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?

There is very little legal protection for anyone who has worked at a company for less than 2 years. If they aren’t ill due to disability or some other protected characteristic it’s perfectly legal.

I don't think 2 absences of sick leave in 7 months is a lot at all. It's very easy to have.a couple of bugs or other causes of sick leave in that amount of time. This attitude that no-one should ever be sick is ridiculous. We are human beings and human beings get sick. The presenteeism culture we seem to have developed just leads to more stress for employees who try to come in and continue to run their lives when they sick and to more illnesses for them and across the workforce as illnesses get spread around. This is no good for anyone, as productivity is not going to be good when you have a workforce constantly sick. It also makes it much harder for disabled people to access the workplace and means more disabled people are therefore unable to contribute to the economy.

The tick box sickness processes are very short-sighted, poor management, that fails to see the bigger picture in terms of having a healthy, happy workforce that maximises the amount of people who are able to contribute to the economy, while ensuring you actually have a productive workforce. Someone being present does not equal someone being productive.

This is absolutely outrageous - I’m so sorry.

My previous place was 3 times in 13 weeks was a trigger. That could be 3 x 1 days sick or a single day then a week then another week.
Verbal warning

Then next was written if off sick within 13 weeks whislt on 1st trigger.

Then final written.

Now I own my own business with dh so there's no limits or rules

Teacher here: our sick leave is governed by what's called The Burgundy Book (basically this is ALL the rules and regs of teaching).

After 4 years of being a teacher, we are 'entitled' to 6 months on full pay, then 6 months on half pay...after which we are moved onto SSP. This is 'the law' but in practise many schools now apply the Bradford Scale, and we are in 'Big Trouble' if we have too many days off (similar to PPs, having 'back to work' meetings after just a few days off). In my school this meeting is triggered after the 12th day of sickness in one school year.

Autumn term 2 is particularly notorious, when the children are freely and generously sharing their germs 🤣 Imagine, 30 little germy 6 year olds sneezing, coughing and vomiting on you - it's fabulous 🤣

Ultimately though, the 6 month rule still applies, and we'd be paid, but this is now mainly used for those on long-term sick (eg breakdowns/cancer/operations that require a lengthy recovery period).

As a PP has stated...people get sick! We can't help it...what's a person to do after a traumatic diagnosis? Hand in their notice just to not piss off their employer? I had a ruptured fallopian tube causing peritonitis and septic shock. I was incredibly ill and needed an operation to remove the ruptured tube (and my remaining tube, which was also infected). I needed 12 weeks off work...I was paid in full, rightly so! Was I supposed to 'save them money' by leaving or not be paid?

I'm shocked at some of the replies on here about '4 days is a lot in a year'! Completely insane 🤦‍♀️

It also depends where you work ..

if it’s a food related industry 48 hour rule should apply .

if you work in a nursery bugs just flow round there .

if you have a nice air con office to yourself much easier to be well.

Standard practice.

We always have to do a RTW if we are off - even if we self cert. We also use the Bradford factor but I do feel that it is used with “discretion” depending upon who you are.

If you feel ill, it’s better to be off long enough to properly recover than take a day here and then have a relapse a few days later and have more time off.

In my previous job, when I started I was advised of the sick pay rules (I can’t remember exactly what they were, but something along the lines of a few weeks on full pay and a few more on half pay). My manager told me that I would not be paid for any sick time during my six month probationary period. Two months after I started there, I found a lump in one breast, I advised my manager that I would be late in as I had a doctor’s appointment. When I arrived at work, I had to tell him that I would need to take a half day for a hospital appointment and told him why. He straight away told me that I should take all day and not to worry about being paid. Fortunately, it turned out to be a cyst so didn’t need any treatment. A month after that, I was driving home from work, stopped in a line of traffic and a car drove into the back of mine. I wasn’t seriously injured, but did have to take two days off with head and neck pain, followed by several sessions with a physiotherapist. Somewhat to my surprise, I received my full salary that month too!

When I worked for the NHS - pre 2020, 3 single absences would trigger a review

Since I left the NHS and had short term contract, zero hours etc, I could possibly count the days off sick since 2020 on one hand

Right now I work for a company where its the three abscence rule, I have had two single days in a year - both related to whats being investigated now, so not taken lightly.. Now Ive been signed off, I never asked, the GP told me I needed this time off ( being investigated for heart problems ) and when I go back in I will have an interview and still being under the two year safety net, I can be let go

@Abigail47 , you are being very nieve around sickness and your obligation to be fit to work. Small companies can not afford to be paying you sick and someone to cover you and big companies, well theres always a queue looking for your job. Gone are the days where companies claimed your sick pay back from the government, , its coming from their profits. Along with maternity, paternity and parental days, - all covered by discrimination in the work place - so they hammer down on sick pay

In my organisation we get 100 days paid sick leave. However, you certainly get a hard time if you’ve been off. I was off for 4 weeks last year after suffering my second pregnancy loss, the time before was when I was off for 2 weeks after suffering my first loss. Because they were JUST within a year of each other, I was put on a stage 1 sickness monitoring. I passed the monitoring and then took more time off (pregnant again and due in the next couple of weeks)

I actually have no idea what my work’s sickness policy is. I’m a teacher. I have a chronic pain condition and as a result have had to have a bunch of appointments and I’ve never been made to feel that it’s an issue. I’ve been allowed time to view flats once I found out my landlord was selling, and every single time I’ve been sick the head has sent supportive messages urging me to rest and not come back until I’m ready.

This approach means that when we are ill we don’t come in and we don’t stress and so we are able to actually get well. I had covid recently and I felt so awful but thanks to my head I was able to come back when I was fully better, not when I just felt able to drag myself in and get through the day, which my head said could have lead to me feeling crap for longer.

As for my condition, I can’t help it when I have a flare up and having a supportive employer has been an absolute game changer.

in civil service there’s a ‘welcome back’ meeting after each sick absence, if you’ve taken either 3 periods or 9 days in any rolling 12 mth period then additional action may be triggered.

We have RTW meetings after any incidence of sickness absence. We also get 6 months full pay. Company uses Bradford factor as a way to monitor and I believe discussions take place if it goes over 100. I don’t personally know of anyone who abuses this (I think?)
and I myself don’t like to be off unless I absolutely have to

Civil service again have imposed additional problem you have to attend office 60% of working month and in London area minimum of 40% per week to qualify for London pay…

This is making me want to be a teacher....! Have considered it several times, went so far as phoning up this year. As I have a first in a science subject and A at a-level in maths - they told me I could teach Maths (!) or science and they were quite keen but I'm old to be changing career at this point.

Though I am looking to change job partly due to my company's attitude to sickness which is mirrored in other areas. Used to be a great place to work, got taken over by new management now it's soul destroying and they really don't care.

@suki1964 which is why it is much harder to get hired if you are disabled or older. The amount of sick leave you take does not matter. The assumption is simply that you are more likely to be off ill.

In my old work they didn't care about sick leave and most people took at least one day off a month.
Where I work now, you have a back to work meeting even if 1 day off sick. When you have 8 sick days in 1 year, you get referred to Occupational Health and are put on review.

I’m just going into my 7 month of sick leave. Still on full pay. All certified. You have to self certify for the first 5 days, you won’t get a doctor to certify for 2 days. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to sack someone for sick leave.

It absolutely definitely isn’t. 🤦🏻‍♀️

(But then you didn’t get the self cert rules right either.)

Return to work is standard at my work and we also use the Bradford scale so 3 periods of sickness in 12 months will lead to disciplinary action/potential dismissal. Although I have been there a while so they actually sick leave is quite generous (not sure what it's like for new starters).

What bugs me a lot is that employers are doing nothing to reduce the spread of infectious illnesses at work, employees therefore feel pressured to come in sick and that just passes the problem on to other people who also become sick too.

We at least need to start wearing masks if we're in work with a respiratory infection.

Ultimately we need better sick pay and sick leave , and clean air in workplaces - all things I am hoping the government will address in due course.

Sorry, you have to self certify for the first 7 days, which for a lot of people is 5 working days which is why I inadvertently said 5 days.

I work in a primary school. Often in the autumn term I have back to back colds for months . They are ok about people being sick. We do have rtw meetings but it is is much more about whether you are feeling ok and if you feel you need help. I mean what the hell are you supposed to do when you are surrounded by kids and adults who are always ill. I have had small kids literally cough and sneeze into my mouth- that’s what they do. They vomit on you too. Then you get parents who send kids in when they should be at home. Those kids make others ill. Thank god I never get any of the d and v bugs.

You can get income protection insurance to pay you a percentage of your salary if you're signed off sick by a Dr, but it usually has a minimum 4 week deferment period before it can kick in. It's probably one of the lesser known but most important insurances in the UK & I wish more people looked into it because as this thread has shown, lots of employers are still in the Victorian mentality of treating their workers like robots to be discarded if they are not being productive enough, & not deserving of compassion.

Whilst I am a dose up & carry on type, I am lucky to have the option not to go to the office to share my illness around. It baffles me why employers think they are getting more out of workers when they are working less productively when sick & spreading germs for others to then do the same, rather than let the first sick worker have paid time to get better then come back at full speed.