I started a new job three weeks ago, for the UK arm of an American “Fortune 15” company.
First time I’ve worked for this type of firm, and all is going well, except that (like many other firms) they don’t offer sick pay for the first 6 months of employment.
Yesterday I came down with a nasty cold. Nothing serious - just the usual autumn sniffles - but I’m coughing and sneezing, and have a runny nose and sore throat, and am generally a bit of a snot machine at the moment.
A couple of cow-orkers have already given me nasty looks for bringing my germs into the office, but I simply can’t afford to lose 1-2 days pay by staying at home till it clears up.
Any ideas what I should do? Can my manager insist that I go home (and lose pay)?
Frankly I’m amazed that they think it’s more productive for me to spread my germs round the office than to take a day in bed to recover.
They won’t issue me with a laptop, so I can’t work from home… all a bit unsatisfactory really!
I’m not sure what the standard is in the UK, but here most employers separate sick days out from paid time off (pto). There’s not a ‘sick pay’ accrual, you just get them, and if you have to go over then you have to get approval to use your pto.
Generally there is a waiting period before you accrue and can use pto, but if you’re sick, you’re sick. My last employer gave 2 sick days and 2 personal days in addition to our accrued pto (1 week per year the first year, 2 weeks per year after that). You got the sick and personal days immediately.
My current employer doesn’t have an allotment of sick days, they can’t deny us time off if we’re sick but it’s up to our manager’s discretion to monitor whether anyone is abusing it.
Double check with your HR dept and make sure that they aren’t two separate things. I would imagine if you are salaried or a full-time hourly worker you should be able to take a day or two off if you’re sick without it dipping in to your pto.
Really? I’ve never worked anywhere that my benefits, including sick pay, didn’t start the first day I started. I’m especially surprised that a “Fortune 15” type place didn’t do it.
In the UK it’s legal to take money from your pay because you were sick?
In Spain it sure isn’t. And I agree that it’s dumb to make people go to work when sick: not only are they much more likely to make mistakes (which cost more than not doing stuff in the first place), but in this case they’re likely to pass their bugs along… to other people who will be more likely to make mistakes…
In the UK we get Statutory Sick Pay, which is paid by the state if we’re off more than 4 days in a row.
If you’re off for 1-3 days you don’t qualify for SSP. Many firms will cover those costs themselves, but to discourage casual absenteeism a lot are now moving towards no sick pay for days 1-3, and then SSP for day 4 and above (which is backdated to include days 1-3).
The firm I work for only applies this to new staff - during the 6 month probationary period - and after that you can claim up to 20 sick days a year with pay (I think).
So if you’re new to the firm and want to take 1-2 days off ill, you have to go without pay.
I guess that seems reasonable to me, since most colds & flus don’t clear up in one or two days. You could just try asking them what they prefer. My sister is an HR person and she doesn’t think the whole spreading-the-cold thing is worth the lost production & forfeited wages. I s’pose that if there’s a bug going around, people are probably going to end up getting it one way or another.
It seems clear to me that due to your company’s goofy policy, the only thing you can really do is take off 4 days. Might as well go ahead and take the whole week. After all, you don’t want to be spreading those germs!
At my job, we don’t get any sick leave. Ever. You accrue one vacation day per month you work here, but if you’re out sick, you lose one vacation day–so of course, everyone comes to work sick.
One guy’s mother died and he was out for two weeks–after he used up his vacation/sick days, they took him off salary. So, I can go nowhere, ever. I’m saving up all my days for my Mom’s next health emergency.
It’s such a ridiculous idea, too. I got a cold in January and because I immediately took off 2.5 days I got better in 5 days rather than the 2 weeks it usually takes to get over a cold. Literally, I went home sick as a dog on Wednesday and by Sunday was feeling all better. Now I know staying at home Th & Fri and sleeping all day helped a lot.
Companies are stupid with their sick time policies. Sure, people abuse it, but do you really want sick miserable people infecting everyone and screwing up, as Nava says?
I only get 20 PTO days. I get to use them however I want: sick, vacation, mental health. Once they’re gone, that’s it. Oh, and because we close for Christmas I need to use 3 or four of my PTO days during that period too.
We do get 3 days for bereavement in the event of an immediate family member’s death.
Considering e-logic only started 3 weeks ago, he’s worried about what kind of early impression he will leave. And he is correct to be worried. There are lots of managers who would view his absense negatively. I’m not condoning that view, but it is rampant throughout the business world. A few months in, especially if they see him ‘sick’ the day before, it isn’t an issue. But towards the start of employment - eyebrows will be raised.
e-logic, you’ve done the right thing by going in on the first day: this has established that you are, in fact, unwell. If symptoms persist, tomorrow, call in and say that you are unwell. Having demonstrated the fact today, they will believe you and not think you a malingerer. When you ring in, ring one of those people who gave you dirty looks. Then stay away until you’re better. When you’re well enough to return to work, speak to your manager about working extra hours to make up your pay.
