BetterMost Community Blogs > Cellar Scribblings
Cellar Scribblings
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 20, 2018, 09:32:48 am ---We have that, but it generally involves tending to a sick family member and there's no guarantee of pay.
--- End quote ---
I'm blessed and I know it. My employer offers up to 10 days of Family and Medical Leave Act time off at full pay.
I've used 4 so far this year because of my dad, and I'll use another May 4 to go with him to an appointment with he gastroenterologist.
brianr:
There is a limit but it did not concern me and has possibly changed. It wil be 16 years in October since I gave up permanent employment and almost 9 years since I did a day of paid (casual) employment ;D
CellarDweller:
Hello Bettermost Friends!
;D
TGIF!
Does anyone have good plans for the weekend? I will be going to a friend's birthday party tomorrow evening. Sunday is the usual, lunch with the family and laundry.
:)
CellarDweller:
--- Quote from: brian on April 19, 2018, 02:54:38 pm ---In Australia (not sure about NZ) you can have family leave. Women with children make a lot of use of it. I always knew when one woman was going to take it because she would book all her classes for that day into the library. It made me furious as I looked after the class while the relief teacher read the newspaper. When my mother moved house about 7 years before her death, my sister wanted me to help, so I took family leave for the only time in my career.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 20, 2018, 09:32:48 am ---We have that, but it generally involves tending to a sick family member and there's no guarantee of pay.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 20, 2018, 10:22:05 am ---I'm blessed and I know it. My employer offers up to 10 days of Family and Medical Leave Act time off at full pay.
I've used 4 so far this year because of my dad, and I'll use another May 4 to go with him to an appointment with he gastroenterologist.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: brian on April 20, 2018, 03:14:32 pm ---There is a limit but it did not concern me and has possibly changed. It wil be 16 years in October since I gave up permanent employment and almost 9 years since I did a day of aid (casual) employment ;D
--- End quote ---
I think it varies from company to company.
It's my understanding that my company doesn't fire you if you take an extended leave, however, your position is not guaranteed. Example, if I were to take an extended family leave, when it was over, I'd still have a job at the bank, but my old position may be filled, and I'd be put in a new position.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 20, 2018, 09:32:48 am ---We have that, but it generally involves tending to a sick family member and there's no guarantee of pay.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 20, 2018, 10:22:05 am ---I'm blessed and I know it. My employer offers up to 10 days of Family and Medical Leave Act time off at full pay.
I've used 4 so far this year because of my dad, and I'll use another May 4 to go with him to an appointment with he gastroenterologist.
--- End quote ---
Just to clarify, when I said "we" I meant "U.S. citizens."
At my staff job, we get paid to care for a family member under FMLA the same way we get paid if we're sick, if we're on vacation, if it's a holiday. That is, we have X number of PTO days a year to be divided among all of those things.
For me, it's currently almost 8 weeks a year, plus a week carried over from last year (you can do that for a portion of the time).
It always seems like kind of a bummer to me, because some people might spend PTO hiking Machu Picchu and others might spend it sick. Still, I'll admit it does make sense. If the PTO were all divided into separate categories and you never take sick days, you might be resentful that you couldn't use them, or tempted to call in sick when you weren't. Or call in because you wanted to stay up late the night before watching the season finale of The Walking Dead. ;)
These days are also used for holidays, which again makes sense because you might not celebrate the standard Christian holidays. Or you might not mind working on Memorial Day (and getting extra holiday pay), etc. Since it's a place where at least a few people have to work every day including holidays, it probably makes sense if you'd gladly work on Christmas but want time off at Passover or whatever.
Meanwhile, they set aside a small number of hours each year that you can accumulate and use if you have a longer term health problem or FMLA issue. Currently, I have <2 weeks' worth, so it wouldn't go far. Sometimes if people have really big problems coworkers will donate hours to them.
And then you can usually get unpaid extended leave, to write a book or do a year-long fellowship, for example. Or maybe to care for a loved one. I think they're pretty good about granting that, though once you use up your vacation days you don't get paid. I'm not sure what happens to your health insurance, etc., during that period. But I believe you get to go back to either your exact same job or at least one comparable.
--- Quote from: brian on April 20, 2018, 03:14:32 pm ---There is a limit but it did not concern me and has possibly changed. It wil be 16 years in October since I gave up permanent employment and almost 9 years since I did a day of paid (casual) employment ;D
--- End quote ---
Brian, I'm curious -- could you briefly explain those terms? I think at one point I calculated that you're in your early 70s (correct me if I'm wrong). What was your permanent employment and how does the category of casual employment differ? What age did you leave each? Could you have continued in either if you'd wanted to?
I'm currently writing a lot about working into later life -- working longer at good jobs has health and cognitive benefits, but unfortunately the majority of people do it because they can't afford to retire. So I'm interested in how the system might be different Down Under. Where I assume things like saving for retirement or paying for medical expenses Medicare doesn't cover are less of a problem.
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