Hmm. Maybe in the banking/finance sector, but I don’t think I know anyone outside Government-backed organisations that gets anything like six months. I’m happy my current employer pays from day one of being off sick - a previous employer paid nothing until day three when SSP kicked in, and I suspect there are plenty more out there like that.
Statutory only is pretty terrible, generally offered for casual type jobs where workers have no bargaining power, and can be dispensed with easily. I certainly wouldn’t feel grateful for being paid from day one, as it really should be the minimum standard. There is a labour shortage in this country, and wages and Ts and Cs should therefore be improving not getting worse!
I expect some of this talk of altering sick pay, is to stop people “milking the system” and going off for 6 months when they’re not actually sick, and simply taking advantage of the system. That,’in itself, will save the company money and help staffing levels!!
I suspect it has nothing to do with that. The existing attendance management policies are there to prevent people milking the system. If they aren’t being enforced properly that’s an entirely separate matter. In my experience (two TOCs) they are rigorously enforced.
Their manager, HR, and occupational health departments will most certainly know. Unless you’re one of the above, there’s no reason why you would. That doesn’t imply that they’re “milking the system”.
One of my co-workers drinks to excess when it's a work social. She often seems to have 'migraines' which most likely occur on Mondays and her first day back after time off and don't last that long.
This tells us nothing more than that you’ve judged your colleague based on your personal disapproval of her drinking habits, and the fact she suffers from migraines.
I've never heard of more than 3 months and in many cases you need a full year of service to get any.
That certainly suggests your own Ts and Cs are pretty awful, which is regrettable, but has no bearing on whether worsening of long standing sick pay arrangements should be considered acceptable by the RMT for the staff they represent.
What industry are you in, out of interest?
This may be a function of the type of jobs where we both live - we don’t have any “quality” jobs, lots of seasonal work, some retail, but little else, I’m guessing you are a fair bit further south, and things may be different there?
All depends what a “quality job” means. Certainly all the roles I’ve undertaken involve arrangements far in excess of the minimum arrangements. Entry level retail and seasonal “gig economy” type pay and conditions are not what anyone should aspire to, and need to be resisted on the railway! This is part of the reason unions are important.