[sbaoufbasfub]

I think sick days are generally a good idea as they encourage people that are sick not to come in, thus helping stem epidemics. If they're regular time off, people come in sick to save them up.

You might try to make a distinction between contagious and non-contagious diseases, but it'd probably be unwise as often people don't know if they are contagious or not, and anyway encouraging healing isn't a terrible idea even if they aren't.

That said, you shouldn't be cheap on the vacation days either.

[sobani]

As someone from Holland I read the comment from malnourish in the opposite way.

Why limit the amount of days your allowed to be sick? What happens if you are sick for more days than what your contract allows?

I would think that a finite amount of sick days will have the opposite effect of what you are describing. People will come to work even when they're sick, just in case they get even more sick later in the year. Except for the end of December of course, can let those unused sick days go to waste!

[dragonwriter]

> Why limit the amount of days your allowed to be sick?

The number of days you are allowed to be sick is not limited; the number of days of paid leave to deal with being sick is limited.

> What happens if you are sick for more days than what your contract allows?

Depending on the nature of the illness and other factors, you may be eligible for unpaid (by the employer), job-protected leave under FMLA or similar state laws, and may be eligible for disability payments during that leave under state law. The employer may, even if that law does not apply, extend paid or unpaid leave beyond what it is committed to in your contract, but is under no obligation to do so.

[wccrawford]

> What happens if you are sick for more days than what your contract allows?

They threaten to fire you for taking too much sick time, and they don't pay you for the additional days. They complain that you aren't reliable enough and that they need someone who is reliable.

[sbaoufbasfub]

I found this interesting article that claims that flu days / sick days reduced the number of workplace cases by 6% by reducing the in-workplace transmission rate by 25% for one day and 40% for two days of time off.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130613161831.h...