Our sick leave entitlement is unlimited, subject to provision of a medical certificate after more than two days’ leave.
I used to be one of those people who rarely or never called in or was sick, but over the past year and a half I have suffered some serious chronic health issues so lately it’s usually a few days at a time every two to three months (so mine was “other” as well). So yeah, when I call in, I’m actually sick. We do have personal and vacation time that I can use for other stuff.
I can work from home, so sometimes I’ll do that, and 99% of the time my absence doesn’t affect anyone else’s work. The few times it does, it’s a schedule change rather than that someone has to take up any slack or “do work for me”.
My work waits for me to get back and that’s true for all people in positions similar to mine, as well as Project Managers of my projects.
I voted “once a month”. We legally get 6 weeks paid sick leave per 3 year cycle, so effectively 14days/year. I use them when I’m feeling even a little infectiously ill, like flu or the like - the rationale as I understand it being that you don’t then spread your infections to everyone else, costing the company more when everyone gets lurgy. More than 2 days of sick leave consecutively requires a medical certificate, should your employer request it.
We also legally get a minimum of 3 weeks (21 days) paid leave per year in addition, although this is often negotiated up for any decent job, often in line with length of employment e.g my wife gets around 30 days now that she’s been with her current company for 8 years. I’m still only 6 months at my current job, and not hella senior, so I’m still at 21 days.
So if you were to get a terminal illness you’d be covered by your sick leave entitlements until you die?
I have some chronic ailments that can make being out and about rather difficult, but I mostly work from home and can schedule my out and about times for when I’m feeling well. And if push comes to shove, I can work in bed with a phone and the laptop, and I sometimes have no choice.
I’ve called in three times in 6 years of work. Really sick every time.
1.) Flu
2.) Sent home. I was pretty hungover and we were overstaffed anyway. 
3.) Food Poisoning
No reason to take “mental health” days in my job really since you give the person doing the scheduling a week or so’s notice and you can take as much time off as you want (unpaid, but we don’t have paid sick leave anyway).
I opted for “never” because I haven’t had a sickie in my current job. If I’m sick, then I’ll stay off work but I don’t feel comfortable taking sick days for personal use.
If I call in sick, I’m sick, or recovering from sickness.
Working in hositals I tend to get diarrhoea and vomiting bugs in the winter and the rules are you have to be 48 hour symptoms free before return to work.
Every time I have got winter vomiting virus it has been because a patient vomited on me or near me while I was examining them- droplet spread is a bugger.
I also took 5 pregnancy related sick days last year. Since one one of those days I was being investigated for a possible ectopic pregnancy, 2 of the days I was unable to keep down food or fluids due to hyperemesis and the other 2 I was on a drip in hospital because I hadn’t kept down any food or fluids for 4 days, I think they’re all fairly justifiable-nobody wants their doctor to vomit or collapse on them.
I call in about once a month, usually for gastrointestinal distress. Granted that I usually work at least a half-day from home in many of those instances as the issue is not wanting to be stuck on a bus for a half-hour to and from.
My company’s culture is pretty open about taking sick when necessary, even for mental health breaks. I get about 24 days a year of general time (we don’t discriminate between sick days and vacation days).
Yes. Since I’ve worked here (12 years tomorrow) there have been two cases of people getting terminal illnesses. Both worked part-time for a while, but eventually left on what was effectively permanent sick leave until they died. Another employee had a fairly serious stroke in June last year. He hasn’t yet returned to work and has been on sick leave since, albeit undergoing fairly intensive therapy with a view to coming back to work.
I think it would be interesting to see how age relates to the poll numbers. It seems to me that more younger people take sick days than older ones. I would have to be pretty bloody sick to miss anything never mind work. If I can get out of bed I can work.
Have you somehow never in 40 years gotten sick on a day you had to work, or did you just make yourself go in even when you were sick? If the latter, was it more out of principle, or out of circumstance (ie, if you missed a day’s pay you’d have trouble paying your bills or know you’d be in trouble)?
I’m in my late 20s. When I was younger and worked hourly jobs I’d virtually never miss work. I’m salaried now and work tons of overtime (nights, weekends, take-home, etc.), which makes me feel less bad about missing a couple times a year. But fair enough: if you’re asking if I have that “If I can get out of bed I can work” ethos, no matter what the job circumstances, then no - I guess I’m a young(ish) person who doesn’t.
I picked three times a year, but sometimes it’s two.
Honestly, I work for grownups who treat me like a grownup, so if I need time off I take it and it’s understood my job will be completed. I get 10 sick days a year and I do use them if I’m sick. But I also manage my own time and my boss is cool with that. If I need to go early, I go, I make up the time here and there later on, no big deal. When I had planned laproscopic surgery this year, I took five sick days and worked at home for five days, made sure my life at work was covered, and it was all good.
Would totally never work in an American style environment again - I’m too old now to beg for an hour off early to go to the doctor or worry that if I call in sick when I am sick there will be repercussions. If our work gets done, my boss is a happy guy. If I need a mental health day I usually just work from home.
I’ve got to ask - do you know if its really “unlimited sick leave” or is it more like American Express’s “no preset limit”? I can (with difficulty) imagine an employer continuing a terminally ill employee’s salary for a year or so. I cannot imagine an employer continuing the salary for 5 or more years if the employee is unable to work but not expected to die
I’ll be cashing in about 1200 hours for extra time credited to my pension and a credit to my health insurance premiums. I don’t even take sick time when I’m out sick- I use some other type of leave.
I have a work attendance record that would make Hank Hill jealous. In over 20 years of working at various employers I have only had to call in sick once, and yes, I truly was sick that day. I was too dizzy to feel like I could even drive to work safely.
That said, I have had to miss a few days of work for things like funerals, and then there was the day I had to stay home because my water heater broke and flooded my living room the night before, but that’s another story.
I try never to call in sick unless I’m puking, or I can’t stand. If I’m puking and can’t stand, I would take that as permission from the universe to not even have to call in (mostly because I’d be on the floor).
Thankfully, this doesn’t happen that often.
About twice a year, on average. About half the time I’m legitimately sick, the other half of the time I just want a day off.
I call in about once every two or three years. And I’m sick if I call in sick.
I get 6 months sick leave for any one occurrance, it regenerates once I’m back for two days.