Never. I am self-employed!

If Employees are paid up to 6 Months or more when out on Sick lPay as we know it, No wonder people play up on the System costing Millions of Euro,

If they had to claim off there Social Insurance and receive less money they would not stay out as long, they are Milking the System and the Tax Payer has to pick up the tab again ,

It is now about time there was a new ruling that persons out sick are no longer paid any salary the good times have gone the tiger economy is over and people who abuse the system will be eventually without jobs as they are creating the problem,

The people who abuse the system will be the ones to groan and moan loudest when there Companys and there handy Numbers go to the wall, Which is what will happen if this practice go on much longer especially when we are in the middle of a Recession.

But then what can you Expect when our Government are ahead of the Posse Ripping off or if you prefer Creaming  and Milking the system and they are Putting out the Message that it is alright to Rip off , And the Doctors who give out Sick Certs like there is no Tomorrow should be Struck off or Locked up as this is Fraud and greed as they are making big money from this practice.

GERRY.

I may be legally entitled to leave without a check to see if I am unwell. If I take any leave I would then be accepting pay unjustly.

I think a lot of sick days are taken as a result of work-place bullying---resulting in depression & anxiety

I'm over 30 years working in the health service and have never taken any sick leave when I was not sick.

Also self employed no work no cash so we never go sick - dont get a hand out from anyboby

The 63% who say they never take sickies, have to be telling porkies. 

Unless they mean they havent since the 29th September 2008.

Never taken a sick day in 37 years working in health service; I am not alone!

I work in the HSE and at times find it impossible to get annual leave.  I have on occasion had to 'pull a sickie' because I couldn't get Annual Leave and had babysitter problems.

Like John Williams, I am self-employed but even when I was employed by NHS the answer was never.

Never. I often longed for a day off when I was able to work. It was only when I lay paralysed in a hospital bed not able to lift my hand to my face while a fly pitched on my nose to put it off that I said "If ever I get out of here, I will never

even long for a day off. I came out of Hospital after 9 months of a stay, on a Friday, and returned to work on the following monday.

Never, I am a civil servant.  I'm also blessed with rude good health and have not needed sick leave for almost 11 years (when I had to take 2 days leave to get over a chest infection)

I am now a civil servant but have worked in the private sector for 20 years before that.  I have never taken a sick day when I wasn't ill, but on plenty of occasions when working in the private sector I have gone into work just to avoid conflict when unfit to do anything and sat there unable to work and made myself more unwell.  In my last private sector job, I was not paid for sick leave but still took sick leave when I wasn't capable of working - it was unpaid but when you're sick, you're sick.  I was told by the owner of that company that a sick cert wasn't worth the paper it was written on and that as far as she was concerned, you could have a cert for the asking (certainly not the case with my doctor!).

From personal experience, I believe that many private sector companies bully employees into coming into work when they're not well.

I am a civil servant for 32 years and I have never once taken  sick leave without being entitled to it - in fact in my 32 years of service I have had a total of 4 weeks certified sick leave(Thank God I am blessed with good health) - 2 weeks after surgery and 2  weeks on seperate occasions as a result of flu. I have no doubt that sick leave is abused by some , not just civil servants but other public sector areas as well but  I am really annoyed that the innocent as well as the guilty are tarred with the same brush

I've never taken sick leave when I'm not sick because I believe it is unfair on ones colleagues as they are the ones who have to carry the brunt of it and do my work while I'm out.However, Gerry I think such a rule would be extremely unfair and would turn us into a soulless society (the U.S. have regulations like that for example). Would you really see people who are genuinely sick and their families suffer? The vast majority of people I know, woud not. Also if peope were financially forced to work when sick not only is it bad for them but they risk infecting the rest of their workforce

Chris

Chris unfortunately I think we are already a soulless society. I have no faith in this country any more. Regards

People will always abuse the system but it is vital that sick pay is in place. At my workplace, rules are tight; we are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay which amounts to pretty much nothing, and whether we are paid in full is at the managers descretion. We also have a strict procedure where any absence, even of just 1 day, stays on file for a year. 1 absence = no action, 2 = a note on your file, 3 = a verbal warning, 4 = a written warning, 5 = final written warning, 6 = dismissal. You need to be absence-free for a year to clear your file. They can and do use these measures if they feel people are taking time of unecessarily; for instance, having a severe cold etc would not be classed as a sufficient excuse for having time off.

But, many people have genuine reasons for needing time off. I will go in when possible, and have been into work with laryngitis and severe stomach cramps. However, I recently had an operation which necessitated 8 weeks off work and then 6 weeks on massively reduced hours. I work only 13 hours a week and am at uni, and if I hadn't been paid, I would really have struggled (I struggled as it was as I always boost my wages with overtime, and so this was sorely missed). I did not enjoy being off work: I was in pain, and also struggling emotionally with my diagnosis, and work would have been a welcome distraction, but it wasn't an option. Now luckily I don't have bills that need paying or children that need looking after, but if we had a system of no sick pay, the reality is that while that system could not be abused, many genuine people would suffer.

Perhaps employers do need to adopt stricter guidelines however, and start requesting medical evidence.

1 absence = no action, 2 = a note on your file, 3 = a verbal warning, 4 = a written warning, 5 = final written warning, 6 = dismissal

What happens if someone is sick for 6 days? They lose their job?

Does that seem fair?