Salaried v non salaried

EdgarAllenPoo

My mother was told the other day by her HR manager that in relation to sick pay there is a difference between what she called salaried and non salaried workers.

Salaried workers were entitled to sick pay, non salaried were not.

Is that true on a statutory or legal basis or could it jsu tbe company policy.

It's the first I've heard of it. I thought sick pay was at the employers discretion. Am I wrong?

themadchef

I can only answer from experience.

I was off sick for a month while i was working in Dunnes as a manager. I was only in the job 4 months and i got full pay for the whole month i was off.

I was shocked to say the least. Other employees said they never got it as they were paid weekly, i.e managers paid a monthly salary got sick pay.

I'm on a salary now and same policy applies. But, it could just be that it's company policy.

Beruthiel

Same in our Company.
Office get monthly salary and sick pay.
Factory floor gets weekly wage, no sick pay but have over time entitlements.

EdgarAllenPoo

Previously my mother had been out for two days and got paid, she was surprised given that she works for a private company. She too is a manager and her staff don't get any sick pay but in cases of long term illness I'm not sure she'd be paid. Just looking for any possible clarification on the issue.

themadchef

Yes one of the down sides was we couldin't earn overtime and we had to work a 50 hr week. If we were short staffed we were expected to stay on no questions asked...for no extra money.

Still it was very nice to get paid. Lovely safety net. well worth the management hassle imo

If your mum is not on a salary but has years of service surely she is entitled to some sort of payment?

EdgarAllenPoo

She's on a salary, whenever she has to do overtime (which is most days) she doesn't get paid overtime she gets hours instead.

She went from a state job were you were pretty much guaranteed sick pay to a private sector job and until now it hasn't been an issue. Just worried about being out with no money coming in.

themadchef

Must have signed a contract, did it cover sick leave in it?

wow, i always thought salary = paid regardless of hours worked. maybe someone can link to a government site that covers this?

seamus

GDM wrote: »

It's the first I've heard of it. I thought sick pay was at the employers discretion. Am I wrong?

No, you're 100% right. The salaried and non-salaried workers would have entirely different contracts, relevant to the type of work they do. Salaried workers probably have sick pay entitlements in their contract.

Mr. Incognito

http://www.graphitehrm.com/HRe-ssentials/may-07-hr-essentials.asp#question1

Question: One of my team has been out on sick leave, and is not likely to be back for 8 weeks; do I have to pay sick pay?
Answer: The first point to clarify is that there is no legal requirement to pay an employee while he/she is off work on sick leave. Whether or not an employer provides a sick pay scheme is entirely up to the organisation in question. Influencing factors in this regard would include:
• Industry/sectoral norms - do other organisations in the sector provide sick pay schemes;
• Affordability for the organisation;
• The competitiveness and attractiveness of the organisation when recruiting staff;
• Encouraging staff retention.
If the organisation has a Sick Leave/Sick Pay Policy, this will set out the employer's commitment in this regard. Where there is a policy setting out the provisions for sick pay, the employer should always follow the policy when dealing with sick leave.
It is important also to consider whether, even in the absence of a sick pay policy, the organisation pays employees while out on sick leave as part of the current practice. If this is the case, the organisation will have to continue to do so, unless it introduces a policy which seeks to change that practice. In such a case, where a policy is being introduced which will materially affect the terms of the employment contract, this should be discussed and negotiated with employees.
In the scenario above, the manager should establish whether the organisation has a policy on sick pay, and follow it accordingly. If there is no policy, then the manager should explore whether there is any current practice in the organisation in this regard, and implement that practice.
Where there is no sick pay scheme, employees should be informed of such, and directed to contact the Department of Social Welfare to claim Disability Benefit while they are on sick leave. The Department of Social Welfare will provide Disability Benefit after three days of absence from work.
Even where there is a sick pay scheme in place and the employer is paying the employee while they are out on sick leave, the employer should require the employee to claim their Disability Benefit and remit it to the organisation, to offset the cost of the sick pay scheme.