Latest news with #sickdays
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Workers could be worse off under potential change to sick leave
Government plans to change the number of paid sick days workers can take could leave part time employees worse off. Since changes in 2021 New Zealand workers are legally entitled to ten paid sick days a year,regardless of how many hours or days they work. But the government's looking to change to a pro rata system or proportional leave; where sick day allowances will be different for part and full time workers. The Prime Minister confirmed the review, but says the exact details are yet to be decided. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke Van Velden, who will lead any changes, spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
12-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
What are the rules around taking sick days?
health politics 44 minutes ago It's that time of year where bugs are rife, but there are questions around what the benchmark for a sick day is now, after the early post covid years where people were exiled from the office for the mildest sniffle. New Zealand workers are legally entitled to ten paid sick days a year although some employers offer more. Head of Advocacy, Strategy and Finance at the Employers and Manufacturers Association Alan McDonald spoke to Lisa Owen.
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Seven in 10 Aussies admit to faking sickie in past year
Seventy per cent of Australians faked a sick day at work in the past year when they were not actually unwell, a new study has found It was estimated sickies cost Australian businesses $7.3bn a year in lost productivity and 24.6 million days off. The study conducted by iSelect found the most common reasons people took a sick day were a lack of sleep, to relax and recharge, mental health or personal issues to deal with family, or relationship problems. The health insurance comparison service found when mental health issues were counted as personal leave, 68 per cent of Australians still admitted to taking a fake sick day. The highest proportion of people pulling a sickie were workers aged 25 to 34 (84.5 per cent). The most significant difference between men and women surveyed was that 26.6 per cent of women used a sick day for a mental health day compared with 19.5 per cent of men. Men 12.9 (per cent) were more likely to take a sick day because they were hungover compared with women (8.5 per cent), but twice as many women (20 per cent) were more likely to take the day off to care for children than men. Other excuses revealed some workers took sick days to attend a special event or they just wanted the day off for general leisure. Others avoided meetings or did not want to go to work because it was raining. iSelect general manager of health Andres Gutierrez said the research found it was very common for Australians to take a sickie at least once a year despite not being physically ill. 'A lack of sleep, wanting to relax and recharge, and mental health are the top three reasons, highlighting how some Australians might choose to prioritise self-care,' he said. 'If you're finding it tough to get a good night's sleep or you're dealing with mental health challenges, it's important to reach out for support.'
Globe and Mail
05-06-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Staying home with the kids on sick days taught me how to survive the summer
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at I often have one of our children home sick with me. I used to complain and say, 'Not again!' But we have four kids, and as my husband and I remind each other: This is what we signed up for. Over the past year, I've started to shift my mindset. Now, when someone's sick, I tell myself – and them – that today is the best day ever. I learned to reframe the day as a chance to create something magical, even something tiny. It's not just for them. It's for you, too. Parents throw around the term 'survival mode' a lot, even when the stress is mild. But stress – big or small – still shifts the energy in a room. Kids feel it. And they're too young to carry that weight. I try to be conscious of what I'm projecting, because the more lightness I bring, the more safety and space they feel to just be kids. Of course, having a sick child at home can throw the whole day off. It sucks – as my three-year-old recently learned to say. You're stuck. Plans are ruined; nothing gets done. But sometimes I imagine myself years from now, and I know: I'd love to come back to one of these days – slow and tender sick days when magic unfolded because I chose to rewrite the story. Is your kid sad about school ending? Here's how you can support them The magic is in the simplest things. We guess what the birds are singing to each other. We tickle backs – 'siri-siri,' my Estonian grandma used to call it, her made-up word that's now woven into our family language. We use my phone as a magical magnifying glass to find invisible elves – päkapikud, in Estonian – hiding in corners of our home. I upload photos of our rooms and bring in friendly dragons and creatures using AI. One day, my daughter declared, 'That dragon is making my carpet dirty!' We turned her preschool retelling into a full-on saga. We spray lavender mist on pillows and call it fairy spray. We lay out clothes for the next day and name them 'scarecrows.' We dream up stories, make paintings come to life and build imaginary worlds together. These sick-day experiences have led me to rethink our expensive summer plans for them, too. When they are feeling well, we go on 'midnight walks.' Not literally at midnight, but after dinner, in pyjamas, just before nightfall. Sometimes we get other parents in on it, and all our kids – wide-eyed in PJs – run into each other during our secret little adventure. The neighbourhood feels dreamier simply because it's dark and we're out later than usual. On summer nights, we stay up for a 'midnight snack' with a single candle, a wish and some peanut butter toast with honey. We talk about our day. These are the things they'll remember – not the themed day camps or overscheduled summer programs. Don't get me wrong: They're still signed up for plenty of those, but I've learned not to confuse enrichment with memory-making. You don't need to spend a dollar to create something meaningful. Our broken dishwasher once became a bubble station. A restaurant with a DJ became a dance floor for our family just because we let the kids get up and move. Sometimes it's as simple as noticing how the sun glistens on the leaves or water and marvelling at how sparkly life can be. Is 'good job' really a terrible thing to say to our kids? There's a small window in childhood where everything still has the potential to be magic, where what you say becomes the truth. Where kids live in a state neurologists compare to a waking dream. They want to believe. And often, we need the reminder to believe alongside them. I still remember hiding under the porch as a kid, clutching a glittery candy tube, whispering spells and hoping a unicorn would appear. I was probably too old to believe, but I didn't want to let go. I still don't. For as terrible as I think my memory is sometimes, that moment stuck. Now, I watch my own kids chase sparks. Every night, we eat by candlelight or under twinkling lights. My toddler closes her eyes and says, 'Thank you for all the rainbows in our tummies.' It started as a joke; now we all say it. Because it's silly and sweet and strange – and it makes the moment stick. I am flipping the script on what's supposed to be meaningful and memorable. Sometimes, the highlight of a child's week is helping a ladybug return to a leaf. Let's travel into their whimsical worlds. Sick days. Slow days. Off days. These aren't the throwaway ones. Sometimes, they're the whole point. Kaili Colford lives in Toronto.
Telegraph
04-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Mental health sick days soar by 5m in just a year
Britons took an extra 5m sick days for mental health reasons last year after a surge in conditions including stress, anxiety and depression. Staff took a record 20.5m days off because of mental health in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 14.8m in 2023. This accounted for 13.7pc of all sick days taken in Britain, the highest proportion since 2019. Jamie O'Halloran, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the figures reflect 'the tip of the iceberg' as many employees continue working even when they are unwell. He said: 'We must do more to prevent avoidable ill health and create workplaces that support people with health conditions to get into – and stay in – work. 'The lack of progress on mental health is particularly alarming and must become a greater priority for both public health policy and employer strategy.' Poor mental health appears to be more prevalent in the public sector, where it accounted for 16.4pc of absences last year – compared with 6.7pc in the private sector. There has been a surge in diagnoses of mental health conditions such as anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Overall ill health is also more problematic in the public sector, where it accounts for an absence rate of 2.9pc compared with 1.8pc for private companies. The latest figures also show that it is not only those in work taking time off because of sickness. The number of people of working age who are economically inactive – neither in work nor looking for a job – because of ill health has surged to 2.8m, up from 2.1m before the Covid pandemic. In total, workers took 149m sick days in 2024, which is down 10pc on the previous year. The number of days taken for minor illnesses dropped by a third to 33m, while workers took 26.5m days for musculoskeletal problems, roughly the same as 2023. The overall sickness rate, which charts absences as a share of all working hours, fell to 2pc. As a result the proportion of sick days is back to its pre-pandemic level. Sam Atwell, at the Health Foundation, a charity, said sick employees must be supported to prevent them from dropping out of work altogether. 'Warning sign' 'Employers and government alike should be concerned by these findings as extended or repeated episodes of sickness absence can be a warning sign that an employee is at risk of leaving the workforce and becoming economically inactive,' he said. 'Employers have a key role to play in ensuring that workers are provided with adequate sick pay and are actively supported during sickness absence. 'Our analysis shows that the UK statutory sick pay rate is among the least generous across all OECD countries.
