Our rate of sick leave suggests we have no right to lecture Greeks

Cormac Williams of the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association (Letters, Irish Examiner, July 8) mentions the sick leave ‘entitlement’ of front line workers being cut. Interesting he uses the word ‘entitlement’.

In the real world there is a limit to how long you can just call in sick before you have to produce a GP note and I don’t see why the public sector should be any different — frontline or backroom.

He also mentions staff having to return to work before they are fully recovered. This is illegal if they have a GP certificate. Staff have a legal right to be paid when they are signed off sick and if they pass the maximum amount of days, then their employer’s insurance kicks in.

It is not acceptable for anyone in the public sector, no matter where they work, to use the fact they can take a certain number of sick days leave without providing a GP note as a way to top up their annual leave. Those who are signed off as a result of a workplace incident will not be out of pocket or under pressure to return.

In the private sector, absences due to illness may be recorded on the Bradford Factor Scales when the staff member’s profile exceeds a certain level, based on the number of uncertified days and the number of times they call in sick. For example, someone who calls in sick once in the year but is off five days is a better member of staff than someone who calls in sick for two days but does it about ten times a year, then the relevant manager or HR department will step in and want to know why — if there is a genuine health issue or if the staff member is abusing the sick leave option.

I suppose it’s too much to expect the HSE/Department of Health to even know what something like the Bradford Factor is, much less implement its use.

No private sector company would ever tolerate staff taking an average of nine days sick leave per annum as seems to be the case in the Irish public sector.

The failure, after four years, by Minister Howlin to tackle this abuse of sick leave shows the public sector is as dysfunctional as ever. To think we have the nerve to patronise Greece about public sector reforms.

Desmond FitzGerald

Canary Wharf

London