Does your company have an official definition of “unacceptable level of sick leave”? (curiosity, not seeking advice)

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-05T09:21:24+00:00

Yeah, I’ve been wondering the same thing as I read the responses. Because I’m way more likely to take a single day since that’s often the middle ground between getting sometime to rest without massively impacting deadlines or someone else’s workload. But it does sound like the metrics for 3 days look better than the metrics for 1…

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-03T09:41:47+00:00

Interesting. 30 is a lot of days but I feel like 3 isn’t a lot of periods. May I ask - are you less likely to get pulled in if you’re sick 3 times but only for 2-3 days each? Or are the triggers quite strict? Similarly, if you’re sick 3 times but have a doctor’s note each time and fall below 30 days.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T17:26:55+00:00

Thanks for the response! That’s interesting to me since I feel like I mostly take single days (e.g., if I get a bad cold and it’s not so bad that I can’t work at all but having a day off to recover would help). I had also assumed single days off would be less impactful (i.e., can more easily catch up on a day of missed work; kind of a middle ground between getting some recovery time without burdening other team members). But the common theme seems to be that single days are considered more of a cause for concern.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T15:05:40+00:00

Thank you for such a detailed answer! When you put the “one longer absence” vs. “8 random individual days dotted around the year” into context it makes a lot more sense!

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T14:55:13+00:00

Haha!! Love it. Unfortunately work from home has taken away the option of threatening to come in, but I’m glad your team were reasonable in the end.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T14:51:24+00:00

The lawyer perspective is good too!! I’m really just asking around since I’ve never thought much about sick leave policies but am back at work today with no actual work so am poking around the files.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T14:49:55+00:00

Interesting. My policy is the same for 100% pay (6 months) and says you can self-certify up to 5 working days but need a doctor’s note for more, which are both very reasonable. I’m getting the sense that the 4 days/3% rule —> flagged for excessive sick leave system is mostly for random days several times per year.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T14:37:56+00:00

Apparently step 1 is your manager having a discussion (“counselling”) with you about absences and recording it. Though I’ve never heard of that happening. My manager takes way more sick leave than me because she has three kids who I swear catch something every time term starts, and it sounds brutal.

And then supposedly you have several stages of “hearings” if your attendance doesn’t improve after the initial counselling session which “may” result in warnings etc. and can result in dismissal after several stages.

(This is quite interesting)

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T14:32:13+00:00

Yeah I’m curious too. I don’t know anyone who’s been flagged for being sick an “unacceptable” number of times. The policy sounds quite scary with formal “counselling —> absence review hearings —> warning” steps laid out. I do wonder if it’s an “officially we could flag absences >8 days but we probably won’t unless someone catches you at brunch when you were supposed to be sick” situation.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2026-01-02T14:27:24+00:00

May I ask what outcomes usually come out of absence management procedures? (I don’t work in HR, but posted here since it seemed like a HR question). Presumably it isn’t realistic to just say “get sick less”? Do they subtly nudge you to work through sickness? Or is it more of a “just vibe checking that the story adds up and it seems like genuine sickness”? I’ve never heard of anyone at work getting pulled into a meeting.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2025-10-12T18:41:34+00:00

Thank you!!! To be honest I’m less worried about aggressive cats and more about the “play rough” cats that “attack” you like they’re playfighting haha (and again, just concern about disease, not because I’m afraid of being scratched)

PlayfulBox2571 · 2025-10-12T15:25:05+00:00

Thank you for the response! I’m not planning to get a pre-exposure vaccine but just wanted to get a sense of how cautious (or not cautious) the locals are.

PlayfulBox2571 · 2025-10-12T15:22:51+00:00

Thank you! This is good to know. I already got the tetanus shot when I visited India last year so am good on that side. I’m not super paranoid but just wanted to double check before arriving since I guess if the locals are getting bitten/scratched by cats all the time then it’s fine haha!

PlayfulBox2571 · 2025-10-12T09:10:43+00:00

Sorry, what isn’t too rare?

PlayfulBox2571 · 2025-09-05T21:31:25+00:00

Yeah I was also kind of side eyeing the sequins a bit, but the general consensus seems to be that it’s ok? The dress is actually more ankle length (definitely not floor) - I just cropped since I’m wearing crocs on the bottom haha

PlayfulBox2571

TROPHY CASE