An American living in the UK has said his “mind is blown” after discovering the staggering difference between going off sick from work in the UK – in comparison to back home in the US.
The TikTok user, who goes by the name of Mr Sassy told followers about the seemingly lax sick pay and leave in the UK after he moved to the country.
He explained that in America there was no legal obligation for employers to give workers any sick leave unless they are signed up to the Family and Medical Leave Act, which means they are then eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave.
But went on to say that this only applied to “certain medical conditions”, whereas at his UK job there was no limit on how long he could be sick or “how sick you can be”. He added that for seven days “you don’t even need to get a doctor’s note”.
He said when he found out that he would be fully paid for a certain amount of time, with it dropping to half pay after an even longer period, he said it “blew my American mind”.
The TikToker said: “I’ve only been with my current company for six months and unfortunately I’ve been quite sick, the first four weeks were fully paid and it then went down to half pay.
“It adds insult to injury when you remember that in America your health is attached to your employment, so if you get too sick to work, then you can’t work and you lose your health insurance.
“Can you imagine having a really long term illness like the Big C? Anyway I’m happy to be in the UK.”
