How much (if any) sick leave do you get?

[Barb D]

My company has ended our unlimited sick leave benefit, and added 6 days a year of "Paid time off" instead. Well, let me tell you, six days is not enough for me. I'm working every day this holiday weekend trying to make up for the days I took off sick this month. I'll be working a lot of weekends from now on if I ever want to take another vacation again.

Does anybody know what the standard amount of sick leave is? How much do you get? And is it considered a separate benefit, or part of "paid time off"?

 

[newholidayx2]

At the computer newspaper I worked at from 1981-1993 we were given 6 paid sick days per year.
The town library where Ive been working for almost 8yrs fulltime (1yr parttime) gives us 1.75 sick days per month - 15 per year. Its separate from our vacation time (will get 4wks after 10yrs fulltime) and we also have 3 personal days per year.

 

[Stephieann]

We stopped earning sick time, but when we stopped doing that we "banked" what we had at that time. We can not use it unless we have used all our PTO.

 

[tmt martins]

Ours is unlimited but our merit raises are based on it and they can hold it agaist you .

I started working for the company 21 years ago and my first year I got hit in the face with a brick (riding motorcycle from one end of the mall to the other ).

It crushed the entire right side of my face .So here I am new on the job sitting in the hospital.Next thing I know my boss and a couple of co-workers walk in to see how I'm doing and tell me not to worry just heal on up.

Things have gotten a bit tighter but as long as you don't abuse the day here or day there they are still very good about it.

 

[daisyduck123]

Public school teacher here.

In my county, we get 1 sick day per month & we are 10 month employees....thus 10 days per year.

 

[momx2]

As an employee of the state of KY. I get one day per month for 12 days a year of sick leave. We can also use our comp. time (overtime) for sick since we don't get paid for comp. time. We also get at least a day per month of annual (vacation) leave. We get more for each 5 yrs. we are employed. For instance, I have been employed with the state for over 10 years, so I get 1 1/2 days of annual leave per month. When I hit 15 yrs. I'll get 1 3/4 days per month. Edited to add: All of these are carried over year to year if not used. I have about a month of sick accrued, but generally use my comp. for things like school events, etc. and I use all my annual every year. I used to save it and not take vacations. As you can tell below, I stopped doing that in 2001.

 

[kcork1026]

I work as a kindergarten teacher in a daycare and I have reached the upper limit of paid time off.

I get 10 vacation days and 3 sick days. And with children (mine and the ones I work with) and illnesses, that is NEVER enough

 

[Mercy]

I get 40 hours a year (5 days), but if you don't use it you can accumulate up to about 157 hours.

However, if you call out sick you get dinged for it, you will get paid if you have the time, but will get an Unplanned Absense. We are only allowed 9 during a rolling year, they fire you at 10.

 

[tribus121]

I don't get sick days but I have got paid for all of the days that I have been home sick ( 3 1/2 days in the last 17 years) get 3 weeks vacationand & can save overtime

 

[polly p]

I get one week personal time to be used for sick time or whatever. My DH gets one day a month sick time, however, they don't want anyone calling in sick so they get rewarded for not using their sick time. I think it's like $400 a year or $100 a quarter, something like that. So I encourage DH to "go to work".

 

[hulagirl87]

i don't get sick time, vacation time, paid holidays or benefits at my job.... lovely, huh? and why am I there? oh, money for disney!

 

[SDFgirl]

I teach in the public school system.

We get 10 sick days and 3 personal days per year. If you don't use your personal days they turn into sick days.

There is a nice benefit to not using your sick days because when you retire, you get paid a certain percentage of your sick leave bank. Can't remember what that percentage is though.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

No sick time, but 7 hours of PTO each payperiod (works out to a little over 4 weeks per year) that is to be used for vacation and sick time.

When I worked for the state, I earned 6 hours of vacation time per pay period AND 4 hours of sick time per pay period, but I used very little sick time and always ended up losing 100s of hours when I switched jobs (I've gone back and forth between the state and private employment a few times).

So the PTO system works better for me, but I prefer the state system, because I could save up lots of sick time in case I ever had a serious illness (not sure I have the self control to save that much PTO! ).

 

[bicker]

Unlimited

I doubt anyone truly has unlimited sick time. They don't have a hard-and-fast limit where I work, but they have never promised me that if I get sick for a long time that they'll continue to pay me my full salary, in perpetuity. Furthermore, I'm sure that if I'm sick quite often, when it comes time to evaluate my performance I'll be hurt, because how many days you were sick doesn't typically reduce what you're expected to accomplish.

 

[KingsFanInRI]

We are alloted one per quarter which we can roll over from quarter to quarter but not from year to year. In other words, if I do not use my 2nd quarter sick day (1st quarter is used already) I will have two to use in the 3rd.

I can theoretically carry three (or the 4th if I had it) into the 4th qtr, but come 1-1-07 I would lose them. I use them primarily as personal days. I think in the last 3+ years I have actually used like 3 sick days because I was actually sick.

 

[powellrj]

we get 5 per year, plus 2 personal day and they cannot be carried over to the next year.

 

[Pin Wizard]

We have two separate banks for time off. Hours accrue much faster in the one used for holidays, vacation, and personal time off. There is a separate sick bank that accrues much slower. It's a reserve more or less. If you're sick and you want to get paid, it comes out of your holiday/vacation, etc. time. It's still labeled as sick on your timekeeping and pay check, but that's where it comes from. May as well just take off a day you're sick so it doesn't show up as "sick" on your record.

The reserved sick time can't be touched until you've accumulated 200 hours in it. Can't imagine how long that takes! I have only about 39 hours in it. The exception is if you use all your personal time down to zero, then you can use your "sick" time no matter how many hours you have.

 

[Viking]

Here in Germany we don't have sick days - fortunately.
When I'm sick, I'm sick - that's it. I can stay at home up to three days in a row by just giving a call to my employer. If it's more than three days I need a certificate from my doc. The laws over here grant you full pay for up to six weeks, after that your health insurance takes over your pay, but it is reduced to 80% then. My company beefs that up based on seniority and I get up to 13 weeks full pay when I'm sick. The only negative side effect I have from being sick is that there is a deduction from my annual success sharing plan.
And being sick has no effect on my 31 vacation days per year. As those count Monday to Friday only, this results in a bit over six weeks vacation time, but usually I'm able to extend that to seven weeks by using accumulated overtime and holidays. Tze minimum madatory vacation time as per law is 24 days over here.
One final remark: I work for an American company.

 

[Tjaleks]

I also work in a school, (a private school run by a not for profit agency that also runs a residential treatment facility) I get 12 sick days and 2 personal days. If I don't use the personal days they roll over into sick days. I always use my personal days. Currently I have 17 sick days accumulated. Oh, I also get one sick day during summer school. Don't forget all the federal holidays I don't have to work, or X-mas break, or spring break. Though at time with the population of children I work with this does not seem like enough time.

What my employer is good about is if you do have a tragedy in your life they will allow people to donate sick time to you. (The people who work in the residential program get one paid leave day and one sick day per month. They work 4 on and 4 off. However, they can not use their sick time unless they call in for a complete 4 day section. So they accumulate a ton of sick time and are willing to donate if some one needs it.)

 

[bicker]

One final remark: I work for an American company.

And I work in the United States, for a German company, and don't get any of the benefits you described.