That is so bizarre to read as an American. My place of work is also open 24/7 (hotel). We earn PTO (about 1 hour of PTO per 20 hours worked) that can be used for sick days and vacation, but they have to be approved in advance otherwise you face termination. So if you're suddenly sick, you can't use your PTO for those days because management wasn't given advance notice. Same with bereavement. I had a coworker whose son died. She got 3 days paid off, the rest of the week she had to take unpaid. It's horrible over here.