Employment Offer

[Banksy]

I have been offered sponsorship on a 457, reading through the offer of employment it mentions I am entitled to just 10 days sick leave. Is this common in Oz or is it a consequence of me being on a 457.

I'm worried that if I were to be off work with illness for a while we would be in real trouble. Is it possible to pay health insurance of some kind that would cover my bills if I couldn't work.

 

cheers

[MovingtoTasmania]

It does depend on what state you are in. In WA you can have up to 76 hours sick leave in any one year but it's cumulative so any you don't take this year rolls over to the next year.

[Banksy]

It does depend on what state you are in. In WA you can have up to 76 hours sick leave in any one year but it's cumulative so any you don't take this year rolls over to the next year.

 

 

I'll be in Victoria, is it possible to pay some sort of insurance to cover my bills should I need it.

[jennlx]

My company in the UK only pays 8 days sick leave, then it goes unpaid. And I have pretty good benefits (free private health, non-contributory pension etc.).

It's the law for everyone in Victoria, not just the visa you're on. WA obviously have a very good deal!

 

I could only suggest you consider some kind of 'safety net' savings account should you be very unfortunate and are sick for more than two weeks. I'm pretty sure there would be an insurance policy which may pay a benefit of some kind in the event of 'long term' sickness.

[wolvesaussie]

Its really weird how it works. Coming from the public sector in the UK it was pretty generous, people could have 3 months off, come back for a few months then go off again and still get paid I think... taking the piss... Here in Victoria (according to my mum as I only worked her a few months) yes you only get a few weeks sick leave, but apparently people use this as holiday entitlement as they worry if they change jobs they will "lose" the accumulated sick leave they have built up over a number of years. Its a bit odd how it works, my mum wants to change jobs, but she also needs an opperation , she has 15 weeks sick leave saved up over the years, but if she changed jobs she loses it all then had the operation she would face a long period without pay. So she had to stay in her work until after the opperation, shes on a waiting list.

[Parley]

Yes you can buy income protection insurance through any reputable insurance company.

[Xenon4017]

Coming from the public sector in the UK it was pretty generous, people could have 3 months off, come back for a few months then go off again and still get paid I think... taking the piss.

 

Here in Victoria ..... people use this as holiday entitlement as they worry if they change jobs they will "lose" the accumulated sick leave they have built up over a number of years.

 

And that _isn't_ taking the piss?

 

You've just highlighted a very common factor that will hamstring Oz in the long run. Namely that sick leave is seen as holiday entitlement. Emphasis on "entitlement". Sick leave ought to be seen as a kind of insurance. Most people don't need it, but you're happy if you do end up in a position where you need it. The act of abusing the system has even entered the common vernacular, which is indicative of it's widespread use and acceptance.

[Gareth 666]

My previous company here in the UK gave weekly paid workers 6 shift days sick per year. Many would see this as extra holiday though, on top of the 21 shift days holiday which was 7 weeks as we worked 3 shifts a week. The management for wise to this and around 18 months ago they stopped offering sick pay to new starters and are looking into ways to remove it for existing employees.

 

My current company only pay SSP for the first 3 days sick then the amount you paid after that depends on your length of service. However, they do run an attendance incentive program where if you go the whole year without any sick time you earn an extra 2 days holiday entitlement.

 

Maybe this is the way the world is going and Oz will follow suit.

[Xenon4017]

However, they do run an attendance incentive program where if you go the whole year without any sick time you earn an extra 2 days holiday entitlement.

 

 

 

I thought this kind of offer was not legal. Still, it'll sort the wheat from the chaff. I'm pretty sure that if such an agreement took hold here, you'd be able to put employees into 1 of two categories. Those who take no sick days and those who take all sick days.

[Incata]

And that _isn't_ taking the piss?

 

You've just highlighted a very common factor that will hamstring Oz in the long run. Namely that sick leave is seen as holiday entitlement. Emphasis on "entitlement". Sick leave ought to be seen as a kind of insurance. Most people don't need it, but you're happy if you do end up in a position where you need it. The act of abusing the system has even entered the common vernacular, which is indicative of it's widespread use and acceptance.

 

It's the same in Canada. People say that they have 10 days leave and 10 days sick pay and they make sure they take the sick pay. If they are genuinely unwell, but can walk, they still come into the office to a void using their, "leave". They have to be really ill to take a sick day.

 

However, most companies have two days leave called "duvet days" which are days that you can call in and say you want a duvet day. This covers hangovers, emergencies at home etc etc. It's a fab idea!

[Incata]

I thought this kind of offer was not legal. Still, it'll sort the wheat from the chaff. I'm pretty sure that if such an agreement took hold here, you'd be able to put employees into 1 of two categories. Those who take no sick days and those who take all sick days.

 

It would breach the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK as if someone was off with something such as an asthma attack (which can count as a disability) and they are then penalised (ie not allowed the extra leave), they would be considered to have been discriminated against.

 

The essential problem for employers is deciding what counts as sickness and what can be linked to a disability. If they make a mistake, they are screwed.

 

Just for clarity, a disability is considered to be any condition which goes on for 12 months or more, and has a significant impact on the persons day to day life. Thus asthma, as a lifelong condition, would count (and a company I worked for got caught out on this one - we settled before it went to tribunal).

[dmjg]

The school I worked in, in the uk used to put everyone's name in a hat who hadn't had a day off all year.

 

they then pulled one name out on the last day. The winner got an envelope with £100.

 

I won it twice, the year between my two wins it wasn't done. I have the feeling my name was the only one in there.

 

Im still not sure if I should have taken a few sick days per year instead.....

[Guest littlesarah]

Where I work, we can 'carry over' a proportion of our unused sick leave into subsequent years, so taking sick leave in order to acquire extra days off results in less accrued leave, thereby avoiding the 'incentive' effect. Having said that, no one covers us when we're off, so any work you need to get done will have to be done when you get back, which also acts as a disincentive to taking sick leave...

[Johndoe]

Queensland health have a fairly generous sickness scheme. My wife's accrued sick hours on her last but one pay slip, was 556.90 hrs. One her last pay slip it was 561.70. As she only works a 9 day fortnight that means she has accrued 4.8hrs for 72hrs worked.

[nicolac34]

I get 10 days sick leave per year in my job in WA, thought that was average for workplaces here. It accumulates as well so I've actually got 17 days stored up so far - for me it's a safety net in case I was really sick or needed some time off to care for someone so I'd rather have that.

 

Although my brother sees sick leave as an 'entitlement' and makes sure he uses every hour he gets whether he's sick or not (and he's never really sick).

 

My OH worked for a company in the UK that gave 10 days per year as 'personal leave' so you didn't necessarily have to be sick, could use it if you needed to hang around for the gas man or something. But they paid out those days at the end of the year if you hadn't used them - sort of like a bonus.

[frogian]

In my job I accrue sick leak which rolls over continually. To try to ensure people don't abuse it (too much), they require a doctors note if you are off ill for more than one day.

 

People do see sick leave as a type of holiday accruement though and will pull a sicky here and there to make sure that they "get what they are entitled to".