Last week the Employer’s Association came up with what (at first glance) appears to be a logical proposition to curb sick leave abuse. On closer scrutiny however, it turns out to be rather silly and, as the PM called it, ‘draconian’. 

The Employer’s Association proposed that no sick leave should be granted for self-inflicted ailments. As examples the Association used sunburn, hangovers, cosmetic surgery and lo and behold, sport injuries.

Rightly so, within hours of this statement the GWU were up in arms, and whilst I don’t generally agree with their approach, if anything could make me do so, it would be the Employer’s Association arguments in this matter.

Whilst we might all agree that abuse should be stopped or at best controlled, where does one draw the line? What ailment can be totally and utterly proven to be not self-inflicted? Isn’t a planned pregnancy also self-inflicted? Then isn’t life itself self-inflicted? Aren’t heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer, sometimes self-inflicted?

Most of the time even the common cold can be self-inflicted by knowingly kissing, hugging or even just being in the same room with a sneezer; by subjecting yourself to a low immune system by systematically eating junk or by not washing your hands well enough (or at all).

And whilst the common cold might be an extreme and absurd example it is not even necessary to philosophize so far, because by using sport injuries as another example, The Employer’s Association exposed the fallacy in its own argument.

So, on the one hand the State is trying to encourage people to get into sport in order to become healthier and alleviate some of the pressures currently crippling our health system, and on the other we’re saying that if during their attempt to become healthier they happen to pull a muscle at the gym, or break a leg playing football, it will result in loss of income. Seriously, where exactly is the logic in that?

Hangovers are probably the only ailment that most people will agree should not be compensated by sick leave, but let’s face it, who on earth admits to having a hang over? And how is a doctor to prove otherwise? Has a doctor ever written ‘post traumatic intoxication syndrome’ on a sick certificate?  Doesn’t everyone lie through their teeth and claim to have eaten something rotten, are suffering from back pain, headache, or migraine? Or is that just me?

Short of methodically screening CCTV cameras in Paceville and bars, the only way to curb ‘hangover’ abusers is for employers to monitor patterns and systematic sick leave on certain days of the week, typically Mondays, and even then, it’s still a hard call to make and probably an impossible case to win.

So let’s get real shall we?

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