by: jacqui29 - 10-02-05 11:54
In December we had to sign new contracts,in these it stated we were no longer to be paid for any sickness.I find this frustrating as the nature of the job means we are constantly exposed to a variety of infections,viruses and germs.What do you think?
by: emma_m
i think this is really annoying as when we are off sick we lose money,and the nursery where i work don't employ anyone to cover when someone is off so it is not even as if they would be paying out two lots of wages, in theory the nursery are actually making money if the staff are off sick!
No sickness pay - 10-02-05 17:34by: Shelli
I completely agree!!!!
You'd have thought with the pay being so poor that there would be some perks to the job! We are suppose to be important in the caring and education of children, but people have very little incentive. I love my job and really enjoy it but job satisfaction does not pay my bills.
It seems llike everyone else I now outside of the childcare profession gets it. I used to get sick pay for a weekend job at a retail outlet! Considering 90% of anything we catch is caught off the children, you'd think we would be "on the top of the list" for people who should get it
It is annoying and upsetting to think how much training, hard work and dedication that is needed in this job and we do not get much personal gain.
No sickness pay - 11-02-05 12:40by: kimmie
i know how u feel as i fell over at work breaking my left leg and ankle in 3 places on xmas eve and all the company are willing to pay me is basic sick pay although the accident happend at work though it doesn't seem fair somehow does it? what do u think? kimmie xx
No sickness pay - 12-02-05 08:39by: emma_m
that is really unfair as it was an accident at work, can you not put in a claim for loss of earnings as this is not your fault? i don't know what other people think, but the two nurserys i have worked at haven't made the staff feel valued, i've seen staff come and go, many who have been at the setting for many years, moving on to better paid jobs, and the nursery have made no attempt to keep them, making no offers of better pay or holidays etc. to me it seems that the nursery's attitude is that 'why worry if we lose good well qualified staff?we can always get someone else' and i think that is really sad as when staff change it affects the children so much. i have worked in the baby room for 14 months now, and i am the only original staff member in there. we have 4 people with 10 babies, and in 14 months we have had 9 different people come in and out again. if the nurseries did more to make sure that the staff stayed, this wouldn't be a problem. i don't actually get any benefits really, no bonuses, minimum wage, minimum holidays, no sick pay, no pension plan (although we were asked last year if we were interested in one, all of us said yes and we are still waiting) and i spent 2 years at college to do this. now that i have moved into my own flat and am supporting myself it makes me look around and think should i just give up nursery nursing and go and stack shelves in asda for more money and better benefits? and again, i think that is really sad as i love my job so much.
No sickness pay - 12-02-05 18:05by: jacqui29
Look into joining UNISON,i have recently joined, it gives you 'peace of mind' as there would be someone to 'fight your corner'.
No sickness pay - 25-02-05 19:37by: louiseburt
where i work you dont get paid for sickness under two years but if you have been there more than two years you get paid 4days and if you been there between 5-7years you get paid an extra day and if you been there between 10years and more you get paid 8days say if you been there 2years to 5years you get 4 days to be sick so if you use all these days up then you dont get paid and also if you dont be sick between january to june you get a day of when the manager says and if you dont be sick between july to december you a day of when the manager says.but you cant help being sick especially what has gone around sickness bug and the flu bug if it is going around your nursery
No sickness pay - 27-07-05 18:02by: scarlett
i think you are lucky to get sick pay. most businesses cant afford 2 people to do the same job.
if you got sick pay then people would be off all the time.
No sickness pay - 27-07-05 19:19by: baby_girl
In my nursery, sick pay used to be paid, but someone took advantage of this, after they used all their holidays.
In our new contracts, it stated it wouldn't be paid. Now everyone suffers because of this!
No sickness pay - 05-08-05 13:20by: scarlett
we always get cover if someone off sick otherwise the ratios will be wrong. sometimes this has to be the manager. but this means that the manager then has to work extra days (we all work 4 x days) staff choice)so this still incurrs extra staff cost. we value staff at our nursery, if someone off sick then usually they can make up lost hours by working extra day the next week as the person who covered for them will want time off. we find that if you treat staff fairly and with respect they are more inclined to want to support their team. still believe that government should pay the nurseries more funding to provide nursery education then the rate of pay can be raised, as parents fees cannot be raised any more (£26 per day currently)and parents are not willing to pay a lot for childcare.
