New Sick Leave Policy: Strange Or Not? Whaddya Think?

[Nurse!Nurse!Hello?]

We had a meeting the other day at my non-union LTC/rehab facility, and the executive director presented new guidelines for the use of sick time. I am dying for some feedback on this!

As in the past, we will continue to accrue 8 hours of sick leave per month. Although we earn 12 days/year, taking more than 4 days/year has always been frowned upon (i.e. they will bring it to your attention that attendance is a problem...)

They have decided to stop referring to sick leave as a "benefit", and to now refer to it as "sick insurance." By putting a new spin on it, they hope to cut the useage of sick leave.

So, here are the changes:

1. You can use 4 paid sick days per year. If you call in sick a 5th or 6th time, the time will be paid from your accrued vacation or holiday time. If you call in sick a 7th time, then it will be deducted from your sick leave balance.

2. If a nurse on day shift wants to call in sick, she must give a 2-hour notice. For evening and night shifts, the nurse must give a 4-hour notice.

3. If an aide calls in sick, the charge nurse can "use her discretion" and decide whether or not the aide needs to bring in a doctor's note. There are no guidelines for making that determination--it is left up to each charge nurse's "discretion."

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this new policy odd???

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

a little different, maybe.

i've never worked anywhere as a nurse (and i've worked in several different facilities) where we could take sick time right away when calling in sick.

i've always had to use at least 2 shifts worth of vacation (pto) first, unless the sick time was used for a planned surgery.

some places have required a doctor's note for any sick time use; otherise, we had to use pto.

do i think it is right? no, not really.

however, i'm not sure what else employers can do to keep people from calling in sick instead of using vacation time.

[Batman24]

I'm a NS but I think #3 would be considered discriminatory against aides. It should be one policy for all staff. And leaving it to the CN discretion is also a terrible idea. It allows for too much inconsistency. Asking for a doctor's note when someone could be out with a bad bout of the runs is absurd.

Basically they are cutting you down to 4 paid sick days a year. That doesn't seem to be much. One cold and a stomach virus and you are done. They will then make people use vacation days for everything else so people will probably come to work very sick at times. They will have the staff, but they will also have an increase in errors. Hope the liability is worth it to them.

[jmgrn65, RN]

I think it is very Odd. We have to call in 2 hours prior to our shift regardless what shift it is. Having different policies for aides doesn't see right. We also have one bank our sick time/pto time in one. we also have if you call in x number of days written warning, next level I forget what it is, but after the 10th ( which I think is too much) it is automatic termination.

[RNGrammie]

we accrue "pto" time...no distinction between "sick" or "vacation" or "personal time".....it's all under pto....if we have more than 5 "unscheduled" days off in 1 year, then we're written up.

[Nurse!Nurse!Hello?]

To clarify/correct #3--> it should read if an aide or nurse calls in sick, the charge nurse can require that person to bring in a doctor's note...etc. Sorry.

[Batman24]

To clarify/correct #3--> it should read if an aide or nurse calls in sick, the charge nurse can require that person to bring in a doctor's note...etc. Sorry.

Better but still a terrible idea. It's inconsistent and idiotic.

It also seems from reading this site that medical staff is held to different standards than other areas...HR, managers, operations, etc. Whereas I understand that medical staff needs to give more notice due to their job, I still believe all employees should have the same policy for sick days, etc. That's fair.

[BabyRN2Be]

I'm a NS but I think #3 would be considered discriminatory against aides. It should be one policy for all staff. And leaving it to the CN discretion is also a terrible idea. It allows for too much inconsistency. Asking for a doctor's note when someone could be out with a bad bout of the runs is absurd.

I couldn't have said it better myself, I totally agree with this. Leaving it up to one person's discretion is a terrible idea. Two people are going to have differing opinions. The policy should be the same for all staff, and not just for aides.

Is there a particular reason why the aides are being treated like little kids when it comes to being sick? Nurses get sick, too and they don't require an excuse from mommy... er, the doctor.

[mikemay1969]

Why a company lets you accrue time off then penalize you for using it is beyond me. I've experienced similar policies in the past. I'm just waiting for the day I get told that I will need a note from my parents for any absence from work.

[busy-bee]

In the facility I work at.....you must be off four days to begin you sick pay. If you are hospitalized then your sick pay may begin from the first missed day. I haven't heard of this either. Most places...if you call off ill then you make take a sick day if you have sick time available.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

We have Paid time off (PTO) we earn 6 hours per pay period and it is vacation time and sick time. It amounts to 12 days off per year we work long day shifts.

I just recently had 4 weeks off sick the first week I had to use my vacation time 36 hours and after this short term sickness kicks in. I only then get paid 50% which is better than nothing. To be able to have this pay you have to have worked 1 yr at my facility.

After 6 absences in 2 years you get written up so that amounts to just 3 times per year!!!

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

In the facility I work at.....you must be off four days to begin you sick pay. If you are hospitalized then your sick pay may begin from the first missed day. I haven't heard of this either. Most places...if you call off ill then you make take a sick day if you have sick time available.

That's just crazy. Why give you sick time if you can't use it?

Anyhow, back to the OP's question. I think your facility is making it hard on everyone with silly rules. I like my hospital's policy -- you get PTO based on the number of hours you work and the number of years you've been employed. As to how it's used: you're actually treated like you're an adult, (what a concept!!) you can use PTO for sick days, low census, vacation or whatever, there's no distinction.

Obviously, I like our system better.