sick pay

[toby99]

If you company had an excellent sick pay package where you could be off sick on full pay for up to a year, do you think there can be exclusions for staff who injur themselves through sport or have elective cosmetic surgery i.e. facelifts, breast enlargements etc?

[Buenchico]

Employees who keep themselves fit through participation in sport are probably far less likely to have time off work than their more sedentary colleagues. (e.g.. they're less likely to be off work with heart or respiratory problems, with diabetes-related problems derived from obesity, or with stress-related illnesses). It would seem extremely unjust to penalise them when they suffered a sports injury!

Elective surgery is not the same as illness or injury and it would be reasonable to expect employees to undergo such surgery (and the recuperation therefrom) during their holidays. However, if an employee was hospitalised through unexpected complications resulting from such surgery, it would seem equally reasonable to treat these in the same way as any other unexpected infirmity.

When I was in teaching, staff with more than one year's experience could take up to 6 months off sick every year with full pay guaranteed. Beyond that, the next 6 months was guaranteed at half pay but the education authority had the discretion to pay the full rate (which it often did). Given that we got 3 months holiday per year anyway, that was quite a generous package. In practice, about 90% of the staff hardly had any time off. (I only had 2 days off sick in my 15 years in the profession. Several of my colleagues had worked far longer than that, with never a single day off). The other 10% of the staff were hardly ever there.

Chris

[buildersmate]

"When I was in teaching, staff with more than one year's experience could take up to 6 months off sick every year with full pay guaranteed" - you've been too long in the public sector, Chris. This sort of abuse was done away with a while ago. And rightly so.
Having worked in HR for an American-owned, high-paying company with a generous pension and benefits package I can tell you that we did decline to pay sick pay to folks who injured themselves through sport injuries. Probably not the first time it happened, but by the second time.

[Twenty20]

Unless its actually defined what you can be off 'sick' for then sick leave and pay would include visits to hospital for plastic surgery etc etc. The company's policy document would need to particularly exclude these for the company not to pay it. Seems crazy, but thats the way it is. Sports injuries would be paid for too unless specifically excluded.

Chris - how many jobs have you had!! In the nicest possible way you seem to have been around a bit!!

[EngTeach]

Chris, that is extraordinary. How did you teach for 15 years and never catch the bugs the kids are forever spreading? I have caught the flu, pink eye and various other bugs that have gone around the school and had to take sick time. We get 10 days a year. I have used 8 so far- 6 bereavement, 1, when an oil line broke in my house and 1 to see an attorney form mom's estste. escaped the sickness this year so far. we get 8 weeks off in the summer too. You were very lucky!
BTW- we cover elective days by allowing you to delete your "bank" of days and borrow up to 20 days from yourself. Co-workers can donate days too in extreme cases. But the one who donates lose 2 days for every one he gives up.

[cuddleMe]

toby,
if u r off sick for more than 10days +, providing that your dc have sgned u off sick then im sure u can claim SSP. i had cosmetic surgery due to medical reasons though, i was off work for at least 3months and my doc signed me off for 3-4months, i managed to claim SSP and got about two months of my salary!!!! all your company needs is a sick note!!