Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Trust Employees with Sick Days

Employers who fear sick days will be abused need to consider that illnesses that run through their workplace are far more costly

Newsletters National

By André van Heerden, Communications Director

There has been a lot in the news lately about the need for paid sick days—especially for front-line workers. Many workers can’t afford to take a day off and therefore come to work sick.

In the past, this has been problematic because a sick worker can spread infection with whatever flu or illness they have to their coworkers. But during a global pandemic, it becomes even more important that sick workers stay home.

The fear from employers is that paid sick days will be abused and that their employees will use them as a paid day off from work. From movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to tales of workers faking being sick to go play golf or catch a baseball game, the feeling is that sick days are often abused.

But is that actually the case?

Often, fears of what may happen aren’t supported by real facts. Many employers and managers feared that employees wouldn’t be efficient workers from home. They’d be too easily distracted and not do their work.

But statistics indicate that people can be trusted to do their job remotely and are often more productive.

A report from Apollo Technical says that “several studies over the past few months show productivity while working remotely from home is better than working in an office setting. On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47 percent more productive.”

A CTV News report noted that “only 42 percent of Canadian workers have access to paid sick days, with that rate dropping to around 10 percent for low-wage workers, according to government figures.”

The report also highlighted the problem that “because some workers don’t want their boss to retaliate against them for missing work, up to 25 percent of them keep working despite feeling sick, according to a Peel Public Health study in Ontario of approximately 7,800 people with symptoms associated with COVID-19 between August 2020 to January 2021.”

Across all provinces, doctors and nurses and unions are calling for mandatory paid sick days. Stephanie Smith, president of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union, said these policies need to be in place for the province to get out of the pandemic.

"Frankly, what's missing [here] are critical supports for the front-line workers that have gotten our province this far—like paid sick leave and mental health supports,” she said.

Based on figures from the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, said that workplace transmission of COVID-19 is a serious issue in the province, and the government needs to act with legislated paid sick leave.

Numerous government officials support paid sick days, but making it happen is proving difficult. After a lot of pressure, the Ontario government is implementing three paid sick days. It’s a start but more needs to happen—and soon.

Illnesses that run through a workplace are costly to employers. Shifts are understaffed. Projects are delayed. Deadlines are missed. And other workers need to be brought in to cover.

It’s much cheaper in the long run to pay for sick days to keep sick employees home and keep healthy workers working. Paying for sick days and trusting employees to use them wisely is just good business for everyone.

Trust Employees with Sick Days

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