How Many Payed Sick Days Does Your Employer Offer You Each Year?
By GoGirl149
@GoGirl149 (152)
Canada
October 20, 2009 7:01pm CST
I recently posted a discussion asking fellow MyLotters if they would go to work if they were sick with a cold or flu. Most people said they would stay home to rest even if it meant not being payed.
Some people mentioned that they get their sick days payed. Which got me thinking, my previous employer did not have a policy for sick days for the office employees. If we called in sick I think we would get payed (not sure, I never called in sick), but there was no policy on how many times a year we were allowed to call in sick. I think it was a lot more flexible for the office employees because many of them often worked from home, so it was hard to tell when someone was working or not. The factory employees at that company were allowed 4 payed sick days per year. Any other sick days they took were not paid.
At my current employer, I am allowed to take 9 payed sick days each year. Any days I don't use I can cash out at the end of the year. So if I only use 2 sick days, I get a cheque for the 7 days I didn't take off. (YIPPY).
I'm wondering if other companies have similar policies for sick days.
12 responses
@solared (1207)
• United States
21 Oct 09
Be glad if you work anywhere with sick days, because that is a benefit that will be gone probably in the next 5 years or so.
Alot of places don't have sick days at all work or don't get paid, however if you have something that effects your work, so much that your employer dosen't want to work you, then you could get unemployment paid for that period of time.
@firemom31 (598)
• United States
21 Oct 09
We get nothing. If we call off sick we are given the option of using vacation time, but other than that, we're just out the money. I have gone to work quite ill simply because I couldn't afford to stay home. Once, I went to work sick, thinking I could get through the day. I got worse and asked to go home, My boss wrote me up for an unexcused absence. I really hate it because it is irresponsible to go to work and infect everyone, but then, I can't afford to stay home either.
@GoGirl149 (152)
• Canada
21 Oct 09
You reminded me of back when I was younger and working at a coffee shop. We didn't have any sick days there either. I remember once I had a runny nose, but I felt fine, no fever, lots of energy, but my nose kept running. I knew customers would be really turned off if they kept seeing me blowing my nose, so I went home early. I was really peeved that I missed a few hours of work even though I felt fine. I could have really used the money back then.
Stay healthy!
@horsesrule (1957)
• United States
21 Oct 09
I've never had a job with paid sick days. If I didn't show up to work, I did not get paid. And because of that, I always went in to work even when I was sick because I needed the money to pay the rent and take care of my daughter. The only time I would call in sick is if I could not stand up or I was throwing up. Otherwise, I went to work, no matter what.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
21 Oct 09
funny, i was just wondering this myself at my place of work. i have used about 3 sick days through the year and am sick again :-( (plus i only work part time) i also need dental surgery in november plus surgery on a finger (but that may not be til the new year). yipes!
@jen20ixm (165)
• Philippines
21 Oct 09
i used to work as a printing supervisor in a private company here in my place, jobs is good, co-workers are nice and i made new friends everyday because i interact with customer in a daily basis, my pay is good but as what ur saying, ive worked for almost two years but my boss/ or the company itself havent offered any payed sick days to me, when im sick and im off, i got no pay for that day. and how lucky others is,
@OrangJuice (687)
• China
21 Oct 09
Hello, gogirl. Our annual sick day-off is 7 days. On my first year in this company, it's completely paid day-off. It wouldn't affect award of full attendance.
But now, as per our policy, it's paid, but they will deduct the reward of full attendance. Because our former HR manager is from Taiwanese company. It's so awful! Before they revised policy, they even request all day-off applications before it, including sick day-off!!!
It's so unreasonable! But now they revised it, now we must apply for sick day-off within 3days after it. I think it's also unreasonable, but at least, it's better than before.
It's so unreasonable! But now they revised it, now we must apply for sick day-off within 3days after it. I think it's also unreasonable, but at least, it's better than before.
@snowy22315 (182181)
• United States
21 Oct 09
We earn on an hourly basis. I don't earn as much as a fulltime employee because I work part time. I think it is in the neighborhood of four hours per month or something like that. I'm new so I'm not really sure what the exact percentage of earnings are.
@amybrezik (2118)
• United States
21 Oct 09
Wow you are lucky! We get 5 days a year, which for those of us with kids, is no where near enough. Forget getting sick yourself.... And on top of that they have a use it or lose it policy. This means we don't get paid for the days we don't take like you do. If we don't use them we lose them Dec 31st and the whole thing starts over again. I just had to miss 3 days unpaid because I have used my sick time, and my son had the flu. Talk about a huge dent in the paycheck, when I don't make enough as it is!
@Ingkingderders (3832)
• Philippines
21 Oct 09
In our company, you get 15 sick days per year.. I often use them, specially if I'm feeling lazy. lol. those are all paid days.. and at the end of the year, if you don't use them, you can convert 10 of them to cash ( the rate is your daily basic pay).. it's really not bad if you are not lazy like me. hehehe. 
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
21 Oct 09
we enjoy paid 15 days vacation leave and 15 days sick leave in a year. the unused sick leave cannot be converted into cash. the number of sick leave is carried over and added to ur previous balance and computed and converted into cash when u retire. unused vacation leave on the other hand is convertible into cash, if and when the company declares that monetization is allowed for the year. we also enjoy other 3 special leaves in a year. u can either use it as birthday leave, filial leave, anniversary leave, domestic leave (ex. when the house helper is out of the house and nobody can take care of a small baby at home). there are also emergency leaves that are allowed but they are either deducted from ur vacation leave or from the special leave privileges. leaves availed outside the ones allowed are deductible from the salary.
@joy_evaldez (461)
• Singapore
21 Oct 09
Hi there! In my company, when the employee was hired on contractual basis (say for a year), they have 6 days medical leave but a leave should be taken after three months probation period. For us regular/permanent employees, we have 14 days medical leave in a year. Though any unused leave will not be cashed out or rolled over to the following year. It will be forfeited at the end of the year. Thus, some of us make it a point to utilized all of it before the year ends.
