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Julia Mahmood
Member - 2 posts
An employee who wears spectacles for computer work but who does not need to wear them all the time has elected to have laser eye surgery. On information presently available, the surgery is more for cosmetic reasons.
The employee has enquired whether the company would grant her paid sick leave. Solely for reasons of cost, she will have the surgery outside the UK and will need two days off for return travel to and back from the country where the surgey will be performed.
Legal adviser's initial view is that the period of time for admission to the hospital, treatment and recuperation should be granted as sick leave but that the two days' travel time should be taken as holiday. Please advise if this is considered reasonable and in compliance with applicable statutory provisions.
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Stephen Jones
Member - 19 posts
The term "sick leave" seems wrong to me. There is "sickness absence" and there is "annual leave". Any time in hospital and recuperation, whether self referred or medically referred, is sickness absence. Anything else is annual leave.
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Philip Jeffs
Member - 299 posts
I agree with Stephen. The essential factor here is surely the personal choice to have this treatment, rather than an urgent medical need?
I think anything except the actual time in hospital should be annual leave and should be agreed with the member of staff in advance.
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Evelyn Styles
Member - 9 posts
Dear Julia
I refer to your query.
An employee is entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if s/he is unable to do the work which s/he can reasonably be expected to do under her/his contract of employment because of illness.
In my opinion SSP should be paid for the period the employee will be admitted to hospital, treatment and recuperation. If the travel from the hospital back to the United Kingdom includes recuperation - ie she will be unable to return to work on that particularly day and/or subsequent days due to illness - SSP should be paid.
In respect of receiving SSP for travelling outside the United Kingdom to the hospital this should not be paid as she will not be ill at the time of travel.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional queries.
Kind regards.
Evelyn Styles
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michael strand
Member - 8 posts
It seems to me that laser eye treatment, considered now as cosmetic, cannot be construed as either 'sickness' or 'illness'. This would conclude that the time off is annual or unpaid leave.
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Anonymous
Many thanks to all those who responded; the advice is much appreciated.
I see that with the addition of the response from Michael Strand, however, there is now a conflict of the same sort that occurred within this office!!
The majority seem to have gone with allowing at least the period of treatment and recuperation as sick leave. Thanks to Evelyn for the clarification that, if the employee would still have been in recuperation on the date of return travel, that also should be allowed. Everyone seems clear that the date of outward travel should be treated as annual leave (unless also sickness absence for some other reason).
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michael strand
Member - 8 posts
I think you have to ask whether it is elective surgery, or whether it was necessitated by some failing of the persons body which required this treatment.
Incidentally, talking to an eye consultant friend this weekend about laser eye surgery; he would not recommend it!!
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Anonymous
Thanks, Michael. the surgery in question is clearly elective in so far as the employee concerned is having the surgery because she does not want to have to wear spectacles or use lenses; she has been told that if the surgery is successful, these will no longer be needed. There is no medical reason why the use of spectacles or lenses cannot be continued as at present.
It was this elective aspect of the matter that first caused the confusion in my mind. However, I eventually came down on the side of sick leave because I considered that the period of hospital treatment and recuperation was nevertheless time off for reasons of sickness / physical incapacity and because there was nothing in our policy that sought to distinguish between something self-induced and other sickness / incapacity. Evelyn Stiles has clarified that SSP would be payable in these circumstances; which has tended to make me stick with my original analysis.
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Martin Brewer - Mills & Reeve
Online advisor - 84 posts
At the risk of disagreeing fundamentally with Evelyn, surely an employee who elects to have what is in effect cosmetic surgery is not ill. Otherwise employees who decide to have all sorts of cosmetic treatment could claim SSP. Michael Strand is right; if there is an underlying illness necessitating surgery then the absence for the surgery is effectively the absence for the illness. Without some underlying illness then the reason for the absence is not because of illness it is for another reason: so no SSP.
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