> My wife is, after 3 weeks, still really ill. Probably because she's working full time
In my opinion it’s high time to call in sick. She is neither helping herself nor her coworkers by going to work.
In my opinion it’s high time to call in sick. She is neither helping herself nor her coworkers by going to work.
They all get it every year anyway because they're constantly coming into contact with sick people so there's less benefit for staying at home.
The pharmacy itself should have policies preventing sick employees from attending work and have generous paid sick leave.
We could reduce disease transmission and thus social cost dramatically if we reduced transmission in medical contexts (e.g. hospitals are one of the main places people GET sick -- from other patients).
It would ultimately save money if there was overstaffing requirements and stringent no sick staff allowed in any medical context.
The problem is that cost reduction is at a societal level while individual firms don't have the incentive to do this. But socialized healthcare systems should be able to solve this easily.
I really wish that the situation could be better but unfortunately the huge cuts made since the financial crisis have made that impossible.
Doctors have the same problem.
I lot of people cannot call in sick.
Being sick means being unpaid, and many people cannot afford to go unpaid.
But how about if you run the business on your own, and you're concerned that if you take two weeks off the business will lose many customers who won't come back?
(I was shocked when I saw the they put the name of the illness on the note. That's so far from my employers business that it should be illegal to even ask. Employees and consumers rights in Germany seem to be seriously limited.)
You get multiple papers in Germany. The one without (!) diagnosis is for your employer.
As an employee the employer will have insurance but basically have to eat the cost of short sickness.
I'm a freelancer but I've chosen not to buy the insurance. It's very expensive and can survive on her income. I put the money I would have spent into a buffer.
Not wanting to is another issue though, but it's often irrational.
It's also implemented in all U.S. jurisdictions, for everyone except for prisoners: per the 13th Amendment, no-one not convicted of a crime can be forced to perform any work.
In Germany being sick means full payment by the employer for 6 weeks, after that you'll receive around 90% of your last net income by your healh insurance company for 72 weeks, after that slightly lower unemployment payments for another 12 month. So around 2.5 years of being sick are required until you're actually unpaid.
Zero-hour contracts are illegal in Germany.
I'm in a European juristiction - the UK. We have reasonable labour protections here. But they don't protect everyone.
If you are self-employed, then taking time off means going unpaid. It's that simple. Zero income. I have been in that position. Took a month off due to flu once (not the current flu). Lost 1 month income.
There is a government system called "Statutory Sick Pay" (SSP), but it is not paid to the self-employed, and if it did it would only start after a few weeks.
If you are a "casual" worker, then taking time off also means going unpaid because you don't have a contract of employment or regular hours to refer to. Sucks to be you, but it's harsh reality for many.
For salaried workers, the employer pays salary for a while. But it's time limited, depending on the employer. Some are more generous than others. The less generous will switch over to Statuory Sick Pay, which is not much money. It is rarely enough to cover rent or mortgage, for example, let alone food and bills.
A lot of people are self-employed, casual workers, or have household bills exceeding SSP. Taking a few weeks off due to sickness has a serious financial impact for those people, unfortunately, and it is wrong to assume everyone can afford to do so.
It can be abused though: I know of several cases where people are ill for two years, miracuously get better, work a month, then get ill for another two years.
Overall it's preferable to the UK situation.
Like you though I'm a freelancer; you earn more for less net work time so it's good.
I do too, but it is important to recognise that many people earn a lot less when freelancing than a typical salary. There are a lot of very poorly paid "self-employed" in the UK.
I've known freelancers in the UK paid less than £3 an hour, legally because "self-employed". Think things like Uber drivers, data entry on a "per document" basis or article writing "per word".
It is tough for them.
For perspective, that is less than half the legal minimum wage, and they have no sick pay, maternity, pension or other worker protections.
I am genuinely surprised people on HN think zero pay on sick days is unusual. So I'll quote from a BBC article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51738837
But TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said two million workers do not earn enough to qualify.
Prospect union added that freelancers and self-employed people would continue to face "the dilemma of no pay or going to work when it may be putting their colleagues at risk".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked Mr Johnson if the sick pay announcement would help those currently not eligible for statutory sick pay - such as those on zero hours contracts, or self-employed people.