This article describes how some people abuse the benefit of sick pay in
the workplace. I am going to explain a couple of examples of this,
which I have come across over the last couple of years.
There are many people who are in employment where if they are off work
sick, they do not get paid. It must very much annoy these people to
hear about the fortunate workers who are still paid when they are ill,
abusing the system.
I have a friend who recently told me about a lady he works with. At
times she will come to work with a really bad cold or cough, when
really she should be at home in bed. By going to work she could be
infecting other people with her germs of course. She would be asked why
she had come to work when she obviously should be in bed. Her response
would be that she did not want to waste her sick days when she was ill.
She might as well come to work and be ill there, it would be no fun at
home, she would continue.
This woman treated her sick entitlement as extra holiday days. The
bosses who were unaware of her attitude presumed that when she did
actually phone in sick, that she must be extremely ill, when in fact
she would be perfectly fit and healthy.
Another example of abusing the sick entitlement system is a story I
heard recently. The company involved had around fifteen percent of its
full time staff in one of its buildings, on long term sick leave. The
company then announced the closure of that particular building which
would include all of the staff being made redundant. The office though
would remain open for the next six months, however the only people who
worked ninety percent of that six month period would be able to have
full redundancy payouts. The amount of people who suddenly stopped
having depression and bad backs was astonishing, they called it a
miracle.
