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’m all fairness my boss let my do a different role when I was at work ill.
If she hadn’t then I probably would have taken sick leave as I could not do my regular job.

If I haven’t been sick for let’s say 6 months I will take a sick day and uses it as a mental health day. I don’t take the piss and I genuinely do it to get back on top of life/emotions etc

This is such a bizarre idea to me. Unless I'm properly sick, why would I take a sick day when I'd just have to do all the work the next day?

Where are people working that there are people taking months of sick leave on a regular basis? Why aren't they being managed out?

When I was teaching we knew when the caravan sites had opened for the Summer by the frequency of Mondays and/or Fridays that a couple of women phoned in sick!

I'd get up to forty days paid sick leave per year but that doesn't mean I'm taking 8 weeks off per year because I'm entitled to it. Nor are any of my colleagues. Because it's for when you're actually ill. They're not a different version of Bank Holidays!

I use sick leave for interviews for a new role 🤣
And 3-4 days a year when I just cannot be bothered to work.
On a flio side, I am never really ill so there are noother sick days from me.

Definitely not public sector - from the replies sounds like it’s very much the private sector, and driven by employers specifying the number of days employees can have off sick - making them regard that as a target number.

I’m public sector and people don’t go off sick unless they need to be off sick.

The only thing not right is it should be socially acceptable to have mental health recovery days rather than having to lie about it

This thread is quite illuminating in terms of the low productivity of this country.

I’ve never looked at sick leave like this. I use it when I’m ill or occasionally over the years when I’m exhausted and need to recuperate or I know I will be ill.

I’ve ‘chucked a sickie ’ in my younger days when I was much more reckless or in jobs with little responsibility (although not for many years), but I’ve never pre-planned using up sick leave as annual leave.

I have a friend that does this. Never genuinely ill just milks that they can take sick leave on full pay for up to 6 months. They've worked there for years and done this for many years it's always amazed me how they've gotten away with it.

Amazing.

Don't be so arrogant to think your employer doesn't know you're a slacker. I suspect your performance isn't up to scratch elsewhere too.

I work from home and not had a sick day sInce that started, so 6 years or so now. If I went to the office I would have had a few as there is a big difference to an hour on the tube to a busy office than a day working at home when ill.

I know people who abuse sick days. PIsses me off but I guess I could do the same just choose not to be a dick.

5 days!? That’s appalling. Do you have private sick insurance at least?

I have heard of people doing this in companies where the paid sick leave is only a few days. I can see it may feel like an entitlement in that way although I would be too worried about using them up and then needing them.

I work in the public sector and get 5 months full sick pay and 5 months half currently. I obviously don’t take that as an entitlement. My workplace is good to me so if I am unwell I usually try to just reschedule things and work from home. I have had 1.5 days off sick in the last 4 years. I will say however that I have been guilty in previous jobs of taking a sick day when I felt unwell on a Friday and had exciting plans at the weekend that I wanted to feel better for…but otherwise was probably well enough to make the effort to go in.

I was always fortunate enough to have not used my sick leave and thank goodness, as an emergency operation has left me unable to work.
As I hadn't used any leave it has enabled me three months recovery on full pay. I am already concerned that this will effect my employability in the future, so can only surmise people who misuse their sick leave must work in a different field to me.
If people are that ambiguous or hate their jobs that they manipulate sick leave (which is a perk, not a right), I wish they would just get another job, their absence impacts on someone and to do it regularly is narcissistic and selfish.

Yes my company use the Bradford system and it is ridiculously tight.
Any parent taking sick leave during school holidays would be flagged. Same for Mondays and Fridays. Or sickness on birthdays or know families birthdays. Or sick the same/similar week each year.
Tne reason this was brought in was due to abuse of the system by previous colleagues who no longer work here.
Thanks for that!

What the holy fuck am I reading?

It's an entitlement IF YOU ARE SICK.

By your (entitled) argument, are non-pregnant women entitled to 9 months of paid leave, because if you don't use it you lose it?

Hmm, I get 6 months fully paid leave in my 'entitlement'. Maybe I should call in sick tomorrow and for the next six months, despite not being sick, because if I don't use it I'll lose it?

And what happens if your husband were to use up the 3 days and then actually be too unwell to work?

The trouble with thinking that you are 'entitled' to sick days is that if you do become genuinely ill for example with cancer - you'll really need those sick days but will have run out.

Sick leave is for when you're too sick to work. That's why it's called sick leave.

I would be very unimpressed if anyone in my team tried to use it as 'bonus' annual leave.

This is what puts me off pulling sickies. More so than the moral aspect tbh.

All of this.

Also I'm too superstitious to do that. I don't want to tempt fate by claiming I'm sick - and then actually getting sick.

These threads do bring out the pisstakers, but they also bring out the ‘I haven’t had a day off sick in 10 years’ brigade, too. Do they want a medal for being lucky enough not to have been too ill to work?

We had a guy like this in my last job.

He was at work for 6 months of the year, then would go off for 6 months, then return just before the half pay was due to kick in.

So he was paid for a full year, but only work for 6 months each year. This went on for years and as far as I know he's still there, doing the same.

He majored the condition he had that is officially a disability and threatened to throw the book at them. Weak management too. Funny how he was suddenly well enough to work for the 6 months of the year he wouldn't have been paid in full for.

Still makes my blood boil to this day.