It was reported (The Sunday Times of Malta, January 5) that employers are furious about the proposal for parents to use their sick leave entitlement when their children are unwell and think this idea to be “crazy”.
I do not know what is crazy about this proposal. If employers think this measure is going to have a negative effect on their business, it will also have a positive effect on the well-being of children.
As a GP, I have visited sick children in their homes for 30 years and noticed that the presence of one of the parents in the acute phase of the illness has always helped in the recovery of the child.
In the first day or so of the acute illness, children who are looked after by non-parents are at a greater risk as they may have separation anxiety when their parents leave for work and may even refuse to take their medicines. Parents have always played a critical role in the care of sick children.
In other countries, this need was recognised many years ago. Since 1991, all parents in Norway have been entitled to an extra 10 days’ sick leave with pay when a child under 10 is ill. The cost is covered by the employer.
In cases of chronic illness in children under 16, the sick leave can be extended to 20 days per parent per year. This extended leave is paid for from the National Insurance Scheme.
According to the chairman of the university’s Centre for Labour Studies, the average days lost per employee per year stood at 3.32 in the private sector and this climbed to 8.34 in the public sector (2008).
The figure for the public sector is slightly lower compared to the average 9.1 sick days taken per person per year in the UK (2013). We have to see, in reality, by how much this measure is going to affect the quoted figures.
Besides, as I understand it, employees are not getting any extra sick leave but they will be availing themselves of their own sick leave to look after their sick children.
What must be checked, and this applies to us doctors, is that such leave is truly justified and not abused of for very minor complaints.