Employers and unions are set to lock horns on the proposal that workers could utilise their sick leave entitlement on days when they have to stay at home to take care of their sick children.

The Malta Employers’ Association last Wednesday pronounced itself against the idea, with the General Workers’ Union replying that it will fight for this right because it “always believed there are circumstances in which workers must use their sick leave to tend to their own sick children”.

The idea to give workers the opportunity to use their sick leave when their children are unwell was first launched by the Nationalist Party before the 2017 election, and was later endorsed by the Labour Party too.

The topic came up on the agenda again after the publication by the government of the Children’s Policy Framework for 2024-2030. Among the proposals put forward is that which sees workers use sick leave allotment to cover for days when they need to stay home with their sick children.

The number of days each employee is allowed as sick leave varies substantially across the different industries according to the relevant Wage Regulation Order. Where the type of activity is not regulated by a WRO, sick leave entitlement amounts to two working weeks per year. Sick leave entitlement can however vary between 12-30 working days, depending on the profession.

In its statement last Wednesday, the MEA said that the Children’s Policy Framework could be a step forward in introducing measures to improve the well-being of children and of families in general. The document includes positive measures that will improve child welfare if implemented.

However, the association expressed its strong opposition to the use of the sick leave entitlement of the employee to look after sick children.

Sick leave is to be utilised specifically when an employee is unfit for work, and thus, by definition, should never be transferred to other persons, the MEA said. Such a measure will be impossible to control by employers and could lead to abusive practices.

The MEA pointed out the recent scandals of having sickness certificates given over the phone, and the exposure of a widespread organised system of benefit fraud. This, the MEA said, make employers sceptical of the ethical standards of the medical profession in issuing sickness certificates.

The entitlement of urgent family leave already makes it possible for employees to address family emergencies, the MEA said.

For its part, the General Workers’ Union said it will be presenting its proposal for parents’ sick leave to care for their sick children as part of its reaction to the publication of the children’s policy for 2024-2030. 

GWU Secretary General Josef Bugeja said that the right for parents to take days off to be with their sick children was one of several issues the GWU believed in.  

Bugeja said it always believed there are circumstances in which workers must use their sick leave to tend to their own sick children. In a recent Employment Relations Board meeting, the GWU said it was in favour of such use of sick leave for parents to care for sick children. 

Bugeja said that contrary to those who claim such a measure was impossible, employers could still have control of the situation. 

He said that while families can already use urgent vacation leave for family emergencies, the reality of children falling sick frequently was also true. “I cannot understand how only recently everyone was talking about trusting workers, and now there are those complaining about not trusting them. Today, with everyone in a family being usually employed, many are the instances when one of the parents has to stay at home to tend to their sick children.” 

Bugeja said that if the public truly believed in workers’ participation on the workplace, this trust in workers had to be shown by supporting sick leave in such normal circumstances, rather than undermining this right by sowing doubt. 

“Throughout the years, workers have displayed strong principles at their place of work – they did so during the financial crisis, during the pandemic, and even when their place of employment was enduring bad times,” Bugeja said. 

“The relation of the workers to their place of work has been continuously changing. So work-life balance between family duties and a job should not be just a declaration on paper. These are matters that must be concretely achieved in collective agreement negotiations, as well as at a national level.” 

In 2020, the MEA had published a Sick Leave Survey, noting that “it is time where employers and the government work together to reduce the amount of abusive sick leave, while ensuring that those who are genuinely sick are allowed to recover for as long as required.”

The survey results had revealed that, on average, employees take an average of 5.89 days sick leave per annum. Sick leave tends to be higher in larger companies, employing more than 250 employees, where the average is 6.92 days.

56% of the 351 respondents reported no changes in sick leave taken during the previous five years, 10% reported a decrease and 34% experienced an increase in sick leave taken.

Half of respondents reported a tendency for younger persons (16-25 years) to take more sick leave than older employees.

Among the reasons given by companies which experienced an increase in sick leave, the MEA survey indicated abuse, sense of entitlement and lack of commitment, and changes in people’s work ethics. Respondents also noted that some employees accounted for the majority of sick leave, doctors gave out sickness certificates easily and more working parents.

The survey had shown that 47% make use of company doctors whilst the other 53% do not.

According to the survey, the main reasons for sick absence not seen as genuine were home/family responsibilities, extension of leisure time and stress/fatigue.

44% of survey respondents had reported that they face issues with sick leave following weekends or days of rest. Monday and Friday are the most common days for sick leave.

The survey results also showed that younger generation tend to take sick leave after the weekend due to long nights entertaining themselves or due to part-time work. Others reported taking sick leave following vacation leave or to bridge holidays. Abuse had also been noticed when vacation leave is not granted.

The MEA survey can be seen in full here