OriginalSunshine

Hi folks,

what's a "normal" annual leave package? (for an office job)

are there differences between industries (assuming a 5 day week)?

what about public holidays? are these extra?

sorry if the questions seem naive

Pollyana

Public Holidays are extra, and vary from State to State - do a search on Google for "Public holidays Queensland"(for example).
Generally leave is around 4 weeks, sometimes more after a certain length of service.

OriginalSunshine

thanks - in general what are the attitudes towards needing to take time off if a kid is ill or need to go to docs whatever?

Pollyana

Depends on the employer and often the individual manager. I work for State Government and they aren't too bad, allow sick leave to be taken if a kid is ill, for instance.
Then there is the horrendous (to my mind) Aussie culture of "taking a sickie" whenever one wants a day off - I've even worked with people who have booked their "sick" days in advance when they fancy going shopping or whatever.

pumpkin blossom

I have also worked with people who have booked sick days! Crazy.

ozzieeagle

It's a defacto way of a securely employed and usually long term staff member getting an extra week or more holidays.

Does that really not happen in the UK for long term staffers ? It's been such a long while that I've forgotten.

If it isn't common in the UK then it's one of the cultural differences that I've happily embraced.

pumpkin blossom

No. Obviously some people do claim to be sick when they are not to have an extra day or two off, but to actually BOOK sick days is unheard of.

The first time I heard someone talking about it I was genuinely baffled. I asked them if they were having a procedure. No they said. So how do you know you are going to be sick then?

The stupid thing is everywhere I have worked the sick allowance has been way less than when I was in the uk. And people use up all their sick with no thought about if they broke a leg or something.

feed_cantona

I work for a global IT related company and I get 4 weeks.

Not had to have a genuine sick day yet so not sure if I actually need a doctors paper or not! So still working that one out.

My employer is good with working from home, we are a videoconferencing/teleworking technology company so you'd expect them to be flexible in that respect.

Not sure if my post really helps the discussion...... :-)

Dorothy

I book sick days well in advance. No, not for procedures, but if I have a regularly scheduled medical appointment then I'll book other things for the same day and book it off in advance. How do I know I'll be sick? Well, I don't. But I do know that I'm entitled to sick leave so I'll use it.

pumpkin blossom

Yes, I'm talking people booking off DAYS and WEEKS. And I see no reason not to use sick leave if you are sick. I remember asking these people what happened if they were actually sick but had used up all their sick days. 'You don't get paid'. If you had food poisoning and were off for two weeks, that could make a lot of people's lives quite hard with no sick pay.

Kapri

I won't be booking any sick leave unless I'm genuinely sick!

I will be saving them up in case I really get ill, need an op etc. Am I right in thinking you can carry sick leave that's not taken into the next year?

Here in the UK I am entitled to 6 months sick on full pay and another six months on half pay. I have never taken more than a week but will miss having the security of it.

I also get 41 days annual leave here (inc bank hols). In Aus I will get 20 days plus bank holidays. Someone remind me again why I'm doing this?

Pollyana

Yep, generally you can carry sick leave forward to the next year

spouse of scouse

OriginalSunshine, this link will give you some more info on Personal Leave provisions under the National Employment Standards. http://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/sic...s/default.aspx

What was called Sick Leave has been renamed Personal Leave, which also includes provision for paid carers leave (useful if you have a sick child). If you have the leave available, an employer can't refuse to allow you to take it. Most larger organisations also have a Work/Life Balance policy, which recognises that workers have other responsibilities and requires Managers to accommodate these where possible. For example, if your child is sick but you have used all your Personal Leave, you may be able to take an annual leave day, or make up the time over future weeks.

I had 7 months of accrued sick leave, as I always felt like it was a great safety net in case of serious illness or accident. Used every bit of it up last year, after a car accident. Not having to worry about money made things so much easier.

NickyC

Some companies or organisations must have very different arrangements to everywhere I've worked regarding sick leave.

I have no idea how anyone can book weeks of sick leave in advance because everywhere I've worked you need to supply a doctors certificate if you have more than two consecutive days off sick.

Certainly in the NSW public service, if HR (or your boss) think you're taking the piss regarding sick days, they can force you to produce a doctor's certificate for every day you take off sick - even single days.

ozzieeagle

If u do 10 sunday sbifts in a year u will definetly get 25 days leave....plus once u r in the health service for 10 years u will automatically receive 90 days long service leave .... There are more benefits as well that ill go into when im not at work