. They can also renew your sick note multiple times.
I've been signed off as "unable to work" since last November (until I had my baby in July). However, that was done by our company physician not my GP and means I stayed on full pay throughout. It's quite common here. I'm now on maternity leave until July 2025.
We don't usually do return to work meetings for short absences and usually nobody is bothered about people taking time off when they are sick (as long as they aren't taking the piss). It's better than getting everyone else around you sick as well.
I also have a high number of possible child sick days I could take. They get paid for through my medical insurance.
I'm not in the UK, though.

*A new starter? I'm not a new starter
I've been there seven months.
a lot of People on average stay in a job only around one year these days.
Two years at most. If you look at people's linked in - you very rarely see people staying in a job for longer than two years. *

Seven months is very much a new starter. I’ve been where I am for 8 years and one of the most recent starters! I’ve had a think and can’t think of anyone in my address book who hasnt been with their current employer for five years or more! DH has been in current job for 25 years, DB 17 years ish. A close friend has been with the same employer since he left uni and he’s retiring soon!

Three months sick in one go will be medically certified, three occasions of one day each won’t be and would look odd to many employers.

Not going sick from work doesn’t mean we don’t get ill. It is entirely possible to work with minor illnesses / injuries. I have a chronic condition, if I didn’t go to work every time I was in pain or feeling unwell then I’d rarely be at work. I take my drugs and if I can’t drive I’ll get a cab. VERY rarely (probably three times in 8 years) I will ring my boss and say I’m having a bad flare but will be there when drugs have kicked in - that means I’ll be no more than an hour later than usual. When your employer knows you’re not the sort to call in sick for a sniffle you get a lot more understanding when you are actually too I’ll to work.

Uncertified sick leave is 7 days. You need a well note from day 8.

You get a verbal warning for two spells of sickness (certified or not) within a 13 week period.

A written warning for three spells within a 26 week period.

Disciplinary action is taken if you have 4 or more spells in a 52 week period.

Some staff would take advantage of this policy and just take 7 days sick as extra leave every 26 weeks, but my employer has really cracked down on this. If they find out you're lying you risk the sack.

I'm not in a position to WFH, it's an on-site, shift work job.

I think this depends on the job. I was in my previous job for several years. I think if you work for a good company, good pay and good conditions obviously employees will stay longer. My new job (public sector) where I am shocked at terms and conditions, most people doing the job have been there for 1-2 years at most, so I can see where the op is coming from. Like I’ve said before, I don’t take a lot of sick leave, but I would like to know that I would be looked after should I become ill. My new job is min everything as far as conditions go so I am not sure why people think public sector is so good 🤷🏼‍♀️. I will definitely be looking for a new job once I’ve served a reasonable amount of time.

It wouldn't be harder at all. Especially as employers are not allowed to discriminate.

Employers already hire women who they know they will have to give long maternity leave to, of the woman gets pregnant.

Women go through different biological conditions than men, and this should be catered for.

Spain has implemented menstrual leave for all women

Only three days per year but its better than the UK

I've had covid 3 times in 7 months, couldn't get out of bed each time, and boy, am I in trouble with my job. I'm on a warning.

I think it's totally shocking and inhumane that companies give people warnings for being sick.

I think it's that they don't believe that people are sick.

When people usually are.

I've only taken a day off sick when I was genuinely sick.

how on earth?

Yeah. Nobody ever takes the piss and all companies can afford to pay people that aren’t there. That’s absolutely how it works. 🙄

I am given 10 days a year sick time, on top of my holiday. If I am sick longer than 2 weeks it's unpaid. I never use more than 2-3 days per year

Pay? Where does pay come into it.

I took unpaid sick leave.

The company didn't pay me anything at all for the sick leave that I took.

I lost four days pay, which was a lot of me. Believe me if I had been well enough to go into, I would have gone in to work.

And i still got threatened and harassed for taking unpaid sick leave, when I returned to work

Anywhere Ive worked especially during probation it wouldn't have looked good to have that much sickness
I'm not sure of my allowance as I've not had a day off sick for years but the longer you've worked there the more days you get at full pay which for serious illness is great

Like others it's not so much the days but the amount of instances so 4 instances in 12 months you'd speak to hr. Obvs depending on why you were off they may just look to see if we can make adjustments at work to support but if it's always a cold or something minor it may get looked at differently

Every company I've worked at you also get a return to work meeting and form filled in

I imagine you are quick to say you aren't going in rather than just getting in with it

Where I live most couples share maternity leave tbf, so the employer would have to give a man 6-12 months keave which is half of it.

The reason companies introduced stringent sickness monitoring was because there used to be a culture in many organisations where people took the piss. Some people thought they were entitled to sick leave each year regardless of if they were actually sick or not.

The instances versus days makes no sense.

Like a lot of employer regulations, it's box ticking, without looking at the person's circumstances.

So on the system:

Four incident of sickness of two days = red flag = warning.

One incident of twenty days = no warning, no box ticked.

I can see employees starting to stand up for themselves about that Bradford system as it doesn't make sense and is unfair

That is a lot of sick days. Yes, people get sick but not usually that much. I’ve had one sick day in 3 years

Other people do get sick that much

I see another poster on here said that she took six sick days in six months.

In my current workplace, a colleague who started after me has taken five sickk days.

What was my mistake though is that I got used to how my previous employer acted.
Which is that they would let you take about ten days uncertified sick leave, no questions asked. I began to see that ad the norm

I see other posters say that on here. They said "my last employer was so flexible I got used to that, I thought my new employer would be the same".

I can't assume that every employer is the same, and I need to check the contract very thoroughly or ask questions if it's not clear.

The sick leave policy in my current contract is very vague and not clear

We had someone start at the end of 2020. They managed 2 weeks of their 4 week training and then had 7 months of them having Covid, being in contact with someone with Covid, kids had Covid.

This was the NHS where we rightly didn’t want infectious people to come to work, but this one took the piss. Couldn’t explain how she was exposing herself to Covid every fortnight when we were locked down. No explanation. Found out she was faking reports from Test and Trace but we sacked her anyway for her absence even without that.

For people who work in places where going sick is so frowned on - are they genuinely ok with you being in the office with D&V and other unpleasant and contagious conditions?

Because they can't have it both ways surely. If being ill to much is a disciplinary matter then they need to accept that means people working with vomit bowls on their desks etc.

It won’t be in your contract. There will be a policy in the staff handbook or intranet.

Nobody wants to reissue contracts when policies change.

This is awful. My staff get 10 days of paid sick leave.

It accrues but does not rollover.

We also give our staff 4 hours a week to volunteer and 4 weeks of paid annual leave.

When in the hell did the UK go backwards??

3 periods of sickness in 3 months may lead to the beginning of a disciplinary process.

Incorrect.

There is a section about sick leave on my contract.

There is a whole paragraph.

Just the wording of it is not clear at all.

4 days sick in a 7 month period is definitely a lot. Are you usually unwell so often that you can't work? Or is this more than you would usually be sick?