yet to sign my contract, but not really happy with just 2 weeks pay in any 12 months? what is standard and what do you get?

I get 6 months full pay, but I don’t think there is any legal requirement to offer anything above mandatory statutory sick pay.

I don’t get any but I’m self employed. I also don’t give any sick pay and funnily enough people rarely have sick days.

I got nothing in my last job other than statutory sick pay. £88 a week I think it is.

6 months full pay, 6 months half pay.

Are you expecting to more than 2 weeks a year off ill? Touch wood, I’ve only just topped that, total in 10 years. Will you not get ssp after that?

My contract basically says its at the companies discretion, that way you don’t have folk working out how much extra holiday they can have. Generally after the third instance in 12 months (seemingly regardless of duration) they stop paying.

I believe I have 6months full / 6 months half. It’s not a case of “extra holidays” as alluded to above, but an insurance policy of sorts.

This is a mountain biking forum, and presumably fairly active folk. Even a daft wee fall can see you breaking something. Last time I broke my wrist the Dr wanted to sign me off for 2 months as I would struggle to do the day job…

Two months off with no/ statutory sick pay would have a decent proportion of the population struggling to pay the mortgage and bills.

6 months full, 6 months half here. However, I’m more interested in how you’ll tell your employer that you’ll need more than 2 weeks off a year

not planning on being sick, and probably had only 2 week max in odd days over the last 29 yrs of working, but would like to think if something serious happens there is cover? but i’m expected/required to work more than my contracted hours all the time ie 40hrs contracted but usually do 46-50 hrs, so i’m expecting a bit more loyalty from them as well with more sick pay.

Depends on what you do for a living and where you are in life…

Stressful job, long hours and kids in school will have the previously resilient dropping like flies

ETA – may not be as bad if one parent is staying at home for the kids / house / family needs. Both parents working + living life at a dead run + kids + no local family support = exhaustion and increased sick time

Why anyone would work in a full time, PAYE job without getting the benefits that come with that defeats me. Six months full pay seems to be what many “proper” employers pay. If you’re not getting it, surely you might as well be self-employed contractor?

Rachel

Also…

but i’m expected/required to work more than my contracted hours all the time ie 40hrs contracted but usually do 46-50 hrs,

Stop doing it. You *will* make yourself sick.

Rachel

Just statutory for me, the minimum legal requirement, though I work for a company who can and do flex on that based on individual circumstances. The industry I work in has a culture of not tolerating sickness though, the expectation is that people turn up for work even if they’re ill/have a leg hanging off.

Stop doing it. You *will* make yourself sick.

Not sure I agree with that, that’s what I and the rest of the company have been doing for 15 years and we’re fine.

Makes me grateful for a decent contract, 6 full and 6 half here as well. That said I’m allowed no more than 2 sicknesses over a rolling 12 month period or I start going into sickness reviews which is pretty crap.

Myti – sickness isnt a holiday, not really fair to treat it as such. Or healthy for that matter.

I also don’t give any sick pay and funnily enough people rarely have sick days.

You sound like a barrel of laughs to work for, and potentially breaking the law to boot.

Yeah, plenty of folk in my work been working stupid hours for 35 years, you should see the state of them now.

Work to live.

However, I’m more interested in how you’ll tell your employer that you’ll need more than 2 weeks off a year

Says the Poster who gets 6 months full pay… 🙄

You’ll probably find anyone with 6 months full followed by 6 months half works either in the public sector, a bank (ie public sector supported 🙂 ) or is long-term at a decent corporate – for the rest of us…

And for me, zero – I work for myself. Although in +30 years of working I’ve had less than 30 days off sick, with 20 of those days when I cartwheeled myself into hospital and ended up on ward for a week.

Not sure I agree with that, that’s what I and the rest of the company have been doing for 15 years and we’re fine.

Great – this is why the dutch approach should be applied in the uk.

40 hours – anything over is over time and taxed at a high rate.

Try getting a dutchman in holland to work weekends for anything less than actual cash in his hand.

4 people working(thats working – not surfign the net making them selves look busy) 50 hours a week regularly is taking away someone elses 40 hour a week job and if your salaried the only person benefiting is the company ….I do the odd 50-60 hour week ….but it really is the ODD time….

Not sure I agree with that, that’s what I and the rest of the company have been doing for 15 years and we’re fine.

Do they pay you for it?

2 weeks is acceptable for someone that spells it contractural.

4 people working(thats working – not surfign the net making them selves look busy) 50 hours a week regularly is taking away someone elses 40 hour a week job and if your salaried the only person benefiting is the company ….I do the odd 50-60 hour week ….but it really is the ODD time….

That’s where I was going with my question. The number of people who routinely work for free astounds me. Why would you? Whilst you may be patting yourself on the back for your corporate loyalty, the company’s having you for mugs.

The industry I work in has a culture of not tolerating sickness though

What’s to not tolerate? If you’re sick, you’re sick.

This attitude really gets my goat. It’s like some employers are stuck in Victorian times. People drag themselves in practically on death’s door, for an employer that probably doesn’t give a toss about them, are absolutely useless all day and wind up infecting half of the rest of the building. “I’ve never had a day off sick in 20 years!” they’ll boast proudly; yeah, but every other fecker has because of you, assclown.

The rule of thumb I operate to is, if I go in, will I be of any use? If the answer is “no” then there’s absolutely no point going in and potentially making myself (or others) even sicker.

but i’m expected/required to work more than my contracted hours all the time ie 40hrs contracted but usually do 46-50 hrs,

They’re breaking the law and you’re a fool for allowing this to happen.

I get 9 weeks full pay but it’s then SSP after that, some colleagues are on an old contract and get 6 months full sick pay and they’re off more often than those of us on the new contract 😕

There is an ‘Extreme Sports’ clause though so if I come off the MTB I get no sick pay, just SSP for the duration, whereas the idiot who plays football most weekends and seems to sprain his ankle every 3 months gets full pay. It has led to me turning up for work with broken ribs on one occasion and another suffering from quite severe concussion. My job is physical and requires a decent level of fitness but when I point out that they gain from me being active and good at my job compared to the fat biffers at work who struggle with stairs they just point at the exclusion and encourage me to find a less dangerous hobby 😕

6 months full. 6 months half in my last uk employer. Wasn’t eligible as i was contracting except for the last 3 months. Had to be there 12 months before it kicked in. Prior to that it was 2 weeks.

Current place is 6 months full, 6 months 80%, indefinitely 50%. But it’s capped at about 40 grand pa.

And wtf. Expecting loyalty, expected to work extra. You need your head looking at.
Not to mention companies doing well based on very dodgy employment practices. Doesn’t fill me with confidence.

I’m a public sectorist on the 6 months jobbie. (Have taken 1 day in the last 3 years)

Wife is on ‘discretionary’ i.e. no guaranteed sick pay, & it’s on a case by case basis. Horrible system which means some people get sweet FA, even if they’ve been in hospital, while the favourites get looked after.

Do they pay you for it?

Sort of, sales/commission based role so the extra hours normally result in more commission. It’s also not compulsory, my call to work the hours I do.

Personally I’d love more sick pay even though I don’t haven’t had a sick day in years. But, this dicussion isn’t about what I or anyone else wants, it’s about whether what the OP has been offered is typical, the answer appears to be that there’s a huge variety of options, so “maybe”.

Mine’s discretionary. Not had to phone in sick to any job for years though, not particularly healthy, just lucky not to have to use public transport, work with anyone who has children at the germ factory stage or visit customer sites very often.

Had a fair few Out Patients hospital visits that have been paid so far. So the discretion seem to work. There’s also some insurance cover we get for longer term illness, discretionary again but has helped people in the past.

Last job was horrible, discretionary as well, but that meant if you played golf with the boss you got paid.

I’d not worry about the two weeks as long as it’s limited to 2 weeks of phoning in with bad cold tyope stuff and anything longer term is somehow allowed for in a clause.

Allan23 your last paragraph is exactly what i’m talking about

100% for 6 months, 65% after that. Company provided disability insurance.
In 17 years, had one day off sick (very lucky). Work from home, so no-one to infect when I have a cough/cold (agree with the poster above about infecting colleagues)

My last company

sick for up to 2 weeks – company pays
sick for > 2 weeks – company has insurance policy which covers the sick pay. Employees claim from that directly, no income from company.

It was a small company, so i guess they’d be significantly affected by someone having a longer term illness, hence the insurance approach.

I’m assuming you can get some kind of “sick pay insurance” privately? Maybe others have used it? Or is it too expensive?

I’m assuming you can get some kind of “sick pay insurance” privately? Maybe others have used it? Or is it too expensive?

Very, as only sick people would apply. Much cheaper for the company to take out a blanket policy.

We DO NOT want to end up like this…

Just found out an acquaintance is currently well into his second week of sick pay.

He’s not sick. His kids are.. He’ll be getting ~80% of his salary for the days he’s off.

Cougar – Moderator
I also don’t give any sick pay and funnily enough people rarely have sick days.
You sound like a barrel of laughs to work for, and potentially breaking the law to boot.

No requirement to provide sick pay apart from government funded statutory sick pay. I’m a generous,responsible employer in a very small business and have 2 very happy employees on better than living wage but I really don’t get why anyone would feel entitled to large amounts of sick pay. It would cripple a small business. But I understand that large firms might offer it as part of a package for executive types along with other perks.

as part of a package for executive types along with other perks.

It’s not an exec thing necessarily. 650 of us in my place of work, everyone from apprentices to the bosses are entitled to 6 months full pay

I really don’t get why anyone would feel entitled to large amounts of sick pay.

Why have you described it as large amounts? Its your wage.
Why dont you split the risk and give them all the profit from their labours?
Swings and roundabouts