To ask if anyone deliberately plans/uses their sick leave as part of their entitlement?

[OneOpenRedShaker]

I know some people who treat sick leave as an entitlement and plan/schedule when to use it, even when they’re not seriously ill. I’m curious to know if anyone else does this, or if most people reserve it for when they’re genuinely sick. Do you view sick leave as a right to use as needed, or is it something that should be used sparingly?

I have colleagues who do it to get more time off in summer when the kids are off.

They happily admit it but it never gets taken seriously.

It wouldn’t bother me so much but I have a disability and am terrified of being off even if it’s really causing me an issue, in case it makes HR think I shouldn't be employed.

I worked with a couple of nurses who used to count how much annual leave and sick leave they had left to take. There is one current nurse who takes six months off every year. I work in the NHS and have not had one day off sick in 30 years. It takes all sorts.

Never. It’s not an entitlement to make sure you use before the end of the working year, it’s a benefit that should only be used when truly needed.

Worked in a large team previously, had one person who would plan his holidays in his diary with his sick leave and annual leave to cover them. Others who had 4-6 months off every year, you knew who they were and could take bets on when they’d go off. Always made a miraculous recovery the day before full sick pay ran out. It was infuriating for the rest of us. As you can tell we had very few effective managers at this place, one of the reasons I left!

I've never known anyone to do this. Well, not that I know of. I used to deal with staffing a lot at work and there were a few who I did wonder if they were taking the piss a bit. Certainly those who would go off if they just weren't feeling it that day. But tbh, I think I was a mug in the past and would drag myself into work even when I shouldn't have been there. Not sure what I thought I was proving. I don't do that anymore. I won't work if I'm ill. If they haven't got cover that is honestly not my problem (in my current job). They should hire enough people to not have the place fall apart if one person is off for a day or two

I have never done this and don't understand why people would. Surely it goes on your record when you're looking for your next job ? No-one in my team does this.

There is one current nurse who takes six months off every year.

If this is true then your Trust is not applying its sickness absence policy. Where I work, you wouldn't be able to do that without going into the sickness absence review system.

In every workplace I have ever been there are individuals who pad out annual leave with sick days, pretty much always self cert, and seemingly mindful of disciplinary triggers. Essentially giving themselves 10 days extra AL each year.

I have also had colleagues take extended period of leave up to 6 months, worked out over a rolling 18 month period so absence triggers do not kick in.

Infuriating as the abuse of policy is so flagrant, and utterly contemptuous of the rest of the staff who have to provide cover.

No but for the first three years of working from home, I pretty much worked no matter how ill I was because I felt I couldn’t call in sick when I was at home anyway. That attitude of mine shifted this year and when I had a bout of D&V at Easter, I called in sick and I will continue to do so if I feel I’m not well enough to be in the main office.

No. I use my sick leave for when I'm sick though, rather than being a martyr.

I’ve never know anyone to take months every year but 1 day or so yes.

Sick leave is to be used as and when you are too ill to work, surely? It’s not an extension of annual leave, which is what these people seem to be suggesting?

I didn’t even know there could be a set number of days for it - doesn’t that defeat the object?

In all the jobs I've had in this country, it's been made quite clear in all the policies and codes of conduct that sick leave is only for when you are too ill to work and that's how I've used it. I think it can be different in other countries like the USA but I believe they get fewer allocated leave days and bank holidays than we tend to get here in the UK.

No I never did, but I do regret not using sick days for mental health and stress, and working myself into a breakdown and burnout by not seeing poor mental health as a legitimate reason for sick leave. However, it wasn't just me, the whole organisation had this 'macho' shut up and put up attitude, seeing it as just part of the job.

I have also had colleagues take extended period of leave up to 6 months, worked out over a rolling 18 month period so absence triggers do not kick in.

how can this not trigger something? And what happens to the work?

@DriverMeCrazy as an ex civil servant, I'm astounded.

when I retired (years ago) sick leave entitlement was six months full Pay six months half pay.

has it really changed that much? It must have, because it's not feasible to take such an entitlement.

in a 40+year s in CS, I twice had to use the six months paid leave. Both times with cancer, but with a 15 year gap.

I’m not sure what the percentages are but I would have thought more people would get full company paid sick pay.
my company pays full pay for the first x weeks of sickness, where x is the number of years with the company. Or something like that

Bloody hell, it’s awful that some people do this. I am currently signed off sick and have been since August. I have an amazing GP and an amazingly supportive manager at work, so I’m very lucky. I do feel like a total skiver though!

We used to have "5 weeks paid leave, 5 days self-certified sick days, [7] public holidays" (forget however public holidays).

Absolutely everyone saw that as 6 weeks paid leave. One of those weeks you just didn't travel. You'd take off a Friday during a quiet period or something.

Mind you, this was an industry where people regularly work 80-100hour weeks, and would have to cancel or delay holidays fairly regularly. If any boss had dared to question sick leave they would have been faced with a mass exodus.

I would only use it if need to stay at home sick. Been in my current role 4 years and can only recall one day of sick, when I had been vomiting in the night. Managed to never test positive for Covid so assume never had it.

After working for twenty odd years and never really being recognized/appreciated for the hard work I put in, I'm starting to use my sick leave/parental allowance.

Everyone else does.

I only get 5 paid sick days a year. I tend to go in when I’m sick or WFH and save the sick days for when my (very healthy) DC is unwell. In the end, I didn’t take a single sick day last year.

I don’t do it, but I know of a couple who do. Funnily enough they absolutely rinsed time off during covid, as the employer didn’t count isolating when family members had it, against sick leave

We used to have a woman who was always off more than most, she appeared one day in January to book her annual holidays and went off sick again!

I just use it when I'm sick.

Also don't know what each vote means here but sick leave should be used for sickness not holiday.