Pollyana

BadgeIsBack

I gather that all employers allow sick leave, whether Aus, UK, pvt or public. And to be perfectly frank, I don't use enough of it!

I went to the London comedy festival years ago and a chappie was making fun of the Monday sick day..how once you rang in you then felt a million dollars...the sickie may be talked about in Australia but many people have chucked one somewhere. Bet there is someone in the UK right now weighing it up..

They also allow carer's leave, you name it. Actually I think in my place of work it's the same : I'd have to check.

I have a lot of migrants that work for me and I always look the other way when there is problems around childcare, needing time off. This is because I am myself a migrant with no family.
My wife says I must be a 'great boss' as I have a policy of not making staff feel uncomfortable around flexible work. I tell her it's a professional workplace and by and large it all balances out.
Anyway, I want to be flexible too. How can it be one rule for me and another for others? I remember the battler UK supervisor in the UK practically unrolling the National Socialism armbands...it was cute to watch and we both knew in a way who was in a position of privilege..in the bigger scheme..I was there for 6 weeks, she had been there for years..

There are a few staff who are part of the furniture who take more sickies now I think about it but they also make the contribution they need to. People who run like that for years tend to move on or end up getting retrenched..

Dorothy

I agree. Where I work it's my English work mate who regularly takes CBF leave. Yes, we work in government.

BadgeIsBack

He he. All I have really got out of all this is that openly talking about taking sick leave does appear to be a cute thing in Australian work life. But then it's fairly laid back here. (At this point some aggrieved soul will be along to say they've never seen a nation work so hard...well then, perhaps we'll allow the sickie then...! It all ends up computing in the end on BE..something for everyone..)

brits1

My Oh and myself both worked in the Government and private sectosr it was the same in both industries for all types of people, as I said we only took a sick day if really and honestly needed (which was not often at all thank the gods) We were just surprised at first that these employees just seemed to take these days as another paid leave as we had not experienced that way of thinking before. If I was an employer and treated my employee's well I would hope they would not "pay" me back in that way.

BadgeIsBack

Who has the purse, and controls it? A better indicator is whether the job gets down and margins are up and budgets are met..and employees feel valued and not taken advantage of. In some ways the employer traditionally had the economic might.

spouse of scouse

As long as you got something out of the discussion, that's ok then

brits1

If I was a good/decent employer then I would like to be treated by my employees as I treat them, sneaking sick days etc does not sound upfront and honest...in my book that does not sound like a happy working environment and not fair to a decent employer.

Almo

I had a great boss in my last job in Oz who was also of the view that I had a job to do, and exactly what hours I used to get it done didn't really matter. Some times of the year I worked long, long hours, and logged in from home which meant that during quiet times I would just leave early/take a long lunch without feeling guilty. I could nip to doctor/post office during work hours, not lunch time, which was invariably quicker.

However, she won't (still a close friend) tolerate piss taking and I know has spoken to some of my former colleagues over time keeping as they were getting ridiculous. In an adult environment you have to expect people to behave like grown ups! I took a 2 week period of sick leave but for occasional days she'd decline the sick leave and just say it all evened out in the end. She was a great boss.

I now work in a safety critical, heavily regulated environment which has no flexibility (genuinely, it can't) but the flip side is that I get paid for every second of work I do, even a couple of minutes overtime. We get paid time off for hospital appointments but are expected to try and schedule routine appointments outside working hours (as we work shifts this is pretty easy usually). I have colleagues in this job who pull sickies and had colleagues in Oz who pulled sickies. I think that's the same in both countries although I do think that the fact you accumulate sick leave in Oz does cultivate the attitude of some that it is simply additional leave.

In terms of medical care, I would say at the point of use my care has been equally good in the UK as it was in Oz. I had shingles and pneumonia in Oz, plus some dental surgery with a maxfac surgeon (privately). In the UK I've had Bell's palsy and some routine dental work. All absolutely fine, good treatment, seen quickly and had no issues getting an NHS dentist, which I was expecting to be an issue. I agree though that in my experience it was much easier to get a doctor's appointment in Oz and it was great to just be able to call a doctor up and go see them, even if they weren't 'my' doctor.