Can an employer make you use Holiday leave for op?

Miggie

I wish your girlfriend all the very best - loads of sympathy here from me.

Slightly off-topic, but US companies in the US are unhappy in general about giving sick leave...it may be a cultural thing, but the company should still know that they can't force someone in the UK to take holiday instead of sick leave.

http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/sick-leave/

Again, good luck to you both.

Miggie

Sorry, here's the relevant bit of the blog posted. It's a piece by Judith Warner in the New York Times.


"Nearly half of all private sector workers in our country – more than 59 million people – have no paid sick time at all. The problem is particularly acute among women, low-wage workers – more than three-quarters of whom have no paid sick days – and part-timers.

Food service employees are the least likely to have access to sick leave. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, only 14 percent of the people serving and handling food in restaurants can stay home from work when they’re coughing and sneezing, without fear of losing their jobs. ...among the food service employees .....only about one percent can stay home sick without the fear of losing pay or even their jobs."

Off topic but I'm amazed! :eek:

Again, all the best to you both.

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

jeez, havent read all the thread, but nothing like preparing for the worst!! I had 2 out and was back at work the next day with pain killers. The missus had a general for hers and was only off 2 days.

Fleago

I think it may be a cultural thing too, with the parent company being in the US. A while back I had a major op, which I knew would, on medical advice, necessitate at least six weeks off work. Prior to the op I joined a US based forum related to the surgery and there were many, many members of that forum who were having to go back less than two weeks after their ops because they had no entitlement to sickness pay and had no holidays to use. It was pitiful to see their posts after being back at work, recounting how ill they were, how they could hardly cope etc.

The OP's girlfriend is not in the US though and will be certificated by a doctor and therefore the company should be honouring their occupational sick pay scheme.

bigstevex

She's told them she's happy to go back a bit earlier but they have said she might not be covered on insurance if the doctor has actually signed her off, so its looking better

mum2one

bigstevex wrote: »

She's told them she's happy to go back a bit earlier but they have said she might not be covered on insurance if the doctor has actually signed her off, so its looking better

If the hospital has said 2 weeks off work,then they wouldnt of said it lightly, its not just the actual operation and what it entails theres the risk of infection, as well, also if u were signed off sick,went back to work and god forbid an accident happened you would not be insured.

Also everybody reacts differently to operations etc,so these are factors that also need to be taken into account.x

clairet707

Yikes hope it all goes well for your GF...

I had a similar operation 11 years ago to get my 4 wisdom teeth removed... I ended up having almost 4 weeks off (was at uni at the time not working though it should have only been 2 weeks off) as I had an infection in the wound and then had a reaction to the antibiotics they gave me.. One of my wisdom teeth had grown into my sinus (had had constant colds before the op, barely had a cold at all after)

I also had jaw surgery last year and was off for 4 weeks for that too - was working for that one and got SSP after day 3 (1 day) and then my companies long term illness benefit kicked in after that for the rest of the time (it was only 60% of my weekly wages though so it was perhaps as well i couldnt go out and party as I couldnt have afforded to..

bigstevex

Bit more info now, seems her manager got confused as to whether this was a required op or cosmetic relating to the braces gf is having fitted. Now that they understand even without having braces fitted its got to be done, they have said she can have the time they sign her off for

Success, turned out to be a simple mis-understanding :beer:

Although next problem is, the hospital will only sign her off for 1 day then our dentist has to do the rest.... here we go again lol!