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 not sure what you mean by ‘allowed’ - it’s not as if there’s a quota you get to take such as with annual leave?

Sounds great!

@Abigail47

"Say if you have two different colds. And you're coughing sneezing and your throat is sore."

You dose up and go to work.

No wonder your absence record is so high!

Ex-public sector HR and I dealt with hundreds of sickness cases where dismissal was considered (but often not enacted).

All public sector orgs I worked in had very clear policies about it. I agree that presenteeism is unhealthy, but there’s no way an org spending tax payers money should have no boundaries.

Where I work every single episode of sickness has a return to work meeting.

Are you aware you replied “sounds great” when a poster said she was off because she was seriously ill?

Im sure she would rather have been at work.

You do get used to employees.i did used to my last employer, who definitely didnt get angry about less than five days of sick leave and were supportive.

So it was definitely a shock to me that my current employer takes it so seriously.

Its not really clear in our contract either about sick leave.

4 sick days in 7 months is a lot. In a new starter, it’s a hell of a lot & would constitute a red flag for many employers.

I haven’t taken a sick day since February 23, when I had covid. This is normal.

3 days off with no doctors note, anything longer needs a note. Total full paid sick days are 20 per year, after that it’s 90 days on half-pay. There is no policy of return to work meetings to discuss your illness, you just go back to work. Never has my supervisor periodically checked when I’ll be back when I am off sick because they already know via email and my out of office. WFH when you’re sick is pretty much at your discretion, the preference is that you do what you need to get better and we’re actively encouraged not to come in if sick so you don’t expose everyone else. Sick leave is completely separate from annual leave, and you’re never expected to use your annual to cover medical related absences.

However, I am not in Europe and know that rules around leave are very different there.

OP - the policy in your office seems standard for UK but I think is unreasonable. With our much more generous sick leave policy I find fewer people take time off than colleagues in our European and North American offices where the policy is similar to yours.

our place is 20 days sick but does affect your bonus so people don't use it. though I would have to be on death's door before i ring in sick. have a cold i dose up and work from home if have to. if its 5 days or more you have to do a return to work form as its part of health and safety

Even of you are then going to give your cold to everyone else?

And I felt too bad to go in at the time. I didn't want to go in, I felt tok sick.

Believe me if I was well enough to go in I would have gone in.

I didn't get paid for the sick leave. So I lost two days pay which was quite a lot of money to me.

Everyone doesn't get sick every year, it's very rare other than COVID that anyone is off where I work now and also where I used to work before that even during COVID. I haven't been off sick for years

What you have with your current employer sounds pretty standard to me

Everyone would be sacked from my team if that was the case in my job 😂😂 to answer your question no I don’t think 4 days off is a lot in 7 months. When I worked in an office I’d take anywhere from 0-5 days off a year and that was standard for most people although a few people had slightly longer periods of sickness.

ETA: I don’t know if my workplace use the Bradford thing. But no one I know has been pulled up for sickness. And you’re allowed 6 months off on full pay then it goes down to half pay. Obviously you’d have to be signed off to take so much time off though so I guess that makes a difference. I imagine if someone was for example coming in one day a week then self-certifying for another 7 days and repeating that pattern of course HR would be involved.

Again, a lot of employers don't give you any option to work from home.

Mine doesn't. WE must be in the office five days a week

My last job was in retail the first three days were unpaid, but then you got up to six weeks of full pay each year before going on to SSP.

I'm now self-employed so I never take a sick day unless I literally can't get out of bed - I've taken two days in five years. I work alone though so no risk of spreading bugs around.

I'm another who thinks 4 days in 7 months is a lot and in a new starter I absolutely wouldn't be impressed. I've not had 4 days off sick in 10 years at my current company but I'm able to wfh so just do that if I have a cold!

I don't think you answered the previous questions about whether you've moved from public to private sector (apologies if you have and I missed it!) as that was my thought too!

This bothers me.

As much as the stupid 100% attendance awards in school.

As if getting ill or not is a choice!

Even here we have poster crowning they've not been ill over a 12 month period.

Bully for you.

I'm sure many people who don't travel on public transport to a busy office will get less sick than those who do.

People not working in schools or health/ care sector are less likely to be around germs.

Those who work from home are probably much more able not to be off sick!

I don't have a high sick record. 2/3 incidents in a year. Often 1-2 of those are D and V which requires by policy 48hrs off. But if parents didn't send their kids into school when they'd been vomiting all night I imagine that would happen less or not at all!

We do have to do BTW interview. Very often it's just a quick are you ok and is there anything you need adjusted to help you.

I think a lot of places tightened up as there are always a few people who take the mick with sick leave. And these are the same people who complain loudly that they are being discriminated against if management takes action against them and no one else, so management have to treat everyone the same ie check up on everyone. When I managed a team I knew exactly who was taking the piss and who wasn’t so could reassure the genuine ones that it was a policy we had to follow, so it was unlikely to be a problem for them.

You keep saying it’s 4 days in a whole year OP, but it’s not. It’s 4 days in half a year. If you did that again that’s 8 days in a year.

It’s normal to have a back to work meeting after sickness in my workplace.

A new starter who’d basically had 4 days in their first 6 months would probably be a red flag in my workplace.

I think we can have 3 periods of sickness in a year, or 3 percent. I'm not fully aware, I don't tend to take any time off and haven't had a sick day for 3 years. You wouldn't get dismissed, you'd get a disciplinary (which might lead to getting dismissed if it kept happening), but if it was for a good reason (serious illness or you were genuinely incapacitated) it would be fine and you could get full sick pay for months.

I absolutely hate the attitude of dragging yourself to work if you're sick. People get sick different amounts, it's just life!

I'm fortunate that I'm self employed, and wfh, and whilst that means I don't get paid if I don't work, I have flexibility if sick.

Last month alone I'd have had at least the 4 days the OP had. Two kids in different settings (and one with immunity issues) mean we get lots of illness. Within 10 days in July I had a cold, a D&V bug and then Covid, all of which the kids got also. We repeatedly went down like dominos.

Other people rarely seem to get ill, though most of the mum friends I have are constantly lunching from one bug to another. The combination of exhaustion, lack of sleep, lack of time for self care and being hugged by tiny petri dishes masquerading as small children takes its toll.

It's usually pretty easy to tell those who are genuinely sick as we still look like death warmed up when we come back 😂

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.

People move around jobs a lot.

In my current job, my manager has worked there for one year.

On my team, the people that have been there the longest, have been there for one year.

I'm considered an old timer at seven months.
I was training the new starts last week

@Abigail47 I think that 4 days in 7 months from a new employee would be a red flag to many employers, I'm sorry to say. They don't know that you had a good sick record where you worked before.

I absolutely would not claim a sick day for your hospital appointment - because you're not sick and now you have told them that you need it for a hospital appointment you will probably find yourself in a lot more trouble if you do that. You need to ask your manager and show them the letter of appointment