Why would you answer a Texas phone number when you are on vacation?
Whine like a baby, now with 500% more drama!
- Thread starter strawman
- Start date
Has your substitute gone in to early labor yet?
GasBandit
Staff member
She certainly seems to have suffered an attack of the Dumb.Has your substitute gone in to early labor yet?
Because if I don't deal with it now, it will be 10x the headache when I get back.
Then you should tell them you expect to be paid extra for having to deal with it while you're out.
I find it hard to burn all the PTO I earn at my job because of this exact thing. I'll put in 40 hours of vacation time, and only end up taking 18-20 of it (or less!) because of all the calls and stuff I take while I'm out.
At least you have a legitimate reason why you can't help them.
I just have a bad case of presenteeism.
I currently have something like 270hrs sick time and 200hrs vac.
But I'm saving them because I might need them some day.
--Patrick
Like many companies, mine has a cap on PTO, so I try to spend it as often as I can. It just doesn't always work out
I've had mine since before the cap. There's a cap now, but they can't take away my extra until I use enough to go below the cap. I just can't accumulate more (or else I'd be approaching 400hrs sick time)
--Patrick
I have an obscene amount of sick time, especially when you consider I took roughly 3 months off a few years back. I don't take much vacation time because we have state holidays where if you work a holiday, you can take that time whenever you want. At a certain point my vacation will roll over into sick time.
I still don't get the concept of "sick days". How the heck do you tell someone they're "allowed" to be sick a specific number of days a year? It makes no sense.
It can only have been invented in a country where doctors are so expensive or hard to get to that people will often and as a matter of course be sick and yet not go to a medical professional.
I have 0 sick days. If I can't/don't want to work because I'm sick, I get a doctor's note - doctor, dentist, emergency, whatever - stating I'm sick or incapacitated, and for how long. If a doctor says I can work, I have to go work. If my boss thinks my doctor's being too generous with sick days, he can send over a doctor to check how sick I am (if I'm not allowed to leave my house) or send a letter that I have to go present myself to a specific doctor (if I am allowed to leave the house). Those aren't "boss-chosen" doctors, they're specialized workplace doctors accepted by the union, so they can't be too severe.
*shrug*
Silly 'mericans.
It can only have been invented in a country where doctors are so expensive or hard to get to that people will often and as a matter of course be sick and yet not go to a medical professional.
I have 0 sick days. If I can't/don't want to work because I'm sick, I get a doctor's note - doctor, dentist, emergency, whatever - stating I'm sick or incapacitated, and for how long. If a doctor says I can work, I have to go work. If my boss thinks my doctor's being too generous with sick days, he can send over a doctor to check how sick I am (if I'm not allowed to leave my house) or send a letter that I have to go present myself to a specific doctor (if I am allowed to leave the house). Those aren't "boss-chosen" doctors, they're specialized workplace doctors accepted by the union, so they can't be too severe.
*shrug*
Silly 'mericans.
fade
Staff member
Man, I'm not missing any vacation time. The way I look at it, you never get this year back, so better do it right.[DOUBLEPOST=1459457113,1459456880][/DOUBLEPOST]As for sick days, I could counter with why should I pay you if you're not working? It's a valid question. What do I get out of it as an employer?*
*this is a philosophical question. Not actually suggesting it.
*this is a philosophical question. Not actually suggesting it.
It's not that, it's how many days you can be paid without working. Remember that in America, the idea of paying someone who doesn't actually do any work for it is considered "unfair" to people who are working.
--Patrick
"the right to legally employ people".
After the first month you're not paid by your employer but by the state, btw
So how do you go about skipping a day just because you don't want to go in?
How do you get a doctor's note if you're only sick for a day or two?
Man, screw hiking. That's what Skyrim is for.
I expect requirements vary from employer to employer - some would only expect a note for a 3+ day illness, while others might require a doctors note immediately. Since healthcare is subsidized the cost to obtain such a note isn't high. There are limits to the maximum amount of time one can be sick with "minor" illnesses per year, but they are mandated by the government and the same across all employers. The employer pays the cost of minor illnesses, while the government steps in to pay the paycheck for major illnesses after a certain period of time (think cancer and other similar situations).
See the following document for a comparison across major economies:
http://cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-sick-days-2009-05.pdf
This only works in a system where employers pay less for a given job, and employees pay more in taxes, compared to the US.
You go the first day you're sick, of course. Most employers ask a doctor's note within 24 hours of the start of absence, anyway.
if you have the flu often enough that that would be a hassle, there's a good chance there's an underlying issue (which could just be "you're a kindergarten teacher and get covered in germs 10 times a day", sure, but can be something as simple as a dietary problem resulting in too little or too much of something, or some weird auto-immune disease that only manifests with regular flu-like symptoms that would never get diagnosed if you didn't have a doctor to remark on the amount of flus you have).
Of course things do change from person to person; one of my colleagues came to work with 3 broken ribs and a broken wrist (which, for a job that is literally 100% "talking on the phone and typing", a bit painful), while another stayed at home for 6 months for a busted knee (which was miraculously still well enough to drive a car. Hmmm). Some female colleagues tend to be out one or two days a month practically every month because of their period, because they get them pretty bad. Others don't. Eh.
And a lot of people do that, spreading the illnesses further...[DOUBLEPOST=1459525017,1459524828][/DOUBLEPOST]I just basically hate going to the doctor to begin with, if I had to go every time I wanted to take a sick day, it would go to work on death door instead.
...of course this also happens in the US where you have to use a precious vacation/PTO/etc day.
GasBandit
Staff member
Yeah see, if my kid has a fever, he can't go to school. I really don't see the need to run my kid to the doctor for a cold, just so I can get paid at work. That is a god damn hassle.But there's a whole different system in place for those, completely unrelated to your own sickness and absence. Social leave is a separate set of off days you can use for such cases...though you need to supply a reason, and if it's for a sick kid, yup, a doctor's note
Is skipping work to go hiking just a Canadian thing?
BenderOhWaitYouAreSeriousLetMeLaughHarder.gif
Well how about skipping work to play video games? That sounds more American.
Skipping work to go hiking/skiing/etc totally happens in Colorado. Gas is just jaded because he took 1 week off of work for the first time in forever and now his workplace is going to burn down.
Wow. I can't imagine getting an appointment that quickly. I call my doctor (or the kids' doctor) and I can guarantee for something minor or self-resolving it will be at least a 2 day wait to be seen. We might get seen same day if it is something that could require medication and there are appointments available. Otherwise you go sit in the ER (A&E) for 7 hours just to get told you have a virus that will clear up on it's own.
In countries with universal-styled healthcare, access to that sort of low-hanging-fruit service is (in my limited experience) much more commonplace. I'm sure there's a decent write-up someone else can find, but the Wikipedia article on Health Centers is a good start.
Different systems; more doctors. I can't imagine the UK system where you're assigned a GP and you're stuck with that one, either - a free choice of doctor 's pretty important in finding one you can trust, understands you, and whatever. I already shudder when I consider the American "only certain doctors are covered by your insurance" thing. Screw that
Anyway, most GPs here have "open" visiting hours besides their by-appointment hours. That's pretty much up to the individual doctor, though - though they'll usually coordinate with other GPs in the area so there's usually one you cna go to if it's urgent enough to need to go today, even if that means not going to your own.
For example, the hours my GP's open for visits without appointment:
Monday 9-10 AM and 4:30-6:30 PM
Tueday 9-10AM and 2:30-4:30 PM
Wednesday 4:30-6:30 PM
Thursday 9-10 AM and 4:30-8:30 PM
Friday 9-10 AM and 2:30-4:30 PM
He's a bit of an odd duck in that most GPs I've known had at least some visiting hours in the week-end as well. He's also available after an appointment outside of those hours, but only on the week days, a bit weird. Those hours aren't exactly conductive to going before or after work, obviously, but hey, if it's just for a prescription you can go on Thursday evening - or make an appointment to come in a bit later. Besides, those are the hours he opens and closes his doors - come in at 6:28 PM and he'll still see you even if it means staying 'till 10 PM...which, without an appointment, can happen on occasion.
I'm not at all saying it's a perfect system, just explaining, to be clear. The idea of being able to say "hey man, I'm not coming in today, I have a hangover" is tempting
Anyway, most GPs here have "open" visiting hours besides their by-appointment hours. That's pretty much up to the individual doctor, though - though they'll usually coordinate with other GPs in the area so there's usually one you cna go to if it's urgent enough to need to go today, even if that means not going to your own.
For example, the hours my GP's open for visits without appointment:
Monday 9-10 AM and 4:30-6:30 PM
Tueday 9-10AM and 2:30-4:30 PM
Wednesday 4:30-6:30 PM
Thursday 9-10 AM and 4:30-8:30 PM
Friday 9-10 AM and 2:30-4:30 PM
He's a bit of an odd duck in that most GPs I've known had at least some visiting hours in the week-end as well. He's also available after an appointment outside of those hours, but only on the week days, a bit weird. Those hours aren't exactly conductive to going before or after work, obviously, but hey, if it's just for a prescription you can go on Thursday evening - or make an appointment to come in a bit later. Besides, those are the hours he opens and closes his doors - come in at 6:28 PM and he'll still see you even if it means staying 'till 10 PM...which, without an appointment, can happen on occasion.
I'm not at all saying it's a perfect system, just explaining, to be clear. The idea of being able to say "hey man, I'm not coming in today, I have a hangover" is tempting