It is a day that feels a little under the weather.
how many sick days is too many or too often?
- Thread starter jordan282
- Start date
It is a day that feels a little under the weather.
NEVER!
We all know the public sector workers are the most dedicated of workers who are absolutely indispensible and would never do anything like taking odd days off when they're not really sick.
Of course when it comes to stress...that's a whole different ball game! I know a few who've taken off several months at a time through supposed stress due to work, especially in local government or the teaching profession!
If your work is such that it makes you take time off due to stress more than once in your career, it's perhaps time to re-evaluate yourself and life and maybe get another job more suited to you.
That doesn't mean a decline in people getting sick though, just means more potentially contagious sick people at work.
I've had 4 days in the past year which i view as way too much.
The first was a 3-day stretch due to a chest infection, fortunately as soon as i got to the docs on day 2 the antibiotics cleared it up fairly fast.
The second was just a bad cold, normally i wouldn't take a day off for this but my boss instructed me to do so as it was a quiet day at work for me anyway.
The first was a 3-day stretch due to a chest infection, fortunately as soon as i got to the docs on day 2 the antibiotics cleared it up fairly fast.
The second was just a bad cold, normally i wouldn't take a day off for this but my boss instructed me to do so as it was a quiet day at work for me anyway.
[TW]Fox;18888252 said:
Some people have different thresholds. I haven't had a sick day in over 8 years.
I've been ill in that time, just not to the point where I couldn't function. There are people that work for my company that wake up with a thick head and a sniffle and don't want to attend.
I think you have nothing to worry, just explain to the manager how you feel about your sick days taken and it'll be fine.
My current employer pays for only 5 sick days per year. 99% of staff use it as an extra holiday or whatever (some people are genuinely ill or don’t feel well but most use all 5 days every year). But the company pays low wages and everybody does long hours, office 8.30-5.30 (1h lunch break), warehouse 8.30-6.30 (1h lunch break + 2x15min coffee break). The company only gives pay rises when they feel like doing so, and the general thoughts of staff about the company is only negative.
Not everyone has a dream job like some of you on this forum. If you have a sucky job with bad management and are on low wage then trust me, people will take or use their sick days every year.
My current employer pays for only 5 sick days per year. 99% of staff use it as an extra holiday or whatever (some people are genuinely ill or don’t feel well but most use all 5 days every year). But the company pays low wages and everybody does long hours, office 8.30-5.30 (1h lunch break), warehouse 8.30-6.30 (1h lunch break + 2x15min coffee break). The company only gives pay rises when they feel like doing so, and the general thoughts of staff about the company is only negative.
Not everyone has a dream job like some of you on this forum. If you have a sucky job with bad management and are on low wage then trust me, people will take or use their sick days every year.
I have had 8 days off sick in the last 15 years.
I would imagine that for a couple of those i could have/should have gone into work, but i didnt really want to go in spreading my germs and then be there feeling crappy.
A daft bint i work with had 53 individual days off sick last year, sometimes it was 3 individual days in one week, when you question her about it she says "womans troubles"
This was the same woman who complained because if you had 1 or less days off sick in the year you were given 3 extra days holiday as a reward.
She complained that it was an unfair "TAX" against women and people who are generally unwell.....WTF.
The reward system was revoked the following year.
I would imagine that for a couple of those i could have/should have gone into work, but i didnt really want to go in spreading my germs and then be there feeling crappy.
A daft bint i work with had 53 individual days off sick last year, sometimes it was 3 individual days in one week, when you question her about it she says "womans troubles"
This was the same woman who complained because if you had 1 or less days off sick in the year you were given 3 extra days holiday as a reward.
She complained that it was an unfair "TAX" against women and people who are generally unwell.....WTF.
The reward system was revoked the following year.
Which is what I wrote
I don't see what's so horrible about going in the first hour or two to help out until other staff has been called in to then get sent home for a couple of days. If I could manage to be awake and watch telly I could also manage to sit at work and do most of my job, for the most I would be completely alone at the office anyway.
Often when you feel ill it's only really bad when you wake up and after a couple of hours it's okay.
But I guess my work ethic is different from most people. I love being busy and working.
Which is what I wrote
You also wrote:
If your boss cared he would sort that out so that you didnt need to feel such a martyr.
Whilst thresholds are of course part of it, (Ninja edit, didn't read the bit about it being your company). Some people have different states of health would be a far more appropriate statement.
I work in a sector supporting people with long term disabilities and health conditions. Until you see what people actually have to put up with on a daily basis just to get by, you soon see it is not just about sniffles and a thick head...
I'm in work with a cold today, feeling like **** but I've stocked up on the Lemsips. Normally I'd work from home feeling this rough but I've had to work from home a few times over the past few weeks as my son has been ill.
I'm a Team Leader at Nissan and you'd be amazed how many people have a 'sick child' 'family problems' or 'sickness and diarrhoea' on a Sunday nightshift , Friday backshift or Monday dayshift. The sick days are always attatched to the weekend and it's always the young 'uns.
Completely, but this is only because they're allowed to get away with it! During my training period in a public sector job i was 'entitled' to 90 day sick pay in a year before an investigation was allowed. Yes i would have had to produce a doctors note for every 10 days of sick leave, but i can't see that being impossible. Hell, you're even allowed 5 days sick leave with no need to produce a doctors note! This is in comparison to the private sector where a doctors note was demanded after 2 days sick leave (in a years employment) due to tonsillitis followed by a meeting with my line manager.
Going back to the former, when off of probation that figure goes up to 120 iirc. That's just insane.
Last edited:
Haha. It's been two years since I worked there now and they are rid of all the slackers. New ownership and all.
I can understand where you are coming from but I always wanted to work anyway. If I had come in and done what I need before he even noticed I was ill and then I would say it's okay, then why should he bring on more new people
4.5 years in my current job, had 3 days off sick total... tho there was 1 week where I went in for 4 out of the 5 days when I really shouldn't, but we were stupidly short staffed - fortunatly I had a 3 day weekend anyhow coz I completed wiped out on the friday called in sick and was ok again by tuesday.
Generally I'd say if your having more than 2-3 days off in any 4 month period, theres probably something wrong - if I was a boss I'd probably looking at anyone having more than 9-10 days off in a year - excluding any 5-7 days absence if it was a one off/backed up with sick note.
Generally I'd say if your having more than 2-3 days off in any 4 month period, theres probably something wrong - if I was a boss I'd probably looking at anyone having more than 9-10 days off in a year - excluding any 5-7 days absence if it was a one off/backed up with sick note.
I would never call in sick with this, that what painkillers are for.
I would at least go to work and show commitment and perhaps take the afternoon off.
Depends on the job... i.e. my job has a high level of physical activity and can be quite noisy - I don't think it unacceptable under those circumstances to take a day off if I had a bad headache (from too much sun as often painkillers don't properly touch sunstroke), genuinely hadn't slept, etc.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 37,804
- Location
- block 16, cell 12
What if you break your ankle or leg and need a cast etc? Its unfortunate but they cant hold all those days against you, can they?