Will we be sent home now from work with the flu or a cold in future?

froog

this is real difficult one for businesses to manage. you basically have two types of worker;

those who milk every possible opportunity to get off work and don't care how their managers see this.

"martyrs" who come into work even when sick because they think this makes them look good in the eyes of management.

both are bad for business.

titan18

Tbf if you're too sick to come into work, should you be working at all then imo. A headcold is one thing but if you've actually got the flu, you're not going to work through it even staying at home.

suicide_circus

i do be destroyed with hayfever some times. expecting to be condemned as unclean if we ever get back to work!

nelly17

Most places I would think wont take the chance the Government has produced this guide for businesses to follow

rahmalec

You know, not all jobs are in an office that can then be worked from home.

The only thing that would work, in my opinion, is some sort of universal sick leave scheme backed by the government. Something that would apply to all workers, whether they are PAYE, self-employed, zero-contracts, part-time, full-time, contractors with their own companies, or a mix. No matter what industry they're in, with a doctor's cert, they should be able to claim. It should also be based on a worker's current income. That can be self-assessed, based on payslips, a previous year's income or an estimation of current year's income.

nelly17

Would'nt that just be Illness Benifit - which we have

r93kaey5p2izun

This is going to be a big problem for those with hayfever, asthmatic cough etc. In key areas it will mean a shortage of staff. Schools will struggle to stay open for example.

rahmalec

nelly17 wrote: »

Would'nt that just be Illness Benifit - which we have

No because:

- It's a flat rate, not based on the income the person has, so somebody with a high income will still be incentivised to go into work. The purpose is to discourage people going into work.

- It also doesn't apply universally to all workers regardless of how they're employed. This is a problem for all benefits currently. For example, I'm self-employed, am a paye worker in 5 different small jobs, and have my own small company (of which I'm the only employee, so that's paye job number 6!). I rarely qualify for any scheme. I didn't qualify for any covid payment for example, despite losing all work bar 2 hours a week, and because of my industry (events), have cancellations up to November!

storker

rahmalec wrote: »

You know, not all jobs are in an office that can then be worked from home.

The only thing that would work, in my opinion, is some sort of universal sick leave scheme backed by the government. Something that would apply to all workers, whether they are PAYE, self-employed, zero-contracts, part-time, full-time, contractors with their own companies, or a mix. No matter what industry they're in, with a doctor's cert, they should be able to claim. It should also be based on a worker's current income. That can be self-assessed, based on payslips, a previous year's income or an estimation of current year's income.

Given the name and how it's levied, you'd think that's what PRSI would be providing.

Herb Powell

pure.conya wrote: »

Shouldn't somebody sick be avoiding people already, i never understand others insistence on going to work or wanting to call for a visit while sick, no thanks, give me a shout a few days after you're feeling better

pjohnson wrote: »

You would think people would be intelligent enough NOT to go to work sick at the best of times.


If they aren't capable of making that decision all by themseleves then they should be sent home. This is how it always shoulda been.

Not how it works in the real world, lads.

Reality for a lot of people is sick days have to be used carefully because they're either unpaid (on likely an already low-paying job), or severely limited and come with consequences from cunntbag managers even if you do take what you rightfully should. I have been in that situation, it's not nice.

There is actually, as far as I am aware, no legal requirement to provide sick pay in Ireland. So dismissing people who go to work sick as stupid/selfish or "martyrs" ? Cop on to fucck, would ye. As usual, the poorest and most vulnerable getting blamed for society's general lack of giving a shhite.

fly_agaric

Herb Powell wrote: »

Not how it works in the real world, lads.

I expect reality will have changed for a while anyway.
The scum-bag managers will have had a Damascene conversion.
One of their minions starts coughing they'll be running out in a hazmat suit and giving the poor spluttering/hacking worker the bum's rush out of the building!
A collective change of attitude about taking days off sick for colds/flu etc Would be one positive to come out of this mess anyway.

jrosen

For many people who have no sick leave entitlements they will continue to go to work if they need the money.

Rearding schools, yes I think policies have to be changed and enforced. However I have a son with allergies and he regularly sounds like he has a bad dose. Maybe its time we have school nurses.

maxsmum

Herb Powell wrote: »

Not how it works in the real world, lads.

Reality for a lot of people is sick days have to be used carefully because they're either unpaid (on likely an already low-paying job), or severely limited and come with consequences from cunntbag managers even if you do take what you rightfully should. I have been in that situation, it's not nice.

There is actually, as far as I am aware, no legal requirement to provide sick pay in Ireland. So dismissing people who go to work sick as stupid/selfish or "martyrs" ? Cop on to fucck, would ye. As usual, the poorest and most vulnerable getting blamed for society's general lack of giving a shhite.

I might have 10 children booked in a clinic (not a Dr/nurse but still patients who have been waiting months for an assessment) on a given day and I would never cancel it because I have a cold. I don't think it makes me a martyr, but it is worrying how this will progress if I am told I should stay home. Another consequence is if my child is sent home from school with a cold, I now have no grandparents potentially until a vaccine is found to collect him. So both situations will lead to 10 people in one day being rescheduled until god knows when, as we are short staffed as it is in my area.

yerwanthere123

Can't see anything changing in low paying jobs. I work in hospitality, bar having a limb sawn off you're expected to come into work. There's no such thing as sick pay or leave. Last September I'd been vomiting and was assigned to work on a food buffet that 250+ people would be eating from that morning. After much persuasion and arguing with my supervisor she finally relented and agreed that yes, it probably wasn't a good idea to have someone who's clearly sick doing it and put me doing something else. I wasn't sent home. Yes I should probably should have called in sick, but it honestly wouldn't have been worth the hassle/passive aggressive texts/roster meddling that would probably follow. This is the reality for lots of people in their jobs. There'll need to be a big cultural shift in low paying jobs for things to change, but I honestly can't even see a global pandemic changing it.

hmmm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Can't see anything changing in low paying jobs. I work in hospitality, bar having a limb sawn off you're expected to come into work. There's no such thing as sick pay or leave. Last September I'd been vomiting and was assigned to work on a food buffet that 250+ people would be eating from that morning. After much persuasion and arguing with my supervisor she finally relented and agreed that yes, it probably wasn't a good idea to have someone who's clearly sick doing it and put me doing something else. I wasn't sent home. Yes I should probably should have called in sick, but it honestly wouldn't have been worth the hassle/passive aggressive texts/roster meddling that would probably follow. This is the reality for lots of people in their jobs. There'll need to be a big cultural shift in low paying jobs for things to change, but I honestly can't even see a global pandemic changing it.

When the contact tracers trace the Covid outbreak back to the buffet, and when it hits the paper that 5 of the guests are in ICU, and when the bar is named, and when it emerges the business expects staff to work when sick, it'll be the end of the business. This might need to happen once or twice, but employers will get the message.