ab6262 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You'd be surprised how many people I had to send home because they were clearly unfit for work but had turned up regardless. good on them it just shows good work ethic.....can do attitude is what is good in a worker, i have had the same, people turn up clearly not well but have at least tried not wanting to let me or workmates down. give me someone who at least tries anyday against some workshy winger that phones or texts in sick....we have now banned texts anyway for calling in sick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 good on them it just shows good work ethic It emphatically does not. Risking the health of all my other employees by coming in to work while sick and coughing and spluttering all over them, is not good for my business. Hence me having to send them home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CockneyMafia Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 It emphatically does not. Risking the health of all my other employees by coming in to work while sick and coughing and spluttering all over them, is not good for my business. Hence me having to send them home! Which goes back to my original point. If a company does not pay for sick leave, it encourages people to come to work who otherwise should be at home recovering. Out of interest, if an employee comes to work and is sent home ill, will they still be docked a days pay if the company operates such a SSP policy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magilla Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 So... has the OP checked their contract regarding sick pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quisquose Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Which goes back to my original point. If a company does not pay for sick leave, it encourages people to come to work who otherwise should be at home recovering. Out of interest, if an employee comes to work and is sent home ill, will they still be docked a days pay if the company operates such a SSP policy? Any company telling a sick employee to go home could never justify withholding pay for that day imho. I couldn't comment on the next day though, if the employee chose to stay at home. Perhaps the best strategy for an employee phoning in sick, rather than telling the employer that they are not coming in, is to ring and explain how ill they are feeling and then ask if they still require them to turn up. My guess is that most employers would say "stay at home" and in turn make them liable to pay them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CockneyMafia Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 So... has the OP checked their contract regarding sick pay? Yep - will post it on here later. Perhaps the truest comment on this thread concerned the status of SSP and the discretionary nature of sick pay. Chances are all contracts advise staff will get SSP as a minimum (insofar as it is a legal requirement?) but only few companies will withold full pay in the case of absenteeism. I spoke to my friends about this last night. Not one of them, in over 10 years employment at various companies, has ever encoutered this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CockneyMafia Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Any company telling a sick employee to go home could never justify withholding pay for that day imho. I couldn't comment on the next day though, if the employee chose to stay at home. Perhaps the best strategy for an employee phoning in sick, rather than telling the employer that they are not coming in, is to ring and explain how ill they are feeling and then ask if they still require them to turn up. My guess is that most employers would say "stay at home" and in turn make them liable to pay them. I would be very interested to find out. One could argue if you turn up at 9am, shaking, sweating and vomiting you are in no fit state to work so the company has no choice but to send you home (if only for the health concerns of other employees) However, SSP is not based on work ethic and best endeavour. The bottom line (they would argue) is that if an employee is not fit to work through illness they must stay at home and accept that under the terms of their contract they will not be paid. If they have turned up for work in an attempt to not be docked a day's pay, one could argue this is completely irrelevant. You signed the contract, you accept the conditions. Moreover, attending work in an unfit state probably contravines other clauses in the employment acceptance. It's not right, but then many working practises aren't. One wonders what happens in cases of emotional sickness - for example bereavement. It would take a very militant employer to dock someone's wages for taking time off following the death of a family member for example, but I am sure it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Same thing happened to me I was told I would get paid for being off sick when started my current job, I was off ill for a couple of days as had food poisoning, 1st time off in 5 years and was docked two days pay. When I asked why they said it was a change in the payment of sick pay and nothing I could do about it. It would have been nice to have been informed of it!! A company can't just change the terms of your contract without agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quisquose Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 One wonders what happens in cases of emotional sickness - for example bereavement. It would take a very militant employer to dock someone's wages for taking time off following the death of a family member for example, but I am sure it happens. Contracts of employment will usually have separate terms for bereavement, often specifying how many days for various members of family. One day for a sibling, two for a parent, three for a wife or child, whatever. Some employers may then choose to dock pay on any time taken beyond the terms, and I can only imagine the addition stress and/or resentment this might result in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 As for "stress" - as has been pointed out we self employed sorts don't take months or weeks or days or even hours off because of "stress" - I guess our employment status makes us imune to it, whereas if your paycheck says so and so council on it you are immediately at incredible risk of stress preventing from getting your ass out of bed for up to 6 months at a time. The self employed who suffer from it go out of business and end up on benefits. Maybe being self employed makes them less likely to suffer from it in the first place though. Greater control over when and how they work, and the personality to become self employed in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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