Workers who call in sick will have to stay at home and be examined by a doctor under proposed new law in Belgium
- - One union angrily described the scheme as 'house arrest' for workers
- - Another argued that it would help to prevent 'social fraud'
|
Proposal: The Belgian government wants doctors to check up on workers who call in sick
Workers in Belgium may soon have to fake more than a croaky voice on the phone to their boss if they want to pull a sickie, as proposed legislation stipulates that anyone calling in sick will need to have their symptoms checked by a doctor.
Under the new law workers claiming to be poorly will have to wait at home for a doctor for a four-hour period between 7am and 8pm.
If they’re not in when the doctor calls, they will lose a day’s pay.
In Belgium employment laws differ for blue and white-collar workers and the sick-day proposal is part of a raft of measures designed to bring about equality.
Currently, manual workers lose a day’s pay for the first sick day they claim, but this would be abolished under the new proposals, The Independent reports.
However, Belgian unions have reacted with dismay at the idea of doctors making house visits to those who’ve called in sick.
Jan Vercamst, of the union ACLVB, told The Independent: ‘We can’t agree with such a violation of personal privacy. Blue-collar workers are accused of throwing more sickies on a Monday than white-collar workers. We want to end all discrimination, but this we cannot accept.’
The FGTB union, meanwhile, said the scheme amounted to ‘house arrest’.
However, Karel Van Eetvelt, from union Unizo, hit back. He told Gazet Van Antwerpen: ‘Apparently the unions want to participate in social fraud.’
Last year, meanwhile, a survey by Chimes Shopping Centre found that six per cent of women in Britain phoned in sick on a ‘bad hair day’ or if they felt too fat.
Another study, carried out this year by Benenden Health, revealed other flimsy excuses for not going in to work. They included 'a can of baked beans landed on my big toe', 'My car handbrake broke and it rolled down the hill into a lamppost' and 'My dog has had a big fright and I don't want to leave him.'
One employee rang their manager to say they wouldn't be in work that day as they were in A&E with a peg stuck on their tongue and another said his mother had died (this was the second time he had used this excuse).
A third of bosses scour social media after receiving a sickie call-in to see whether the staff member is well enough to post updates.
Excuses: Studies have revealed the sometimes bizarre reasons workers give for not going in to work
No comments:
Post a Comment