Absence/sickness policies.

unlikelyheroine

getmore4less wrote: »

30 days in 3 years is a lot.

For what it's worth, I agree. zzzLazyDaisy did a great summary too. Where someone is seriously ill or has ongoing known problems, but is otherwise a valued employee, in my experience employers are accommodating. If someone is calling in sick at an average of more than one day a month over the last few years for a variety of minor ailments, it is going to raise questions. I have had two days off sick in two years with a virus that I absolutely could not work through. Other days I have had coughs and colds and taken myself in, in order to make sure my sickness record isn't too badly affected. I am sure 30 days in 3 years would trigger a review for me at work.

I am not criticising the OP who may have been very genuinely ill, but some people take the view that they have a right to be off when they don't feel 100 per cent. Really you should only call in sick when you absolutely cannot work.

dseventy

What you need to remember is that when you are not at work (because of illness) you are not fulfilling your contractual duties.

We expect employers to satisfy their obligations to the letter, but somehow being off sick is not seen in the same light.

D70

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

getmore4less wrote: »

30 days in 3 years is a lot.

Thank goodness you are not my boss or work for my company. I had ten months off last year, full pay.

Oh, and I had only been with them four months

unlikelyheroine

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

Thank goodness you are not my boss or work for my company. I had ten months off last year, full pay.

Oh, and I had only been with them four months

But then if you did that again this year and next, they may see it differently. Three years of this sort of absence will trigger a review at many places of work.

Some employers may be more willing than others to allow it, but dseventy raises a valid point. There may be valid reasons for absence, and the employee may work hard and well at other times, but you could look at it as thirty days in three years is basically a month's wages expended for no work received from the employee. Unless the employee is seriously ill I still think it's a lot.

blckbrd

ILW wrote: »

Is 10 days per year off sick actually average?
Or is that just for the public sector?

If you Google 'ill health procedure' loads of public sector documents come up so you can check for yourself.

I'd not presume to say what's average. 3 occurences in a rolling 12 months might be enough to trigger. That could be 3 days or 3 weeks or three months.

Personally. I've gone a couple of years without being sick and then had everything bar rabies in a short, stressful period of time.

Fire_Fox

AllSpent wrote: »

I have been given a formal warning for a period of short, self-limiting absence while already on an informal stage. I was warned that further absence would lead to the case beng referred to the upper-management in the company, which could result in possible dismissal. We are not talking high levels of days off.

It seems grossly unfair that the policy sets such narrow parameters, and doesn't take into account what the absence was for, and in what context.

In essence, I am now going to worry for a number of months in case I need more time off for a cold/flu/injury.

How easily can employees be dismissed for small amounts of sickness such as those which are unpreventable, and self-limiting?

Why on earth would you need time off for a common cold? Just get yourself into work whatever state you are in and let them send you home OR get a certificate from your doctor EVERY time for EVERY day of each sickness absence.

I've worked with a badly sprained ankle - actually three in the space of as many months! - despite having an active job, I went in and did what I could which was appreciated. My doctor would have signed me off but I didn't want to let my clients or colleagues down. Absence is then 'saved' for when I CANNOT work, which I do have a history of (mental health).

AllSpent wrote: »

I was signed off with a chest infection. I have had less than thirty days in the last three years. There are long periods where absences do not occur. I feel the policy is being implemented very robustly.

Also, as I work with in public health, and have contact with patients, so some minor ailments require time off; patients have to be considered with things like norovirus, etc.

Less than 30 days is absolutely loads! Why are you getting infections? I've worked in healthcare/ with the public my entire working life and I don't. In all seriousness review your lifestyle and diet, stop smoking if you do, maintain a healthy weight, get the recommended 10000 steps a day, regular sleep patterns, consistently meet or exceed ALL the governments healthy eating guidelines.

Since altering my lifestyle I've had one common cold in six or eight years when I used to get one every winter, and one bout of food poisoning after eating a curry I was too lazy to reheat properly. If you've had a bout of norovirus or antibiotics ask your GP about taking a freeze dried probiotic supplement (acidophilus) to repopulate your gut flora. The beneficial bacteria form a key part of your immune system.

AllSpent

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why on earth would you need time off for a common cold? Just get yourself into work whatever state you are in and let them send you home OR get a certificate from your doctor EVERY time for EVERY day of each sickness absence.

I've worked with a badly sprained ankle - actually three in the space of as many months! - despite having an active job, I went in and did what I could which was appreciated. My doctor would have signed me off but I didn't want to let my clients or colleagues down. Absence is then 'saved' for when I CANNOT work, which I do have a history of (mental health).




Less than 30 days is absolutely loads! Why are you getting infections? I've worked in healthcare/ with the public my entire working life and I don't. In all seriousness review your lifestyle and diet, stop smoking if you do, maintain a healthy weight, get the recommended 10000 steps a day, regular sleep patterns, consistently meet or exceed ALL the governments healthy eating guidelines.

Since altering my lifestyle I've had one common cold in six or eight years when I used to get one every winter, and one bout of food poisoning after eating a curry I was too lazy to reheat properly. If you've had a bout of norovirus or antibiotics ask your GP about taking a freeze dried probiotic supplement (acidophilus) to repopulate your gut flora. The beneficial bacteria form a key part of your immune system.

I appreciate all your advice. I feel I may have been misunderstood earlier. I was not off with a cold, another poster raised that after my speculation of possible reasons for a day off.

In terms of, "go to work and let them send you home", makes no difference. They (the employer) advise if you need to be off, then go home. Unfortunately, they then throw the book at you when you return.

Also, in terms of lifestyle, I've been active since my early twenties, and am currently fitter than ever. I don't smoke, drink, etc. I am prone to chesty-type prblems which linger, and have been unlucky over the past two years or so.

GP letter's don't matter either, as I have found when referencing my medical note.

In fact, maybe I should take a leaf out of some my colleagues' books, who are overweight, red-faced, smoke, drink, think walking to the fridge is exercise; they always seem well. I jest of course. Judging by some of the posts though, I seem to be a lazy, work-shy, Jeremy Kyle-watching malingerer, who needs to sort his life out. I take exception to that: I have never watched day-time TV in my life...except Neighbours...and Home & Away...oh and Trisha:-)

FBaby

There is common cold and Common Cold. I've just got over one, and it wasn't a case of a few nose blows and sneezes. My nose was completely blocked for most of the time and my sinuses were so inflammed, but all face hurt. It started on Wednesday, I made to work on Thursday, and push myself on Friday, but I really struggled and my 3pm, I couldn't do it any longer. I was almost in tears from pain and exhaustion and couldn't concentrate any longer. I slept all day Saturday and Sunday and was back on Monday, not feeling 100% but able to get on with my work.

Saying that, 10 days a year average is A LOT. Any common infection will 3 to 4 days. So unless you are very unlucky that each time they hit in the middle of the week, it is likely that you should only have 1 or 2 days off with a day or two off during week-ends and/or holidays. That's would be an average of 5 infections a year. Even working with people, that is just a lot and I can understand it would trigger some serious questions.

Sickness levels in the NHS are high, having serious impact of service delivery. It has to be tackled when it reaches a certain point.

AllSpent

It's irrelevant to me if a virus strikes in the middle of the week, as I work a variety of shifts, with some stints of seven/eight days. I take your point, it would be handy if the crappy bit of any illness hits you just before a few rest days, but of course that doesn't always happen.

However, your point about high absence for NHS staff is pertinent, and perhaps I am only being managed according to my high sickness rate. I guess I need to do something about that, but it doesn't stop me feeling that due to the level of service delivery lost as you mentioned, that the level of implementation of these policies, with little mitigation being accepted, are certainly steering people (outliers) out of employment.

My main thrust on this topic was about whether these policies are sometimes applied more robustly than they need to be, and whether the support that is offered is a box-ticking exercise, rather than a genuine attempt to penetrate the cause of absence, with a view to decreasing that level of absenteeism.

It was briefly steered toward a, "I've only ever had two days off in 95 years" debate, and the mention of a 'cold', which was intended to serve as an example (one I am slightly regretting now) seems to have further deviated from the original point, as well as being taken up by other postsers.

In conclusion, I have had higher than average absence, although not astonishing so in comparison to my peers. Also, I may carry a genetic code for 'shirkism', but I was born with it and should not be discrimiated for it:-)

I still think I - like many others - am being managed out of the door, and that my employer would like to termiate my employment, or better still, see me leave. The high rates of staff resigning recently are probably testament to that.

mimi1234

The only time I have had off sick over the last 7 years is when I got stung by a wasp on the way to a conference and my neck swelled up. Not had a single day off sick other than that.

However, everyone else seems to be on a rota, they have at least 5 days off sick in any 3 months and they all seem to take turns, so I think I am well due some sick leave.

Your company rules are really strict OP. If my workplace had those rules, I think I would be the only one left!