offer of employment- when would you ask about sick pay?

[Twentyfour7]

Hi All
I have been offered a job and am about to start negotiation process . They have not mentioned sick pay terms .I plan to go back with a request for higher salary and holiday period but am not sure whether to ask for details of the sick pay at this stage

Would you ask about this in your reply to the offer or wait to be sent the contract? I am not sure when they will ask for references

Employers in my field are cutting back on sick pay. Although my attendance has been good I would like to know what they plan to offer without concerning them and putting them off with so many requests right from the start. I would really like them to continue on the same sick pay terms on which I am currently on, but I think that may be a tall order

Your advice would be greatly appreciated

24/7

[cossy400]

It's not something I'd be in a rush to ask.

I'd await the contract I think.

[p4cks]

I'd be thinking alarm bells if someone I was considering hiring asked me that. It's best off just to assume the worst in these situations.

[Twentyfour7]

p4cks said:

I'd be thinking alarm bells if someone I was considering hiring asked me that. It's best off just to assume the worst in these situations.

yes on reflection I think you are right

[x5tuu]

Ask for their model contract or their full terms of employment and benefits.

It’s not an unusual ask I’d say - certainly not in or around healthcare IME. It’s a massive consideration as well as people get a little older and wiser.

[Mr Penguin]

I once interviewed someone who when asked "why do you want to work for us?" said he was going to have an operation that would take him out of work for two months and he wanted to work somewhere with good sick leave. I didn't hire him.

[fat80b]

I think you can ask but I wouldn’t just ask about the sick pay element as asking about one component might come across as a little odd.

I’d put a general list of benefits together that you want details of in order to get a like for like comparison with others.

This might include :
Sick pay
Death in service
Health insurance
Dental
Holiday
Pension specifics
Any allowances eg wfh
Etc

They should be able to give you the whole lot before you sign the offer.

[Twentyfour7]

thanks I will take your advice and wait for the contract
I assume once we have agreed the basics I can say "I accept your offer subject to contract" and this would not tie me into anything
I would want to see the contract before they ask for references

[Twentyfour7]

they are asking me to sign the conditional job offer which is subject to their above terms ie satisfactory references , probation etc ,

I assume I am not legally bound if I sign it but state subject to agreeing terms and conditions of the contract?
Thanks for your help!

[globaltraveller]

Ask for a copy of the contract and terms before signing.

[fourstardan]

You want to negotiate a sick pay term LMAO

[bennno]

Twentyfour7 said:

they are asking me to sign the conditional job offer which is subject to their above terms ie satisfactory references , probation etc ,

I assume I am not legally bound if I sign it but state subject to agreeing terms and conditions of the contract?
Thanks for your help!

Ask them for the proposed contract of employment to review, you cant sign a conditional job offer.

[Alex Z]

fourstardan said:

You want to negotiate a sick pay term LMAO

Why not, or at the very least see it as a sign of the kind of employer they are likely to be?

Anyone who offers little or no sick pay isn’t great.

[bennno]

Jasey_ said:

He's already asking for more salary and holidays.

It's fine to ask for the contract but to state to a prospective employer your third most important factor is sick pay is not a good look and will likely result in no offer.

Nobody in their right mind would accept a job offer without visibility of the contract.

So ask for that, then you can review all aspects of the offer without being specific.

Dependent upon experience levels and the employers desire to recruit you, it might be possible to flex certain terms / benefits, many half decent /forward looking employers will allow you to flex leave time and benefits via salary sacrifice.

[simon_harris]

depending on the employer and the position what is in the contract may well not reflect reality anyway, in my current contract it states SSP yet I've not seen them actually implement that once.

[GreatGranny]

fourstardan said:

You want to negotiate a sick pay term LMAO

Would you go for a job with no or very limited sick pay?

He wants to know what they are firstly.

[Countdown]

I would assume it was just Statutory sick pay unless I thought it was something i was going to be making a lot of use of.

[StevieBee]

Sick Pay is not a benefit or perk. The law requires a minimum level of paid sick leave be provided. Beyond that it's at the discretion of the company. Asking for additional sick days is a pointless negotiation. If you don't use those days, they're not go to pay you for not taking them.

It's an unusual thing to ask at contract negotiation stage. Doing so, as others have mentioned, would suggest you are either prone to sickness or likely pull excessive 'sickies' and would undoubtedly impact on your contract negotiation or at the very least, mark your card from the start.

If there is a genuine reason why you need extra sick days then you should reveal this to your potential employer. If they're a decent outfit, they'll work a way to accommodate you. But simply asking for more days won't fly well.

[bennno]

GreatGranny said:

fourstardan said:

You want to negotiate a sick pay term LMAO

Would you go for a job with no or very limited sick pay?

He wants to know what they are firstly.

Which is why you ask for a job offer to include the contract of employment and then you review it.

[Sy1441]

Jasey_ said:

Wait for the contract.

100% this. If someone asked me about sick pay I'd most likely pull right back from hiring them.