Current Employee - Bar Staff. Doesn't Recommend. Neutral Outlook. No Opinion of CEO. I have been working at Greene King full-time for more. Acquisitions of pubs. Complaints or litigation from pub customers, employees and third parties. Greene King Retail Services Limited. Source: BBPA Statistical Handbook 2014.
No matter what stage you’re at in your career, it’s essential you’re aware of your rights to sick pay. Our research reveals that the average employee (66.4%) only takes between one to two sick days a year. But do you know if and how you’re getting paid for it?
In this article we’ll cover everything from what to do when calling in sick, to the types of sick pay out there and how to claim, to make sure you know what to do when you’ve come down with more than the sniffles.
Calling in sick
So, most of you feel pretty guilty about calling in sick, 68.3% of you to be precise according to our latest research. It’s probably why over two thirds (67.5%) of you still go into work when you’re feeling pretty grim. But unfortunately you can’t be an absolute trooper 24/7 and there are some days when you have to call in sick – so how do you go about it?
If you’re going to call in sick, you need to speak to HR or your line manager. It’s more than likely there’s a deadline for when you need to call in by too. If you’re not too sure, check your employee handbook and make note of it; it’s probably around 9.30am, so the earlier you tell your employer you’ll be absent due to illness the better.
You don’t need to go into specifics about your illness when calling in, but you should make an effort to keep your manager informed of your progress and your expected date of return.
In the professional world, it’s you that has to call in sick; not your partner, or your dog, and especially not your mother. If it’s impossible for you to call due to the nature of your illness, only then is it acceptable for someone to call on your behalf.
Now your employer’s not stupid; they know there are a fair few excuses out there for calling in sick. But did you know an employee who’s been absent due to sickness and then found not to have been genuinely ill, could be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including summary dismissal for proven acts of gross misconduct. You better decide if that hangover or mini-break is worth it.
Sick leave
When you return to work after being off ill, your employer will more than likely ask you to fill in a self-certification form. This is to establish how long you were off for, and how they can help you return; for example, you might need to work shorter days, or reduce the amount of physical labour for a short while until you fully recover.
If you’ve been off work for seven days or more (including non-working days), you’ll need to supply your employer with a doctor’s fit note (also known as a sick note or medical statement) as evidence of your illness. We advise you make a copy of this fit note, keeping the original for your files and giving the replicate to your employer.
To obtain a fit note, you simply need to contact your GP, or you can contact your hospital doctor if you’re receiving treatment there. Be aware, doctors may charge you if you ask for the note before your seventh day off sick.
Your doctor will either declare you ‘may be fit for work’ or ‘not fit for work’ and your employer must abide the statement given. If your doctor thinks you are fit to return to work, your employer should discuss with you any changes that might ease your return. For example, working different hours, or changing your tasks or workload.
In our recent research, over a third (34.2%) of employees revealed that their managers put pressure on them to return to work early. If you find yourself nodding in agreement with this, you need to notify HR.
Considering 85% of UK employees feel much less productive at work when they’re unwell, forcing yourself to return to work because you’re feeling guilty, or because your manager’s pressuring you, isn’t doing anyone any favours.
What is Statutory Sick Pay?
You might be wondering if your employer will pay you for your time off sick. Firstly, there are two types of sick pay: Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) which is a legal requirement for employers to pay qualifying staff, and Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) which is an employer’s own sick pay scheme. This is usually more generous than SSP. Please note though, not all employers have an OSP scheme.
So, SSP is the money your employer pays you while you’re off sick from work. They’ll pay it in the same way as your wages; that is, on your normal payday, deducting tax and National Insurance. SSP is not payable for the first three qualifying days of your absence, i.e. the first three days your employer expects you to work under your contract of employment.
Just to be clear then, if you’re off for one, two or three days you won’t get paid SSP, so you’ll need to seriously consider taking the day off if you’ve just got the sniffles!
To qualify for SSP you must have been off work for four or more days in a row – this includes non-working days. Therefore, if you get ill on Saturday it will count as your first sick day. It’s also worth noting that if you’re in work for a minute or more before going home sick, that day will not count as a sick day. Yep you read it right, a minute or more and that day won’t count as a sick day.
How much SSP will I get?
No matter what, you can’t get less that the statutory amount when you’re off sick. You may get more than SSP though if your employer has an OSP scheme (more on that later!).
There is a limit of 28 weeks SSP in any one period of sickness, or a period that links. Periods of sickness link if the second period starts within eight weeks of the end of the first period. SSP is currently (March 2019) £92.05 a week (for up to 28 weeks). But you’ll only receive the pay on the days you normally work; these are your ‘qualifying days’.
Remember, you won’t receive pay for the first three days of your sickness; these are your ‘waiting days’. If you’re working part time, the same wage applies, but the employer calculates it pro rata.
If you’re curious how much SSP you’ll be paid, you can use this neat calculator!
Qualifying for Statutory Sick Pay
In order to be eligible for SSP you need to fulfil the following criteria:
You must have an employment contract
You must have completed some work under your contract
You must have been sick for four or more days in a row – this includes non-working days
You must earn at least £112 a week
You must give your employer the correct notice of your sickness
You must supply proof of your illness after seven days off – through a fit note or self-certification form
How to claim Statutory Sick Pay
If you want to claim SSP, it’s best practice to tell your employer in writing. Even if they don’t require it. You will also need to submit your request for claiming SSP by your employer’s deadline.
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If they don’t have a deadline, aim for within seven days from your first day of illness. Or as soon as you possibly can.
If you’re late in notifying your employer, they don’t have to pay you SSP. Unless there was a good enough reason for the delay, of course. You will also need a fit note from your doctor if you’re off sick for more than seven days to prove you illness and claim.
Unfortunately there may be the occasion where your employer rejects your SSP claim. If you think your employer deciding not to pay you SSP is wrong, or if you think you’re not getting the correct amount of SSP, you must ask them to provide a reason for their decision. Hopefully this should resolve your confusion, even if you are unhappy with the outcome.
However, if you still think your employer has made an unfair decision, you should contact the HM Revenue and Customs employees’ enquiry line.
Your annual leave
So in the unfortunate event that you’re pretty ill and are off work for a lengthy amount of time, you might be wondering what’s going to happen to all your annual leave. It’s good news! You can accrue statutory minimum annual leave entitlement and can carry it over into next year if you’re too unwell to take it.
Alternatively, you can take your annual leave while you’re off sick. So you’ll be paid normal holiday pay rather than SSP.
In addition, if you find yourself in the truly rotten situation of becoming ill during your holiday, there is the small blessing that you can take it as sick leave instead. You might have to ask your employer if they’d be so generous as to refund your annual leave though…
Occupational Sick Pay
OSP is also known as Company Sick Pay or Practice Sick Pay. It’s up to your employer whether they offer this to staff. OSP is a typically a far more generous allowance that SSP. And unfortunately it seems that only half (55.9%) of companies today offer it. This places many of the nation’s workers in a financial conundrum if they can’t afford to take time off.
Our research revealed that 94.3% of workers believe all businesses should continue to pay their employees when off sick. However it seems that many companies avoid doing this as sick pay is seen as a major expense. If you’re not sure whether your employer offers OSP, check out your contract or staff handbook.
Hopefully you now feel pretty confident on your rights to sick pay. If you have any further queries or questions, you can check out the sources below.
Sources:
Related Career Advice articles
The Alex in Southend-on-Sea is an example of a chain pub - in this case a 'Screams' managed pub targeted at university students.
A pub chain is a group of pubs or bars which operate under a unified brand image. Pubs within a chain are tied houses and can, generally, only sell products which the chain owner sanctions. The chain owner, often called a pubco, may be one company or there may be multiple financiers and the chain itself may be a single operation or division of a larger company, such as a brewery. Pubs in a chain normally display their chain branding prominently and may also feature shared aspects of their chain, such as menus and staff uniforms.
History[edit]
Pub chains are an evolution of the tied house system. During the latter half the nineteenth century increased competition between the large breweries led many of them to buy up local pubs and directly employ publicans to run them, in an attempt to secure markets for their products. Although tied houses had existed in some cities since the seventeenth century, this period has come to be known as the birth of the tied house system. As well as guaranteeing markets for a brewery, the tied house system allowed an uninterrupted supply chain, directly from the brewery to the pub, keeping costs down. A key difference to the system largely operating today is that most tied houses are now owned by pub chains, known as pubco's, who align themselves with specific suppliers in order to obtain big discounts, therefore reducing profits for the brewery.
Types[edit]
In the United Kingdom, there are two types of pub chain, reflecting the ownership of the pub and the style of operations. Pubs are either tenanted or managed.
Pub chains such as Punch Taverns and Ei Group own thousands of tenanted pubs which are not branded to retain uniqueness. They are controlled in the brands of beer, ales and lagers and sometimes[1] other beverages that they may sell.
Pub chains operating managed houses are frequently run as brands, located near a high street but rarely in predominantly residential areas.
Multiple-held pubs do exist in countries other than the United Kingdom, but due to most countries having different accepted systems of ownership and supply, they do not hold anywhere near the level of control over the market as they do in the UK.
Managed pub companies[edit]
Atmosphere Bars and Clubs Ltd
The 'Chicago Rock Cafe' and 'Jumpin Jaks' night-club/pub brands were created by Luminar Leisure in 1989,[2] and the Chicago Rock Cafe concept meant the Luminar group became the most successful leisure company of the early 1990s.[3] However, the group found the night-club/pub concept increasingly difficult to keep in profit,[4] and in December 2006 created 3D Entertainment, in a £79m sale and leaseback deal in which it retained a 49% share, to take over the night-club/pub brands,[5][6] which were restructured into around 55 Chicago Rock Cafes with 15 other sites, including Jumpin Jaks and Mortimers pubs.[7] 3D Entertainment could not make the brands successful, and the company went into administration in February 2010,[8] with some of the Chicago Rock Cafe brands being taken over by Atmosphere Bars & Clubs, and other sites being bought by JD Wetherspoon.[9] There are 21 Chicago Rock Cafes in locations all over England and Wales.[10]
Barracuda Group
Varsity,[11] Barracuda Bars, Juniper Inns, Cape and Smith & Jones are owned by the Barracuda Group, which is based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Hobgoblin
The Hobgoblin pubs were owned by Wychwood Brewery until 2002 and are located in London and the south of England.
Laurel Pub Company
Laurel (based in Luton) acquired several pub chains using funding arranged by Robert Tchenguiz, including buying Bar Med and Slug & Lettuce from the administrators of SFI Group plc in June 2005 for £80m and also Yates's who were based in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in May 2005 for £202m. Laurel owns the HogsHead chain of high street bars. In April 2007 Laurel also acquired the La Tasca chain of tapas bars for £123m. Tchenguiz bought the company through his company R20 for £151m in November 2004. Laurel were placed into administration in March 2008 and the assets were immediately purchased by Bay Restaurant Group and Town & City Pub Company in a 'pre-pack' deal.
Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers used to be the retail division of Bass Brewery, which rebranded in July 2001 to become Six Continents Retail, and again in April 2003 to its current name. The company owns All Bar One, Ember Inns, Edwards, O'Neills, Miller & Carter, Browns Brasserie, Sizzling Pubs, Nicholson's, Crown Carveries, Castle, as well as others. It is the largest UK pub and restaurant group. It is based in Birmingham.
Oakman Inns and Restaurants
Oakman Inns (based in Tring) are a chain in the Home Counties. Their first outlet The Akeman won Best UK Pub Design 2009 in The Publican Awards. In 2013, they won the Eat Out Award for Best Pub Company of 2013. In 2014 they won Publican Awards for Best Employer and Best Community Pubs. In 2015 they were named in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For achieving 3 Star accreditation from Best Companies. Oakman Inns are expanding rapidly and have financed this growth via the Enterprise Investment Scheme.[12]
Pitcher and Piano
Pitcher and Piano has been owned by Marstons since 1996.
Slug and Lettuce
Slug and Lettuce is owned by the Bay Restaurants Group who are based in Luton, Bedfordshire. Originally part of Grosvenor Inns the chain was bought by SFI group who were based in Woking. In June 2005 SFI Group went into administration at which point the majority of the Slug & Lettuce branded pubs were purchased by Laurel Pub Company for around £70 million. Laurel subsequently went into administration in March 2008,[13] and the chain was acquired by Bay Restaurants Group.[14] There are 80 pubs in the chain, predominantly situated in London, South East England and the Midlands, but also elsewhere in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man.[15]
Stonegate Pub Company
Stonegate Pub company was established in 2010 to acquire 333 pubs from Mitchells & Butlers. Stongegate acquired a portion of the Bramwell pubs in 2013 (78 of 185).[16][17]
TCG
In September 2005, Spirit Group sold its 'City Nights' portfolio of in excess of 180 pubs and clubs, en-bloc, to Alchemy - the financial backers behind the newly formed Tattershall Castle Group (TCG) who created the brand, 'the1440'.[18]
JD Wetherspoon
JD Wetherspoon run over 920 pubs across the UK. All JDW pubs serve an extensive food menu as well as drinks, and many are conversions from existing large buildings.
Tenanted pub companies[edit]
Ei Group
Ei Group has around 5,500 leased and tenanted pubs in the UK. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Greene King
Greene King have over 3,000 managed and tenanted pubs, restaurants and hotels in the UK. In 2015 they acquired Spirit Pub Company plc
Heineken
Heineken International acquired 1,900 UK pubs from Punch Taverns in December 2016.[19]
Punch Taverns
Punch Taverns has around 1,300 leased and tenanted pubs in the UK.[20] It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company's managed pub division was demerged in 2011 as a separate company, Spirit Pub Company plc. In December 2016 it was agreed that around 1,900 pubs would be sold to Heineken International.[19]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
^common knowledge for tied contracts
^'21 Years of Entertainment - Luminar Group Holdings plc Annual Report 2009'. luminar.annualreport2009.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^The Makings of Luminar, The Luminar Staff and Shareholder Handbook, 2005, page 1
^'Luminar Group Holdings plc - Chief Executive's Statement'. www.luminar.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^'Chicago Rock Café owner interested in Regent Inns - 7/22/2008 - Caterer Search'. www.caterersearch.com. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^'3D Entertainment begins trading'. 24 January 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.[permanent dead link]
^Thompson, James (5 December 2009). 'Chicago Rock Cafe chain in line for pre-Christmas sale - Business News, Business - The Independent'. www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^'The Publican - Home - Colliers CRE seeking buyers for closed 3D Entertainment sites'. www.thepublican.com. Retrieved 11 October 2010.[permanent dead link]
^'Chicago Rock Cafe in Stortford is sold to pub chain'. www.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^'Venues'. www.chicagosbars.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^'varsitybars.com - Welcome to Varsity'. www.varsitybars.com. Retrieved 24 June 2010.