Employee Claims Company Removed Sick Leaves, Only Hospitalisation Leave Approved: "Is This Legal?"

An employee at a private company has triggered widespread backlash on Reddit after alleging that the firm scrapped its casual and sick leave policies. As per the post, the company now only offers 12 days of annual leave, and any health-related absence must be backed by formal hospital documentation.

The employee shared a screenshot of an internal message circulated via Slack, allegedly from their company's HR department, announcing major changes to leave policies. The new policy combines sick, casual, and privilege leaves into a single 15-20 day annual pool, with penalties like pay deductions or warnings for excess usage. Casual and sick leaves are discontinued, replaced by two new categories: annual paid leave and hospitalisation leave.

"Moving forward, the following leave types will be available: Annual Paid Leave - A fixed number of paid leaves you can use for personal time off, vacations, or general needs. These leaves will be credited 1 day per month, totalling 12 days per year. Hospitalisation Leave - Special leave granted only in cases of medical emergencies requiring hospitalisation," the message read. 

"They posted this in our general channel today like it was just another normal update. Casual leave gone. Sick leave gone. Now it's one day of leave per month, and if you're sick it only counts if you're literally hospitalised and can submit papers," the Reddit user wrote along with the screenshot of the message. 

"I read it twice because I thought I misunderstood. I didn't. It honestly just feels exhausting. People get sick. Stuff comes up. Not everything needs a hospital visit. Calling this a "policy update" instead of what it actually is feels really tone deaf. Just needed to vent because this rubbed me the wrong way," the user added.

See the post here:

"Is it legal?"

The policy has triggered strong backlash online, with many Reddit users expressing disbelief. Some questioned the legality of the changes, while others urged the poster to name the company. Concerns were also raised about how staff would handle routine illnesses like colds or fevers under such a system.

One user wrote, "Damn, this is terrible. The company I work for doesn't have the concept of sick leave, but we do get 2.5 days of annual leave a month and the luxury of taking unpaid leave as well. It's not great now that they've rescinded work from home, but it's taking a nosedive anyway."

Another commented, "What company is this?  We all need to know who to say no to when you all quit or get fired.Until y'all quit, every single sick person needs to visit HR while sick and their managers.  Remember, sharing is caring."

A third said, "This is insane. Even workaholics get sick and it's not productive to force sick people to work because they'll get less done and be sicker for longer. WTF. I had to look up sick leave because I thought it was federally required by law to have sick days in the US but I see it depends on the state. I hope you can find something better soon."