Cabin crew sick leave rules by airline group: sick pay, attendance policies that count episodes, doctor's note rules and when a sick call becomes a disciplinary
-
#1 Norwegian Oslo, union rep, ask about rights, and the sick leave question is the one the crew ask me privately because they are afraid of the attendance policy. The policies differ enormously by group and the crew who understand theirs are the ones who are not afraid. Here it is by group, from the agreements and the crew on this forum.
Europe: the agreements and the law
The European carriers pay sick leave under the national law and the collective agreement: full pay for a period then a reduced rate, with the duration set by the country (the Scandinavian and German systems are generous, the UK statutory minimum is low and the BA and Virgin agreements top it up, the low cost carriers vary by base country). The doctor's note is required after a number of days set by law or agreement (three in many countries, the first days self certified). The attendance policy at the European carriers counts the episodes and the days and triggers a conversation at a threshold, and the conversation is the occupational health review, not a disciplinary, unless the pattern suggests misuse. The union rep is in the room at the threshold conversation, which is the thing to know.
The Gulf: the policy and the probation
The Gulf carriers pay sick leave under the labour law and the company policy: a period at full pay, a period at reduced pay, then unpaid, with the medical certificate from the company clinic or an approved clinic required from the first or second day. The attendance is tracked and the pattern (the sick calls around the days off, the repeated Monday sickness, the sick call on the unwanted trip) triggers the conversation and in probation can end the contract (Tariq's probation thread). The Gulf crew call in sick less than the European crew because the policy and the culture discourage it, and the ones who fly sick with the barotrauma (Kenji's thread) are the result. The honest advice: call in when genuinely sick, go to the clinic, keep the certificate, and do not build a pattern.
The US: the contract and the points
The US majors pay sick leave from an accrued sick bank (hours earned per month, used when sick, carried over), and the attendance policy is a points or occurrence system: each sick call is an occurrence, the occurrences accumulate, and a threshold triggers the steps (the conversation, the written warning, the final warning, the termination), with the occurrences falling off after a period. The doctor's note protects the occurrence at some carriers and not at others. The US crew know their occurrence count the way they know their seniority number, and the new hires who do not learn the policy in month one are the ones with a written warning in month six. Sam's and Jenna's threads on the American board have the contract version.
When the sick call becomes a disciplinary
The pattern, everywhere: the sick calls that avoid the undesirable trips, the sickness around the days off and the holidays, the social media post from the beach on the sick day (the single most common cause of a disciplinary for sickness in the industry, and the crew still do it), the certificate that does not match the dates, the undeclared second job on the sick day. The genuine sickness with the certificate and no pattern is never a disciplinary and the crew who fear it are afraid of the wrong thing.
The rights the crew do not use
The occupational health referral when the sickness is work related (the fatigue, the back, the ears), which puts the sickness in a different category. The union rep in the threshold conversation. The appeal against an attendance step. The fit note's 'may be fit with adjustments' option in the UK, which gets the crew member back on a restricted duty instead of on the attendance count. The crew who know these are the ones the policy does not frighten.
For the crew
Know your policy: the pay, the days, the certificate rule, the threshold. Call in when sick, from day one, with the certificate when required. Do not build a pattern and do not post from the beach. Use the rep and the occupational health route. The attendance policy is for the pattern, not for the flu, and the flu flown through is worse for the record than the sick call.
-
#2 French carrier, union rep two years, and the union rep in the room at the threshold conversation is the thing the French crew do not know they can ask for, and the occupational health review being the conversation and not a disciplinary is the European structure exactly. Henrik has the three groups fairly and the beach post paragraph should be read by every crew member under 25.
-
#3 American, 14 years, and the occurrence count known the way the seniority number is known is the US flight attendant's reality and the new hires with the written warning in month six are the ones who did not read the policy. The sick bank and the occurrences and the fall off period: Henrik has the US system right from Oslo, which is impressive.
-
#4 Emirates purser, and the Gulf paragraph is honest: the culture discourages the sick call and the result is the crew flying sick, and the probation thread I wrote has the pattern as the contract ender, not the genuine sickness. Call in when sick, go to the clinic, keep the certificate. Henrik has said it for the Gulf as a rep would.
-
#5 SAS, union member, and the Scandinavian system being generous is true and the threshold conversation with the rep is the Scandinavian structure, and the 'may be fit with adjustments' idea exists here too as the restricted duty. The crew who know the rights are the ones the policy does not frighten. Pin this to the rights board.
-
#6 American DFW, union rep, and the doctor's note protecting the occurrence at some carriers and not at others is the detail the US crew should check in their own contract, and the appeal against an attendance step is the right the new hires never use. Henrik's thread is the cross carrier version of what the reps say at every base.
-
#7 easyJet Luton, and the UK statutory minimum being low with the agreements topping it up at some carriers is the honest UK line, and the fit note's adjustments option is the thing I did not know. The flu flown through being worse for the record than the sick call is the sentence for the new joiners.
-
#8 @matthewdfw the appeal right unused is the pattern at every carrier and the reps should say it louder. @ollieluton the fit note adjustments option gets a crew member back on ground duty instead of on the count, and the UK crew should ask their GP for it by name.