Sickness policy for most employers is unfair

Podge52

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I'm not condoning unreasonable behaviour, but if you're working anywhere where it's mission critical to have a certain no. of bums in the building, it must be very difficult for managers to manage when staff are sick at short notice, or it's unclear whether they'll be back tomorrow or next month.

I once worked somewhere where the switchboard operators and receptionists seemed to have very poor attendance records. But maybe I only noticed because every time one of them was sick, I had to pull one of my team off their normal job to cover.

It's a lot easier for employers these days, with zero hour contracts.

Cookiee

I worked for a company with similar policy. If you were sick 3 times in any rolling 12 month period then it was the start of a meeting review.

I had been there 8 yrs with only 1 week sickness (actually lost 1 pint of blood through haemorrhaging - sorry if TMI) which my previous boss was more concerned that I was ok then when I was coming back to work. When the company merged and I was working with another manager it was a different ball game. I had no sick for 2 years after the merger then unfortunately had 2 car accidents in 2 weeks of each other, then had an accident at work (fell down the stairs) 3 weeks later (and the prize for the most accident prone person on the planet in 2008 goes to yours truly lol). Anyway after the accident (which I only went to a&e on the Friday morning via ambulance which work called!!) and had the afternoon and weekend to recover, I came into work on the Monday slightly sore but ok on painkillers.

My then manager called me into the office and said I had to explain why I had had 3 sicknesses in 6 months! This is why I get really angry with sickness policies who don't take personal circumstances into consideration. Whilst I know that companies need to make things universally fair to all, not everyone can be painted with the same paintbrush.

Luckily I now work for a company that, whilst has a sickness policy, takes it on a personal circumstances.

SingleSue

FBaby wrote: »

All this has been triggered purely because people have gradually taken more liberty of the benefits of being paid whilst being at home with minor ailmants. It has almost become the norm, and the excuse of 'because otherwise I'll get everyone poorly' becoming the standard excuse.

My boss suffered a nasty cold three weeks ago. He came to work anyway. He sat in a small office with me and my colleague. Did we catch it? No. As a matter of fact, every time I do catch a cold, I can't figure out who I got it from.

People have become very dramatic about their diagnoses too. Cold are automatically relabled flu, stomach upsets become norovirus, sore throats tonsillitis etc... As for those who needs weeks after weeks to recover after surgery, it's amazing how the 'up to 6 weeks' become a definite 6 weeks from the start!

The reality is that people have become much less likely to get to work unless they are perfectly healthy, and this is what has led to these measures. It is indeed frightening for anyone who could suddenly suffer from a sudden succession of serious illnesses/injuries. I would however hope that a employer would show more sympathy in that case. It is one thing to be disciplined because procedures have to be followed, but with no different outcome than it is being disciplined because the company know one has been taking the p*** and wants to get rid of an employee.

When I had my hysterectomy, I tried to go back to work after 6 weeks only to be told by my company that I couldn't come back yet because the average in the company after a hysterectomy was 12-14 weeks and even then, it was a staged return!

I eventually persuaded them to let me come back at around the 9 or 10 week mark with no staged return.

It wasn't an active job, I worked in admin.

TrickyWicky

FBaby wrote: »

I'll get everyone poorly' becoming the standard excuse.

I worked somewhere once where over 12 people in the office ended up off because someone didn't call a sickie.

FBaby wrote: »

My boss suffered a nasty cold three weeks ago. He came to work anyway. He sat in a small office with me and my colleague. Did we catch it? No. As a matter of fact, every time I do catch a cold, I can't figure out who I got it from.

Not everyone has the same immune system as you though. Some of us catch colds quite quickly or easily. I almost never catch it from my partner (this year was the second time in 9 years) however if a total stranger walks past me sniffling I'm almost guaranteed to get it.

FBaby wrote: »

People have become very dramatic about their diagnoses too. Cold are automatically relabled flu, stomach upsets become norovirus, sore throats tonsillitis etc... As for those who needs weeks after weeks to recover after surgery, it's amazing how the 'up to 6 weeks' become a definite 6 weeks from the start!

Actually I can agree with that. I had a rotten cold a few years back which the boss insisted was flu - the boss! :eek:

FBaby wrote: »

The reality is that people have become much less likely to get to work unless they are perfectly healthy, and this is what has led to these measures.

No the trouble is that this country has a rather uncaring attitude towards its fellow people. We let immigrants in and give them housing, yet we'll happily see our own people homeless. We'll fly people over from the other side of the world for free NHS treatment yet make our own people wait for years. We'll insist that people work themselves into the ground when they're ill and "just get on with it" because it doesn't affect the rest of us.

The reality is that sick days are one of the few half decent things left for some of the workforce in this country and people like you are complaining about that too.

FBaby wrote: »

It is indeed frightening for anyone who could suddenly suffer from a sudden succession of serious illnesses/injuries. I would however hope that a employer would show more sympathy in that case.

Yeah but thanks to people like you suggesting that almost everyone who uses sick leave is taking the (text removed by MSE Forum Team), most employers don't give a damn about serious illness either. My last employer would have fired me instantly if I was still working for them when my surgery nearly killed me this year because like you (text removed by MSE Forum Team)

ohreally

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

it must be very difficult for managers to manage when staff are sick at short notice

Perhaps tendering notice of sickness is going to be a little akward.

martinthebandit

TrickyWicky wrote: »

No the trouble is that this country has a rather uncaring attitude towards its fellow people. We let immigrants in and give them housing, yet we'll happily see our own people homeless. We'll fly people over from the other side of the world for free NHS treatment yet make our own people wait for years..

Am I the only one who can spot a teensy little bit of irony in starting a paragraph like that by complaining about peoples uncaring attitude?

Savvy_Sue

ohreally wrote: »

Perhaps tendering notice of sickness is going to be a little akward.

:rotfl: I know, having once left work for the day perfectly healthy and not returned for 8 weeks after a close encounter with a recycling bin and the resulting need for an artificial shoulder.

However, the fact remains that in some jobs, it's a minor inconvenience if someone rings in sick, whereas in others it's a major problem. And if there is a lot of sickness, whatever the reason, it has to be managed.

I have to say my employer was great, it was the second extended period of sickness / phased return to work I'd needed, and although I am practically indispensable (especially for payroll!), the first question has always been "How are you?" rather than "When will you be back? We'll need to talk about your sickness record."

tori.k

I can't stand this, we regularly have staff that should be home coming into work due to harsh sickness rules it's counter productive in most cases, a few year's back we had a nasty case of flu doing the rounds and lost half the staff over the Christmas period mostly down to staff being pushed in when they should a been at home.

FBaby

I worked somewhere once where over 12 people in the office ended up off because someone didn't call a sickie.

Then there must have been some lack of hygiene taking place. You don't catch virus just for standing in the same room. You make sure you put your hands in front of your mouth when you sneeze, you wash your hands every time you touch something others do, you don't stand close to them when you talk ect... You can catch colds and sickness bugs anywhere anyway, so does this mean that you would stop going to the cinema, supermarket, out to eat because there might be people there with a virus?

Not everyone has the same immune system as you though. Some of us catch colds quite quickly or easily

As a matter of fact, I have a terrible immune system when it comes to colds and get one systematically every 2 to 3 months, whether I was around people with colds or not (usually not). It's been like this since I was a kid (even had surgery in my nose/throat as a kid to try to help). I've accepted it. Colds are not the end of the world. They make you feel rubbish, but they don't stop you functioning. If I stayed at home each time i have a cold, I would have a very poor sickness record indeed.

The reality is that sick days are one of the few half decent things left for some of the workforce in this country and people like you are complaining about that too.

And we do have that, but people take it for granted. When I worked in the States, you only had a total of 3 weeks sickness AND holiday. If you were sick a lot, you missed out on your holiday time. That was totally standard policy. I can tell you that very very few people were poorly with viruses or strains.

Re-read what I wrote. I am saying exactly that, that those who do not abuse the system get the raw end of the deal. However, in my environment, you kickly get to seperate those who seem to be regularly off for mysterious illnesses, and those who are trully poorly when they call in sick. A colleague of mine needed two surgeries after a length of serious illness. She no doubt triggered the disciplinary route, but all that took place was a meeting and that was all. When the restructure took place, she was immediately offered a job. Another colleague though was always off with this and that and we all knew that she exagerated or made up illnesses. Her post was surprisingly axed at that time.

skintandscared_2

At our firm, if you take more than 6 days off sick you start to lose your Christmas bonus pro-rata.