HR Question: Sick Days and Vacation Days??

[Mike]

I work for a great company and been there almost 2 years. I am in Outside Sales and get to usually do what I want, when I want regarding my schedule. I am really never in the office, unless it is conveniently when I need to be doing something personal, imagine that, lol.

Anyway, We have a few policies that are in place for good reasons I am sure, one is that you will not be paid for a sick day if it is before or after a paid holiday or vacation. I assume that came about due to abuse.

Here is the deal, Are there some companies that have a policy that you must use your vacation days before your sick days? Kinda like if I feel sick in the morning and a fishing trip will help me, it will go against my vacation.

The reason I ask is that I have a new boss(1 month in the position) that never takes a vacation because he "can't leave the place". We would be shorthanded if he were to leave. He has been there 10 years as a supervisor and knows that it will be chaotic so he would rather not leave.

Anyhow, I have tested the waters to see his reaction and my coworker called in today after a long Poker night last night, needless to say I think he might try to chalk it up as a vacation day on the timesheet.

We are given 5 sick days, 3 bereavement days, and a health day per year. I accrue vacation at 3.84 hours per pay period.

I did not use a single sick day last year and every other employee took full advantage of their 5 days. Those days do not carry over and you are not paid if you do not use them.

Any input??

[kfd82]

Not sure what your question is.

Are you asking if THEY are allowed to dictate if your day off will be marked as sick or vacation?
Or are you asking if you should burn sick time before using vacation days?

[hoghead]

i work for a huge company and although they dont take vacation days when we call in sick they do however take vacation and personal leave days from us if we have family medical leave even though a supreme court ruling told them they could not do it.

[Mike]

Sorry for the muddy dialogue,,,

If I call in sick, can they dictate which type of day, either sick or vacation will be used on the timesheet?

The other question is should I use my sick days each year as everyone else does? I think I am leaving a lot on the table since everyone else uses them all.

[kfd82]

They can not dictate what type of leave will be used. If you call in sick they must use your sick time.

Should you use them all up? Well there are several ways to look at it. The way "I" see it is you were given that time to use if you were sick. You did not earn it like you do vacation days. So just using them because they are there seems wrong to me.

To qualify my answers:
The first statement about them dictating which type of leave you use is knowledge based from working for a city. Government employment rules are diffrent from private sector.

The second answer is based on YOUR statement of "they give us 5 sick days" so to me it seems like they arent accrued like vacation time is. There again, working for the city as a civil service employee we earned a set number of vac and sick hours every month.

[Stins]

Are you an exempt or non exempt employee?

That could make a difference because they are legally different on how the company can treat you.

Also, what happens to your vacation days at the end of the year if you dont use them?

[Audra]

They may require a "doctor's note" if you try to use your sick time. I've seen that happen! I'm surprised your company still has a classification. Most places just use PTO for any time off, now.

My mom works at our local hospital (for like 12 years, now), and get this...when they get holidays off like Labor Day, they are still required to use their PTO. Hospital tells them they can't work, but they make the employees use their own PTO. PLUS, if you don't have enough time in your bank, you get DOCKED for the day...a day they tell you that you CAN'T work. She and I had this converstion the other day, and this system really fires me up! I think that is so wrong!!

[trailboss]

I don't know about the deal regarding how they can or should count them? Personally, I'd leave the sick days on the table before I'd use them just because they're available. To me it just don't seem right to get paid to be off sick when I ain't sick. And besides, what if I got sick at the end of the year and really did have to take off but had burned all my sick days? Then it would be on my nickel. Just my thoughts.

Trailboss

[Knight in Mossy Oak]

I work for the Federal Gov't and I get 8 hrs vacation time per pay period (every two weeks) and 4 hrs Sick time every pay period. If I call in sick, it goes down as sick leave. If I schedule or call in vacation, then its logged as annual leave. There is a federal regulation that states if an employee misses 3 days or more in a row on sick leave, then the supervisor can request a not from the doctor or hospital.

I can carry over up to 240 hrs of vacation per year and the sick leaves doesn't have a carry over limit, meaning if I don't use any sick leave, then it will carry over at 4 hrs per pay period until I retire.

[Mike]

Thanks for the input. All vacation is accrued over time and it rolls over at the end of the year. The most you can bank at a time is 180 hours, after that point you have to start using it or you don't accrue anymore.

I just want to be prepared in case this guy trys to change my sick days to vacation days.

I tend to take the "moral" high road, ie, use no sick time, drive my personal truck on the weekends and such. It just gets my goat that my coworkers all use everything that is offered up with no ill effects.

[SPUD]

We have separate classifications. Don't have to worry about them taking days for sick and making rules about holidays and sick time

2 Personal Holidays
3 weeks VAC (4 after 10 years & 5 after 18)
10 days personal sickness
10 days family illiness
1 day of Education (volunteer work & student teacher conf.)

[jrfan]

I work for a large city, we can earn up 1440 hours sick and 390 hours of vacation. If we do not use any sick time in one year period we earn an extra 40 hours of AIL-(Attendance incentive leave) as a bonus. They will pay us for 720 hours of sick time and all of our vacation time when we retire. They do not dictate which type of leave we must take when we call in, however, they do require a doctors note for three or more days in a row.

[Dale Moser]

This makes me sick.......

I've been working for my uncle for 18 years (summers when I was a kid, continually since '98)........I get 10 days a year, that's it, non negotiable. ****es me off....

[tx_poptart]

We have separate classifications. Don't have to worry about them taking days for sick and making rules about holidays and sick time

2 Personal Holidays
3 weeks VAC (4 after 10 years & 5 after 18)
10 days personal sickness
10 days family illiness
1 day of Education (volunteer work & student teacher conf.)

Dang Spud, now wonder your never at work, ya'll hiring???

[tx_poptart]

Dang Spud

38 possible days off a year...dang, I only need like 15...LOL