Sick pay/work absence

[hitmouse]

Couldn't see another thread covering this exact subject, and I cba keeping up with the giant mega-threads... anyway, I thought it might be worth having a thread for how people's workplaces are treating covid now that a) we're being told to get back to normal and live with it, and b) every fucker in the country seems to have it at the moment. At my work they've just announced their intention to start counting covid-related absences as part of their general sickness monitoring policies, because they reckon the amount of people who've been off with it twice is indicative of people taking the piss, rather than just a lot of people who've now been infected twice. Obv my union branch is not happy with that one and I don't think that issue's totally settled yet. But it could be worse, was talking (remotely, not in person) with a mate who currently has it and cos she's on infrequent shifts and SSP she doesn't reckon she'll miss enough shifts to qualify for SSP at all. So, how's it looking at your work?

 

[Elpenor]

My place: first 28 days of a covid absence are “free” before you start to use your full pay entitlement which goes up to 6 months. This was due to stop in January, then April and now July… so effectively 7 months of full pay if you’ve been there long enough for long covid absences. My gut feeling is that this will be extended again at the 11th hour if infection rates do not drop.

Getting answers out of HR - such as them confirming the above policy or how to apply it eg to every covid related absence, or where there are grey areas - has been torturous. Of course working out how what to do with Covid as an organisation as it impacts on everything was always going to be reactive, but they have been perhaps a little too reactive.

From a reporting perspective, we have also had issues in that the absence category “covid” on our self service system hasn’t ever been included on our sick reports so we didn’t at first automatically know who was off with long covid until we sorted a workaround. There are approximately 10 cases that I’m aware of. One has returned to work which is good (I hope).

At my work they've just announced their intention to start counting covid-related absences as part of their general sickness monitoring policies, because they reckon the amount of people who've been off with it twice is indicative of people taking the piss, rather than just a lot of people who've now been infected twice.

Probably due to covid not being something you get a medical note for so it’s viewed as “uncertified sickness”. Organisations do monitor this sort of thing (days off / instances of uncertified sickness) and from a financial perspective it’s effectively an additional liability sitting on the books. Doesn’t say a great deal about their trust of their employees.

 

[pbsmooth]

Up to 7 months off on full pay and no note from the doc. Wow. Any jobs going?

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I thought I had Covid recently, thought I caught it while having a medical procedure at a clinic.

I'd just had a few weeks off due to severe abdominal pain, bowel and gynae stuff that prompted me to go to A&E three times, only to be told 'Go back to your GP' when they asked how long I'd had the symptoms and I told them ages, but they'd recently got much much worse.

I was due back to work off sick leave, but developed a really bad persistent cough, 3-4 LFTs were negative and then I ordered a PCR.

Had my back to work chat with manager and HR manager, I suggested we do it over Teams rather me coming into the office, as I was waiting to receive the PCR test. (Although by then the cough was less persistent, it was more a runny nose and streaming eyes.)

I asked if I could work from home and was told No, even though I otherwise felt fit to start work the next day or two, but just wanted to be overly cautious in case it was Covid. They made me self certify for another 2-3 days after my fit note ended.

I only received Statutory Sick Pay, which wasn't even enough to pay my rent, so I had to use it to cover other bills (including prepayment electric meter) and living expenses. So I'm now a month behind with my rent. Luckily, landlord is alright about it, understanding, but I have to catch up.

I can understand that people might be tempted to go in work, if they only receive SSP or if they don't get paid at all, especially if they have a family to feed and/or risk losing their job if they don't go to work.

And technically I don't think they would be doing anything wrong, legally, because I don't think people with Covid have to self-isolate any more, so they?

Morally, I think it's wrong, because they might pass it on to someone who's vulnerable, or they might pass it on to a colleague or client/customer/patient who lives with someone who's vulnerable.

It's shite, basically, that people are put in that position.

 

[Elpenor]

Up to 7 months off on full pay and no note from the doc. Wow. Any jobs going?

For clarity the 7 months is for long covid cases which is really a separate thing from having infectious covid 19 (and hence not being able to see a doctor).

 

[Ms T]

Covid is now treated like any other illness and the sickness policy applies - 18 weeks full pay and 9 weeks half pay. I think that changed in January.

 

[Mation]

A general sick leave question, but asking here as my recent covid added to my sick leave.

Do your workplaces have a calendar year for sick leave, ie from one fixed date to another and then it resets, or a rolling year that looks back at how much sick leave you've had in the 12 months prior to today?

I've just discovered that we have the latter, and it's shit.

 

[moomoo]

I have just been off with Covid and I’m getting full pay and don’t lost the first 3 days which I would for any other illness.

 

[High Voltage]

Of my last three jobs the first had discretionary sick pay and the last two had SSP only, one was particularly slack on paying even that. All were small companies with the owners working there so you'd think that it would've been in their interests to keep infections out of the business but not really the attitude. Don't really know what I'd've done if ill but felt well enough to've gone in as it never occurred. Luckily I had no real money worries but that wasn't the case for some of my colleagues. So I'm not so sure that they wouldn't have come in when they really shouldn't.

 

[Ms T]

A general sick leave question, but asking here as my recent covid added to my sick leave.

Do your workplaces have a calendar year for sick leave, ie from one fixed date to another and then it resets, or a rolling year that looks back at how much sick leave you've had in the 12 months prior to today?

I've just discovered that we have the latter, and it's shit.

A rolling year. Not sure that’s necessarily worse, as you start building up your allowance again as soon as you return to work. Our allowance is pretty generous though.

 

[Ms T]

I think rolling years are pretty standard.

 

[strung out]

Yep, rolling years here, and much prefer that to a calendar year.

 

[Elpenor]

A rolling year is invariably used wherever I’ve worked

 

[Pickman's model]

Rolling years here too

 

[marty21]

Up to 7 months off on full pay and no note from the doc. Wow. Any jobs going?

we have the same sick leave , if it is non-covid related, you can only self certify for 3 days I think - after that you need proof.

 

[Numbers]

6 months on full pay with sign off then fazed return where I am + you can self certify up to 5 days.

 

[kalidarkone]

6 months on full pay with sign off then fazed return where I am + you can self certify up to 5 days.

Same for me with NHS but also on a rolling year.

 

[Numbers]

Same for me with NHS but also on a rolling year.

I'm in the private sector. The company actually look after their staff quite well (benefits etc.) if I'm honest.

 

[kalidarkone]

I'm in the private sector. The company actually look after their staff quite well (benefits etc.) if I'm honest.

Yes, I feel the same about the NHS - my pay is abysmal but really good benefits and a lot of holiday.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Agency worker here, so if I get sick I just go hungry.

 

[Looby]

10 days paid in 12 months here, rolling year. It increases with length of service.

Think they stopped discounting covid in December.

I had to go back way before I was ready. Still unwell and pretty pissed off.

 

[planetgeli]

September to September (academic year).

6 months full pay, 6 months half pay.

Nobody is being disbelieved about Covid.

 

[l'Otters]

Seems relevant:

SIGN UP TO THE COVID-19 SAFETY PLEDGE | Independent SAGE

www.independentsage.org

The Independent SAGE introduces ‘The Covid-19 Safety Pledge’ to promote the creation of safe spaces at work. We invite employers and/or owners of organisations to sign up to this pledge and ensure covid-safe spaces for their employees, customers and any users of these spaces.

To download a copy of this pledge for your workplace, click here.

 

[Ms T]

Seven days self-certification is the legal limit - but that includes non-working days so in effect it's five days.

 

[moochedit]

To be honest i have no idea what my employers exact covid policy is, although i just had a week off with it, without any issues. There haven't been many people off with it here though and i don't think anyone has had it twice here yet.

 

[Mation]

A rolling year. Not sure that’s necessarily worse, as you start building up your allowance again as soon as you return to work. Our allowance is pretty generous though.

I may very well be being very dim, but I don't understand. I can't see how the allowance builds up. It seems only to take into account previous sick leave.

But perhaps it's because everyone who has started at my workplace recently has exceeded their allowance through stress. People who started longer ago have also been off with stress, but perhaps have greater allowances. We're all off regularly; genuinely; not through taking the piss.

 

[Epona]

OH only got SSP for his 10 days of absence due to COVID - his place are shit on sick leave. They get around a lot of stuff by having everyone on part time contracts. Not quite zero hours, but close.

 

[mx wcfc]

6 months on full pay with sign off then fazed return where I am + you can self certify up to 5 days.

Yep,same here, That's pretty much how things should be.

mrs mx has to deal with "HR stuff" at her workplace. They offer 5 days a year paid sick leave, Covid or not. The result is people with covid want to go into work cos they don't want to use up their "off sick allowance". She has to put up with so much grief over this,

My line manager is entering her third week off with covid.

Some companies do this stuff well, and, frankly, have a loyal workforce that don't take the piss.

Others assume that paid sick leave will just result in people taking the piss.

 

[strung out]

I may very well be being very dim, but I don't understand. I can't see how the allowance builds up. It seems only to take into account previous sick leave.

But perhaps it's because everyone who has started at my workplace recently has exceeded their allowance through stress. People who started longer ago have also been off with stress, but perhaps have greater allowances. We're all off regularly; genuinely; not through taking the piss.

The good thing about having it on a rolling basis, is that your past absences gradually drop off throughout the year as they become more than a year old, hence building it back up again regularly.

A static year means that you start each year with a clean skate, but towards the end, you're waiting for the anniversary to roll around, and potentially having to wait ages for it to reset every year, especially if you tend to be off sick a lot around the same time (e.g. January/February, potentially at the start of the absence recording year).

I think most people much prefer the rolling basis.

 

[Ms T]

^^^ What strung out said.