Apprentice sick pay

[a.gidman]

Hi, i have recently been informed that my 17 year old apprentice is due to have 2 weeks on the sick due to stress ( seriously a load of rubbish if you ask me). How would you go by with sick pay!? I was told that i as the employer, am not responsible to pay sick pay as she does not pay national insurance contribution and that she had to claim off the government but i have to keep the doctors note.

Any advice would be great. Thanks!!

 

[BannerPenguin]

Hi, i have recently been informed that my 17 year old apprentice is due to have 2 weeks on the sick due to stress ( seriously a load of rubbish if you ask me). How would you go by with sick pay!? I was told that i as the employer, am not responsible to pay sick pay as she does not pay national insurance contribution and that she had to claim off the government but i have to keep the doctors note.

Any advice would be great. Thanks!!

By sounds of it you don't have to do anything. She would need to contact the jobcentre as I believe they deal with it. Don't hold me to it though.

 

[smallandcute]

Please dont judge someone who has been signed off sick from the docs with stress. She may have problems in her personal life that she has not confided in you about and it may be affecting her work and studies. Offer her a chance to talk through the situation informally and guide her to what needs to be done regarding her sick pay. If you take the nicely nicely approach she may come to you instead of the docs first in future.

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[virtues2011]

It was an opinion. . Not a judgement... and as such I probably would agree with the opinion of the op in MOST cases.

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[maisy]

If she's earning less than £109 per week then she's not eligible ! You would have to give her a SSP1 form which she can use to apply for help from the government ! If she earns more than £109 then ssp kicks in after 3 days of no pay ! You then pay her the ssp amount and I think reduce your Paye contributions payment to claim back etc ! if she's not being genuine then she's bound to miss her pay maybe she doesn't realise she won't get any !

 

[a.gidman]

Please dont judge someone who has been signed off sick from the docs with stress. She may have problems in her personal life that she has not confided in you about and it may be affecting her work and studies. Offer her a chance to talk through the situation informally and guide her to what needs to be done regarding her sick pay. If you take the nicely nicely approach she may come to you instead of the docs first in future.

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Due to this comment, she was in friday doing mates hair laughing it off and saturday she was out, so her life cant be to complicated i also know her pretty well as she is a friends daughter of a family friend. I was not judging anyone but having early signs of stress dnt we all have that!!

Thanks everyone else for advice by the sounds of it what i was told was right then.

 

[HuntersMumma]

It probably isn't 'a load of rubbish'. She may have issues outside of work. A good employer would make her feel comfortable by asking if there's anything else you can do to help her. She may just want a good chat. Or change something she's not happy with in her working environment.

 

[HanVC]

She could be pulling a fast one but it's hard to judge stress on another person, seems to me that she's young so wouldn't react in the same way to stress as someone who has more responsibility in life/maturity etc. she'll be worried about coming back and being off if it's genuine, so try to be as accommodating as possible, it's hard as it's not a physical thing you can see but if she's stressed because of the job then it might be the start of an ongoing thing. It's not the best thing to hear I know but I've had experience with this sort of thing and girls need a mother hen type at work to confide in, if you don't have that sort of close relationship/mentoring thing going on it might not help the situation. Teenage girls are such a dilemma!

 

[HanVC]

Forgot to put, she would claim ssp from the government but I'm not sure if you have to facilitate it, give the college a call and have a chat with them, they also might know something about the personal issues as to why she's stressed hth xx

 

[a.gidman]

As iv said before, i know her rather well. I know about her personal issues, im close with her. As for the people saying dont judge on stress... Like iv said im not judging, but the best place to get away from 'personal issues' is at work. Iv been there myself but didnt coop myself at home. I never said i was making her feel uncomfortable. Also as an employer i have the right to keep tabs on my employees specially when her sick days are so mild and a paracetemol can change. A hair salon is not hard grafting work and there is always a positive attitude within the salon... To be honest alot of people need to harden up and stop being such hypochondriacs. As of the sick pay advice which is what i asked for not vicious comments towards my opinion. Its been sorted thank you.

 

[a.gidman]

She could be pulling a fast one but it's hard to judge stress on another person, seems to me that she's young so wouldn't react in the same way to stress as someone who has more responsibility in life/maturity etc. she'll be worried about coming back and being off if it's genuine, so try to be as accommodating as possible, it's hard as it's not a physical thing you can see but if she's stressed because of the job then it might be the start of an ongoing thing. It's not the best thing to hear I know but I've had experience with this sort of thing and girls need a mother hen type at work to confide in, if you don't have that sort of close relationship/mentoring thing going on it might not help the situation. Teenage girls are such a dilemma!

Your right and shes always confided in me. Shes always been happy and telling me whats she doing that night and tbh stress at 17... Whats there to be stressed about at 17!? early sign of stress... Im 23 taking on a massive salon i will probs come up as early signs of stress!! But no i agree id never make anyone feel uncomfortable i just think its a poor excuse that was all my opinion was based on.

 

[Christy.]

Stress shows itself in different ways in different people. You couldn't be at home, she can't be at work. No matter how much you know someone, there will always be things that go on behind closed doors.

For someone who has 'been there' you don't seem to be very understanding. Offer your support and ears and give her time to sort herself out.

People can look fine on the outside and be dying on the inside.

 

[smallandcute]

The doc could be kind giving her a sick note for stress when actually she is suffering from something else. This is rather common, my doc gave me a sick note for stress when actually i was on the verge of a break down. She could also be putting on a front trying to mask things which is very common. Having been judged by my employers for being of sick with stress didnt help and only made my working life my uncomfortable and difficult. When the time is right im sure she will tell you whats going on but just keep an open mind for the mo. Of course a virtues said earlier she may just be pushing her luck but that will become clearer in the future

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[MamaG]

I wasn't going to comment on this thread but, seriously???! Someone can't be stressed because they're 'only 17'??

Dear God, what a thoughtless comment.

My son is 15 and suffers with anxiety and OCD. It breaks my heart to see him struggle and if everyone had the attitude that because he is young there is nothing wrong with him, he wouldn't stand a chance!

Please think before you make such claims.



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[persianista]

Stress can present at any age and any sociopath-economic class. We all know that, however, going out at the weekend while claiming to be too 'stressed' to work does genuine anxiety sufferers a huge disservice.
I think the OP needs a meeting (recorded) where she informs the apprentice that no sick pay will be paid, and asks what the cause of the stress is, and if it's an ongoing situation. Perhaps mention the night out, and ask why her stress didn't cover Saturday night. It may well be that work is the cause of her stress if it's only working hours.
Have you discussed this with the college OP? As her trainer you have an enhanced duty of care to her, and this situation needs to be tackled.

 

[Sarah-Lou1991]

I'm an apprentice and was very I'll recently the only way I could get paid sick leave is if I got a doctors note (signed off) otherwise you don't have to pay her xx


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[LolliDolli]

Also wasn't going to comment. But Some of these comments are ridiculous. And I seriously doubt it's 'a load of rubbish'
I suffered with depression from being 16, I went to the drs when I was 18, I had counselling sessions to talk things through, I still saw my friends, I still went on nights out. Only 1 person in my life knew about how bad it was.
I moved out of my parents house when I was 19, in with my boyfriend. They didn't find out about the whole thing until I was 20, when I ended up in hospital and me and my boyfriend told them the whole thing. They where so shocked, I'd lived with them for 3 years and never let on what was going on inside.

At least she had told you, told her drs, and feels she can talk to people about it. Sooner rather than later.

Depression leads to suicide, and suicide is the biggest cause of death world wide among 15-19 year olds. So please don't say 'what does she have to be depressed about at 17'

Just trying to open your eyes a little. And I hope you get they pay thing sorted. Now if it does turn out to be a 'load of rubbish' maybe you can sit down and tell her some if thing things discussed in this thread so she realises it's not a laughing matter and not a way just to get out of work.


Laura xx

 

[LolliDolli]

Stress can present at any age and any sociopath-economic class. We all know that, however, going out at the weekend while claiming to be too 'stressed' to work does genuine anxiety sufferers a huge disservice.
I think the OP needs a meeting (recorded) where she informs the apprentice that no sick pay will be paid, and asks what the cause of the stress is, and if it's an ongoing situation. Perhaps mention the night out, and ask why her stress didn't cover Saturday night. It may well be that work is the cause of her stress if it's only working hours.
Have you discussed this with the college OP? As her trainer you have an enhanced duty of care to her, and this situation needs to be tackled.

Having been their myself mentioned in my previous post, I can say that yes work may make her more stressed, but going out with friends can help so much. So the last thing she needs is to be pressured to stop going out and having fun, just to prove she is stressed, which leads to depression, otherwise she will be more miserable than ever!

I know I'm only talking from a personal level and not a business level, which is what this is. But I think the way some employers go about certain situations is awful.
Saying that give also dealt with some that are great.


Laura xx

 

[virtues2011]

In the business world you can be signed off work for weeks and weeks and be seen out by your employers socialising mosts night if you wish. However eventually (after quite a long time!) meetings will be held to determine if you are being detrimental to the business. As much as the law is on the side of the employee they can't get away with everything, forever.

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[a.gidman]

May i add her stress is not work related.... So too all saying that work is stress related. Believe me when i say shes got it easy. She split from a bf. iv split from plenty of bfs and if thats the case to stress then yeah i do think its pathetic. Anxiety issues is a whole diff kettle of fish. But from going to happy at work laughing organising nights out to early signs of stress is ridiculous. And this thread was about a business point of view about sick pay not for people to judge me on my comments/opinions. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.