Coronavirus

[Tom Hark]

You think those that work for Deliveroo, Amazon, Sports Direct etc get paid sick leave from their employer?

Or, indeed, those of us who are self-employed/freelance? They don't know they're born, these wage slaves!

 

[sycophantia]

I get where people are coming from regarding going into work sick. Not sure if it's changed now but I've never had a job that pays sick pay (retired 18 months ago) SSP is/was about 80 quid a week and even then there were 'waiting' days i.e. you didn't get anything for the first 3 days, no way could I afford to go 3 days without pay and then starvation rates till I was fit.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Doesn't everyone over here get paid sick leave? I get full pay for up to 12 weeks, then half pay.

In my last job it was straight onto Statutory Sick, so you couldn’t afford to be ill

 

[The Bear]

You think those that work for Deliveroo, Amazon, Sports Direct etc get paid sick leave from their employer?

Deliveroo as a self employed driver, probably not. But the other two I would expect so yes.

Maybe I've just been lucky in my working life, but I've always had paid sick leave. I thought it was standard other than self-employed and zero hour contracts.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It absolutely isnt

 

[Alan]

Deliveroo as a self employed driver, probably not. But the other two I would expect so yes.

Maybe I've just been lucky in my working life, but I've always had paid sick leave. I thought it was standard other than self-employed and zero hour contracts.

Genuinely, what do you do for work, mate?

 

[The Bear]

Genuinely, what do you do for work, mate?

Paper company. Logistics.

 

[sycophantia]

Genuinely, what do you do for work, mate?

It's a British thing, goes back to our class system.
Manual workers are untrustworthy and would abuse a sick pay entitlement, whereas office workers and professional people are completely trustworthy.

 

[Alan]

Paper company. Logistics.

My dad was in that industry for a while, not in logistics tho. Company called Clariant. Did chemical work with paper products.

Threw him out on his ass with as little severance as they could manage back in '08, the bastards.

 

[Alan]

It's a British thing, goes back to our class system.
Manual workers are untrustworthy and would abuse a sick pay entitlement, whereas office workers and professional people are completely trustworthy.

Mate, have you heard my rant about "unskilled labor"?

Things in the US are basically as you say above. I got zero sick days ever back in my coffee-slinging days. All at the definitely-not-poverty rate of 12k a year.

I get wound up just thinking about it.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Deliveroo as a self employed driver, probably not. But the other two I would expect so yes.

Maybe I've just been lucky in my working life, but I've always had paid sick leave. I thought it was standard other than self-employed and zero hour contracts.

You've not necessarily been lucky, people often get perks like paid sick leave because they offer a service that remunerates them as such.

But I'm surprised any adult is so out of touch to not be aware that a warehouse worker (for example) doesn't get paid sick leave, regardless of whether they have been in that position themselves or not.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Factory workers very rarely get sick pay. Purely with the intention that it means they will turn up no matter how ill they are. My previous office based roles I had full pay as part of my contract. But that was working in the head offices of big retailers where the shop staff just got SSP.

 

[Carrotdude]

Yep, I worked as a zoo keeper for 10 years, got barely above minimum wage even when I was deputy head of my section. No sick pay, no one could ever afford to take a day off sick so every illness went round the whole place.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Mate, have you heard my rant about "unskilled labor"?

Things in the US are basically as you say above. I got zero sick days ever back in my coffee-slinging days. All at the definitely-not-poverty rate of 12k a year.

I get wound up just thinking about it.

Statutory sick here is about £320 a month. So less than four grand a year.

 

[The Bear]

You've not necessarily been lucky, people often get perks like paid sick leave because they offer a service that remunerates them as such.

But I'm surprised any adult is so out of touch to not be aware that a warehouse worker (for example) doesn't get paid sick leave, regardless of whether they have been in that position themselves or not.

I worked in the warehouse for years and had paid sick leave. As did everyone in the warehouses around our industrial area.

 

[Alan]

Statutory sick here is about £320 a month. So less than four grand a year.

Should have been clear, 12k was my take-home annually before subtracting sick days. If I was sick, I got nil.

Doesn't make 4k for sick leave sound any better, mind.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I worked in the warehouse for years and had paid sick leave. As did everyone in the warehouses around our industrial area.

Really? No warehouse of factory I have ever been near has paid sick pay. Indeed last year they used the threat of SSP for self isolating to try and force everyone to get vaccinated.

 

[The Bear]

Lad at work has just tested for Covid. Been told to stay off for 5 days, test on 6th and 7th days before they'll let him come back. Full pay.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Really? No warehouse of factory I have ever been near has paid sick pay. Indeed last year they used the threat of SSP for self isolating to try and force everyone to get vaccinated.

Been fortunate enough to never have to rely on sick pay so never really been sure what my entitlement is or would've been at previous employers. Imagine all would've offered some sort of enhancement apart from bar maybe my first gig as a part timer at IKEA but after googling it, slow afternoon, turns out they too axed their enhanced sickness pay for unvaccinated staff last year.

 

[lemonjelly]

SSP now has 7 waiting days, not 3. Unsurprisingly, it has been cut back since 2010.
In order to be entitled to SSP, you have to have earnings above a certain level.
anything over and above that is at an employers discretion. companies will decide whether they feel contractual sick pay has merits. I think I get 6 months full pay, then 6 months on half pay if off long term. Not all my employers have had such generous terms!