Yup, in addition to unlimited PTO, sick days - there are also personal days. You can take these whenever you want to. I call them "mental health" days, when you wake up and go "I DON'T WANNA WORK TODAY!"
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So I Just Found Out That in The US You Have Very Limited Sick Leave
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
Yup, in addition to unlimited PTO, sick days - there are also personal days. You can take these whenever you want to. I call them "mental health" days, when you wake up and go "I DON'T WANNA WORK TODAY!"
These are the companies that hemorrhage talent if they're in tech/finance, at least for people who are good at their job.
As Syriel said:
I'd agree that this is true. If your workplace's culture is to penalize you, or even give you shit/side-eye for taking time off, it's a worthless policy.
Again that's why I highlighted that the right thing to do is to not only offer sufficient paid time off, but to also have policies in place to ensure that people actually take a reasonable amount of time off.
My current arrangement as a teacher in Australia.
12 weeks annual paid vacation (4 weeks of that comes with a 17.5 percent pay bonus)
20 additional annual days of sick or personal/family responsibility leave.
Long service leave (basically after every 7 years service I can have another 10 weeks vacation or take it as a cash bonus.
Guaranteed pay rise every year of at least 2.5 percent.
3 months parental leave at full pay, plus an additional 18 weeks government maternity leave at minimum wage.
Employer pays an additional 12.5 percent of my wage into superannuation (401k basically).
Couple that with free universal healthcare, childcare subsidies and no guns, and I'm pretty content!
Industrial relations in America seems like the law of the jungle.
12 weeks annual paid vacation (4 weeks of that comes with a 17.5 percent pay bonus)
20 additional annual days of sick or personal/family responsibility leave.
Long service leave (basically after every 7 years service I can have another 10 weeks vacation or take it as a cash bonus.
Guaranteed pay rise every year of at least 2.5 percent.
3 months parental leave at full pay, plus an additional 18 weeks government maternity leave at minimum wage.
Employer pays an additional 12.5 percent of my wage into superannuation (401k basically).
Couple that with free universal healthcare, childcare subsidies and no guns, and I'm pretty content!
Industrial relations in America seems like the law of the jungle.
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I'm amazed so many Americans are still in the dark about this. It's the internet age. But my perception as a Canadian is that the culture of aggressive patriotism, and the desire of those in power to keep a majority of the population ignorant, breeds just enough xenophobia to keep most Americans convinced that because their's is the dominant economy, media culture, and military power, that every American citizen must be on top as well.
Writing it down, it's horribly reminiscent of North Korea. It's also unpleasantly impressive that the wealthy and powerful have been able to perpetuate this myth without going full China and censoring the internet.
You guys misunderstand me. I'm saying it is possible to have social security despite not having strong unions. I'm not saying that unions aren't good.
I'll be honest and say i don't know the reason for Portugal to have "sick days/leave" ingrained in our constitution. I doubt it was because of unions as our constitution was made after our dictatorship. But maybe i'm wrong and there were unions during our dictatorship? or maybe the original draft of the constitution didn't had sick days/leave and was added by unions? i don't know but tbf i don't remember portuguese unions being important for that.
That said unions don't have to waste time, in Portugal, supporting sick days/leave as the government has to do that or courts will act.
If you think that's backwards you should see how much it costs to go through a pregnancy and deliver a baby in the good ol' US of A. How much to get a midwife or/and OBGYN, antenatal checks, scans, tests, medications/vitamin supplements and much more. Oh and I'm just talking about a standard healthy way to deliver a baby because if you gotta have c-section or your baby is born premature then the bill payment figures go absolutely bonkers.
And yea your work health insurance should cover most of the cost but you'll still end up paying anyway so to think countries with national healthcare get everything I've mentioned above - including complicated birth procedures like c-section and premature birth if needed - for f-r-e-e then lol, America is pretty behind on that too.
And yea your work health insurance should cover most of the cost but you'll still end up paying anyway so to think countries with national healthcare get everything I've mentioned above - including complicated birth procedures like c-section and premature birth if needed - for f-r-e-e then lol, America is pretty behind on that too.
I am now 40 years old, and I have always lived in SC. Even I have only recently started coming around to what is actually happening to us Americans versus what is done in most other countries.
I deliver for Amazon and it's absolute shit. My wife is due with our second daughter in late March early April and as of right now I have 4 PTO days. I just flat out can't get sick or need to take any time off before then if I want to be out to help with our daughter and still be paid. I was exposed to COVID on Thanksgiving and then was told that unless I tested positive then I'd have to be there, business as usual. I have stage 3b chronic kidney disease and I have to show up no matter my condition. If I don't, that's it. We are nothing more than bodies filling a spot.
Yes, the entire system is indeed broken.
I deliver for Amazon and it's absolute shit. My wife is due with our second daughter in late March early April and as of right now I have 4 PTO days. I just flat out can't get sick or need to take any time off before then if I want to be out to help with our daughter and still be paid. I was exposed to COVID on Thanksgiving and then was told that unless I tested positive then I'd have to be there, business as usual. I have stage 3b chronic kidney disease and I have to show up no matter my condition. If I don't, that's it. We are nothing more than bodies filling a spot.
Yes, the entire system is indeed broken.
UK here and 6 months full pay then 6 months half pay for sick leave, I've been working at home for a good few years so luckily rarely need to take it anyway but it's always been pretty common in my environment for people to have a week off sick if under the weather.
You 'self certify' for the first week meaning no doctors note needed. You rarely get pulled up on it unless you are obviously taking the piss
I also get 32.5 days paid annual leave (plus 9 bank holidays that everyone gets)
New terms at my place are decreasing though so new hires would get 3 months full pay And 3 months half pay and about 25 days leave.
Also it's always been really flexible in terms of just taking time for a dentists appointment etc.
How does compassionate / bereavement leave work in the US, does it even exist?
You 'self certify' for the first week meaning no doctors note needed. You rarely get pulled up on it unless you are obviously taking the piss
I also get 32.5 days paid annual leave (plus 9 bank holidays that everyone gets)
New terms at my place are decreasing though so new hires would get 3 months full pay And 3 months half pay and about 25 days leave.
Also it's always been really flexible in terms of just taking time for a dentists appointment etc.
How does compassionate / bereavement leave work in the US, does it even exist?
Even with insurance, it can vary wildly how much you pay out of pocket.
I know more than one couple that have had multiple kids, and even though each birth happened at the same hospital with the same insurance, their out of pocket bill was massively different simply because of what doctor(s) were available to perform the delivery.
I believe the chart is suppose to show maternity and paternity leave available by country law. USA does not have maternity leave set in law so how much time you are entitled to take time off to take care for your newborn is dependant on policies set by your employers and some employers choose not to give a fuck.
I haven't exactly worked in great places (US based), but Sick Leave tended to be one of the better things there. Most people rarely touched it since you needed an actual doctor's note, and I'm not aware of anyone being fired for being out sick.
That being said, the amount of paid hours for sick leave isn't great, and quickly digging through PTO instead sucks.
That being said, the amount of paid hours for sick leave isn't great, and quickly digging through PTO instead sucks.
I don't have sick leave here in Japan either. Well, technically I do, but I can only use it if I get cancer or need to be hospitalized for a long period of time. For stuff like the flu, or if I'm just feeling really shitty for a few days, I have to use my vacation days.
Mind blowing. My first full time job out of college offered me 30 paid days from the first day I worked there.
A few years back I caught something very bad from my boss and it turned into an Pneumonia. I tried to call out four separate times because I couldn't stop coughing every time I talked and needed an inhaler just to breathe. They forced me to come in every time for long ass shifts. When I told them I couldn't talk, they put my sick ass at the well to make drinks for people. Potentially getting more people sick even though I tried my absolute best to prevent that. I left the job shortly after that.
This country sucks.
This country sucks.
Most of us don't travel out of the country. Also, the media doesn't cover deficiencies like this.
Depends on the company. Most let you pay into short and/or long term disability benefits for that period of time. You'll get like 50% pay during the disability period if you're covered. If not covered, mostly fucked. For many companies this is now they handle maternity leave as well.
Our women are American women. Therefore, they don't need any time off because they're so strong-willed, not even pushing a deformed football through a 3-inch orifice is gonna stop them from working their 9-5 for $12/hour!!!!
My appendix nearly burst and I was working from the hospital after the surgery lol, thankfully the surgery happened on a day I had off but there were some complications so I had to stay another day and I had work the next day
Haha oh yeah! I remember a story a year or two ago maybe about a woman who the hospital charged $40 just to have her baby brought over to her for her to hold after it was born......
Why america let's this shit continue as a whole is something I'll never understand. I get it that a lot of people don't know better but the Internet exists, and these stories and viral things come up all the time and still so many Americans don't realise how fucked they are every day by letting corporations be in total control.
It sucks that even during covid issues there were people working fast food jobs who went to work with covid symptoms in some states because it was go to work and risk everyone having covid, or get $0 pay and maybe not work that job again.
Oh and every time I see McDonald's or some company argue the can't raise pay and give benefits to their employees I have to wonder why no one asks how they give benefits and better pay to plenty of employees, just not the ones inside the USA
I'm very lucky. I work for the state and the higher ups are usually cool with any and all requests for time off. Occasionally, I would ask for time off the night before with no issues. I've been working here for 3 years and all of our leave rolls over if you don't use it (except for personal holidays) Here's what I have left:
Federal Sick Leave: 80 hours (10 days)
Federal FLMA: 267 hours (33.4 days)
Personal Holiday: 1 day
Sick Leave: 278.5 hours (34.8 days)
Annual Leave: 411.5 hours (51.4 days)
They're real sticklers for using the appropriate type of leave, like you can't use sick leave for a vacation or something. It's not like they monitor what you do, but I've heard that if they do find out, you can get in serious trouble.
Federal Sick Leave: 80 hours (10 days)
Federal FLMA: 267 hours (33.4 days)
Personal Holiday: 1 day
Sick Leave: 278.5 hours (34.8 days)
Annual Leave: 411.5 hours (51.4 days)
They're real sticklers for using the appropriate type of leave, like you can't use sick leave for a vacation or something. It's not like they monitor what you do, but I've heard that if they do find out, you can get in serious trouble.
I'm a non-union electrician in NYC. My company offers 1 hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked.
It sucks because they don't just give you a week's worth of sick time when your year starts, you have to, "earn it."
God forbid you get a flu or hurt your back at the start of your year and need to take the week off.
It sucks because they don't just give you a week's worth of sick time when your year starts, you have to, "earn it."
God forbid you get a flu or hurt your back at the start of your year and need to take the week off.
And we are telling you this is not true.
Even cursory googling and wikipedia bring up the following:
Portuguese transition to democracy - Wikipedia
Constitution of Portugal - Wikipedia
In short, a Portuguese constitution was indeed drafted during the dictatorship. It was then replaced by the current (and very leftist) constitution, shortly after the dictatorship was overthrown (much like what happened in Spain too, or pretty much any other country transitioning into democracy). I honestly mean no disrespect, but it is incredibly naive to believe a constitution written by and during a right-wing dictatorship circa 1930 would provide generous employee benefits like years of state-paid leave.
My company allots me a sick day pool per year that continues to stack year over year.
And if you get COVID, the firm pays all associated costs and gives us two weeks off.
I am incredibly fortunate.
And if you get COVID, the firm pays all associated costs and gives us two weeks off.
I am incredibly fortunate.
They have just called your sick days, flex days.
Every job my wife and I have had in the US started with 10 vacation days and 5 sick days. I had to stay at my current job for 10 years to get an extra 5 vacation days.
30 days of vacation. Unlimited sick leave. I'm not even close to the US norm. Unfortunately only 2 days for men for paternity leave.
It's the "Fuck you Got Mine" mentality. People with good jobs are content with the status quo because their basic human rights (passed off as company benefits) are adequate thanks to their cushy jobs. Why bother advocating for basic rights for all? Get a job if you want money to allow you to keep and maintain your health and well-being.
That's basically it really. It's the idea that your employer grants you your right to live and if you don't work then you aren't entitled to live.
With only having 5 sick days per year I almost never got to do that, but the few times I did were awesome.
Now I've been working from home for 10 months and I hate being stuck here all day, lol.
Essentially Corporations/big companies just hate how we are humans beings. How dare we get sick more than once a year, or try to have a baby.
General sick leave in my place in the UK is 10 days off per 6 months or 2 separate instances during said 6 months. It's up to your manager though over than at the worse that can happen is sickness monitoring for 6 months (Probably then a warning pre a final warning). One period I had multiple and over a week but it was taken in to account I was mugged and needed my lip rebuilding so wasn't counted (over say just ringing in saying I've got a stomach bug).
I work at a manufacturing company, and if you take just one paid sick day, you get penalized and are automatically placed in what they call the "bottom ten percent" of the plant. What that means, is that you will only receive 50% of your yearly bonus, won't receive the yearly 2% raise, and will automatically be passed up for opportunities to move up from being on the "manufacturing floor" to the office or any other promotions (such as supervisor positions).
If you get sick and do not want to be penalized, you need to get a doctors note and have to choose to use vacation time (we get 80 hours for the first five years and can't carry over anything year to year) or a pay deduction (0 pay for the time you miss). In 2019 I was sick and chose to miss 24 hours of pay (we work 12 hour shifts) because I want to use my vacation for actual vacation time. To make matters even worse, if you get Covid-19, the company has still opted not to help pay employees sick leave. Instead, you have to go on unemployment. Keep in mind, this is a big manufacturing company that has locations across the globe and makes a lot of money. I really need to try harder to find another job.
If you get sick and do not want to be penalized, you need to get a doctors note and have to choose to use vacation time (we get 80 hours for the first five years and can't carry over anything year to year) or a pay deduction (0 pay for the time you miss). In 2019 I was sick and chose to miss 24 hours of pay (we work 12 hour shifts) because I want to use my vacation for actual vacation time. To make matters even worse, if you get Covid-19, the company has still opted not to help pay employees sick leave. Instead, you have to go on unemployment. Keep in mind, this is a big manufacturing company that has locations across the globe and makes a lot of money. I really need to try harder to find another job.
Yeah i fucked up my shoulder skiing and basically had to suck it up and my manual labor job. Can't take a sick day for horrible shoulder pain, I might get sick sick later down the line.
Sick leave, what is that?
in my 6 year working career (3 jobs) I haven't had sick leave.
this country sucks
in my 6 year working career (3 jobs) I haven't had sick leave.
this country sucks
I'm self-employed. I rarely get sick so I give myself a mental health day off once in awhile where I go hiking or something. Bullshit American work culture plays a large part into why I never want to work for someone else ever again unless I absolutely have to.
If you know the tricks you can get quite a bit. I work at a gas station. In 2020 I took 6 months of paid leave off, and 2 weeks unpaid. The first 3 months my job was protected because of FMLA, the second 3 months they could have fired me if they wanted. Was actually worried about that, but I came back to work 11 days ago like nothing happened. But it's really shitty that you have to know how to do it to get the time in the US. Combination of FMLA and short term disability insurance.
www.dol.gov
I would be running a business with a friend right now if the US health insurance market wasn't such garbage. It's like they try to discourage you from working for yourself. I can't get good insurance for any amount of money, it's just not offered.
For stuff like that there is job security. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). A poster explaining it is required to be posted by every company. You get up to 12 weeks of guaranteed time off for sickness, a family members sickness, maternity leave, things like that. A lot of people don't know about it, and I've never worked for a company that told the employees about it.
Family and Medical Leave Act
The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.
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The worst part about the "fuck you, got mine" thing is how it is self-perpetuating. Many of the people who have "got theirs" struggled through the period where they didn't "have theirs". But once they "get theirs", cognitive dissonance kicks in and they then see the unfair struggle as a rite of passage they they "achieved". They are proud they have "worked" for their basic human rights.
Thus they can't stomach the idea of fixing the problem for the next generation because it devalues their own struggle... and that would be "unfair".
Republicans keep getting re-elected on this mentality because many people in the working and middle classes keep voting against their own interests. They are voting on behalf of their mythical future millionaire self.
This is why we can't just hold onto the belief that things will just improve when the Boomers die. They were hippies once, now look at them.
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It's true. How damn depressing.
Basic things like healthcare and sick leave are something that needs to be "earned"
And because many people went through expensive education programs to procure a job that offered those benefits, they feel it should be a reward that is reaped exclusive by those who also pursued an expensive education.
Working in telephone customer service, you usually get around 2 weeks vacation a year. You must use that for when you're sick, there is no specific "sick time". To make matters worse, depending on how busy or how many hours your office is allotted per day, you can get rejected for taking the day off. If you get an "unexcused absence" it leads to what my current job calls an "occurence". 7 occurences a year will get you terminated. My last job gave us 8 "points", one point per day you missed, but also gave us .25 for every time we were late to work or coming back from lunch. There were times I was on a final written notice just because I was one minute late coming back from work.
Basically, you're expected to work even when sick, though these companies also say "your health is important to us, please take the time when you can" but you have to plan for that time weeks in advance.
You have no fucking clue how much of a beautiful dream this is. To not have every single second of your day criticized for productivity, to be able to breathe a bit without a manager telling you that you're stealing time from the company. Good on you. This is where I want to be someday.
Basically, you're expected to work even when sick, though these companies also say "your health is important to us, please take the time when you can" but you have to plan for that time weeks in advance.
You have no fucking clue how much of a beautiful dream this is. To not have every single second of your day criticized for productivity, to be able to breathe a bit without a manager telling you that you're stealing time from the company. Good on you. This is where I want to be someday.
If some people here would find out my work benefits , most wouldn't believe or they would really hate me blindly, mostly if they knew how much I gain based on my country medium
Wage......
Wage......
That map is surprising. Only a very few countries are really horrible and the US is one of them.Maternity leave as well.
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Where have you read that? Abandono de emprego by our law can be proved in many ways.