Sick Days & AMP

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Please explain how a set number of sick days encourages bad behaviour. Are you assuming the majority of employees cheat when it comes to taking sick days? I think that some employees may take advantage but the majority do not.

Sick days are really like automobile insurance. It is there if you need it but you can't expect a payout if you are not entitled to it.
 
paradox3 said:
I don't think it is unreasonable for the employer to want an estimate of how long an employee is expected to be off work. But they need to understand it is an estimate only. . . you can never predict complications, individual recovery times, etc.

Much might depend on how you are asked about this by the company occ health nurse.
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My surgeon had sent in the required forms about how long I would need to be off for this surgery. How this additional inquisition, prior to the surgery, was going to save anyone any money is quite beyond me...
 
Pinga said:
I have seen the same behaviour in union contracts that have sick days. I know people who phoned in sick so they could keep bankign their sick days for their eventual retirement.
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Almost all contracts these days do not pay out sick days at retirement. One is , however, allowed to maintain them on a 3-year revolving basis, so that one can avoid going on disability for 'shorter' term illnesses like a surgery.

OTOH, when my idiot 'boss' told me that she was going to "insist" that I return to a 5-day a week work week upon my announcement that I was retiring after a few years at 80% full-time, I did never again work a 5 day week...
 
BetteTheRed said:
Almost all contracts these days do not pay out sick days at retirement.
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I would not have thought of whether my employer will pay out sick days. I may check into that. I doubt they will.

I am part of a unionized workplace. Unions have ben controversial. We do though, enjoy a lot of benefits because of unions. My grandfather was a strong union man. His generation made our workplaces and benefits better.
 
paradox3 said:
Please explain how a set number of sick days encourages bad behaviour. Are you assuming the majority of employees cheat when it comes to taking sick days? I think that some employees may take advantage but the majority do not.

Sick days are really like automobile insurance. It is there if you need it but you can't expect a payout if you are not entitled to it.
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People see them as # of days off they are entitled to, sick or not. People also might be more hesitant to use a sick day in Jan or Feb whereas they are more lax later in the year.

If there's just a general policy and not a set # of days it sets a tone of flexibility, but also responsibility.
 
Back when I worked for Tm Hrtns, I had one coworker who I often felt sorry for. She would get sick a lot - three or four times a month, and her sickness always seemed to hit her on either a Friday or a Monday. Being sick on a weekend is no fun at all.
 
Our maximum possible accumulation of sick time is taylored to the time that is the wait period for pay if going on disability benefits.
Junior, who is working at a garage, has actually been told that he should be taking the two sick days he can have in a year as they don’t get carried over. On the other hand, two paid sick days a year is not much, a flu would take you out for longer.
(I found that rather unusual.) . Having sick time accumulating gives you the benefit of being able to use it when you need it- operations, broken legs and so on. I think employers should rather concentrate on improving the work moral. When the team comes to the point that everyone feels so devalued that they don’t give a s**t.... then employees will take advantage of sick benefits.
 
Jae said:
Back when I worked for Tm Hrtns, I had one coworker who I often felt sorry for. She would get sick a lot - three or four times a month, and her sickness always seemed to hit her on either a Friday or a Monday. Being sick on a weekend is no fun at all.
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I used to get sick on a Friday or weekend a lot, because I would drag myself to work all week and it seemed that the moment I relaxed I would get sicker.
 
I definitely go to work sick. I have 3 paid “sick/apppntment” days a year and use them sparingly. I can not afford to not get paid.
 
paradox3 said:
Please explain how a set number of sick days encourages bad behaviour. Are you assuming the majority of employees cheat when it comes to taking sick days? I think that some employees may take advantage but the majority do not.

Sick days are really like automobile insurance. It is there if you need it but you can't expect a payout if you are not entitled to it.
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The concept is that some people won't be sick most years, some people will be sick more than the average.
If you don't name the amount, but, encourage people to take time off when sick, then you end up with less sick days used.
In addition, if someone has a bad year, say the year their first child starts daycare and brings all sorts of new bugs home, then, you also just take the appropriate time off.

When people have x sick days, the trends as I was told by HR was that there were more people coming to work when they were a bit sick as they didn't want to consume their sick days early, and more people taking time off when not sick at the end of the year as they consumed them.
 
ChemGal said:
People see them as # of days off they are entitled to, sick or not. People also might be more hesitant to use a sick day in Jan or Feb whereas they are more lax later in the year.

If there's just a general policy and not a set # of days it sets a tone of flexibility, but also responsibility.
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Thanks Chemgal
 
OTOH, if one is running a company and you know that the "non-administrative staff" has a union agreement of 10 sick days per year, one can just budget for that, and if they're sick less than that - it's to YOUR benefit...
 
BetteTheRed said:
OTOH, if one is running a company and you know that the "non-administrative staff" has a union agreement of 10 sick days per year, one can just budget for that, and if they're sick less than that - it's to YOUR benefit...
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Until they come in with something contagious early in the year and get those non-unionized sick. Especially if they have something minor where staying home for a few days would greatly reduce the most contagious period that could turn into something much more serious for someone else.
 
Chemgal, I'm not even sure we're talking about the same thing.

I worked in a "union shop" where you got either 10 (support) or 12 (faculty) sick days per year. I was never under the impression that anyone wished to infect anyone else with their particular 'bug'...
 
Pinga said:
I argue against sick days because it drives wrong behaviour.
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I'm having a strong reaction to this statement. Do you really have such a negative view of people Pinga? I for one am thankful to have sick days. I do not abuse the benefit. I know that I can take a day if necessary.
 
BetteTheRed said:
Chemgal, I'm not even sure we're talking about the same thing.

I worked in a "union shop" where you got either 10 (support) or 12 (faculty) sick days per year. I was never under the impression that anyone wished to infect anyone else with their particular 'bug'...
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No one wishes to, but someone who thinks there's a good chance they will have sicker days and will need to save their sick days is likely to come in and infect others.
 
Or everyone consumes their sick days in December.

I would much rather work in a place where if folks are sick, they take time off. There is no predefined number. If I am sick a day a year, I take a day. If i am sick for two weeks in a row , then I take my two weeks. If I am sick three times for 3 days each, and then get sick again, that i take the time.
 
Northwind said:
I'm having a strong reaction to this statement. Do you really have such a negative view of people Pinga? I for one am thankful to have sick days. I do not abuse the benefit. I know that I can take a day if necessary.
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Since I have known people who had defined sick days , and who get called in to cover those who have defined sick days, yes, I can state that it is misused.
 
Pinga said:
Or everyone consumes their sick days in December.

I would much rather work in a place where if folks are sick, they take time off. There is no predefined number. If I am sick a day a year, I take a day. If i am sick for two weeks in a row , then I take my two weeks. If I am sick three times for 3 days each, and then get sick again, that i take the time.
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Do you get your regular pay if you're off sick for those periods of time?
 
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