tdierikx Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I've had an employer refuse to give me any leave - compassionate or annual - to attend my Grandfather's funeral. As it was 1000km from me, it would have required a couple of days off to get there and back. Apparently compassionate leave is only for immediate family deaths - mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, child... I had to rearrange a job interview to attend my Grandmother's funeral way back when... not only were they very understanding about the reasons for rescheduling, but I got the job to boot... As for compassionate leave for the death of a pet... I'm not sure it should be mandatory. Happy for it to be applied with discretion though. Seriously your immediate boss would surely know if you have a strong bond with your pets, as we have a habit of talking about them quite a bit, have photos of them at our desks or on our desktop screens, etc... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 No, not as an entitlement. Of course if you are going to work & your pet suddenly dies an employer would be unreasonable to expect you to come into work on that day as though nothing has happened but they shouldn't pay you for it as an extra If you have so many days paid leave it can be counted as one of them. If pet is to be PTS I think this should be arranged on a day off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 No, no special entitlement. But if you need time off you should be able to access normal personal/sick leave. Not as a matter of course because a pet died but because it had affected you very adversely, that is the real test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 (edited) almost 30 years ago now I had a young dog killed in terrible circumstances. I was distraught and took at least one day off work, cant remember if it was anymore than that. I was honest when I filled out my sick form giving the reason as the death of my dog. I got a call from personnel and although the bloke wasn't sure how to word it, they paid me. No, no special entitlement. But if you need time off you should be able to access normal personal/sick leave. Not as a matter of course because a pet died but because it had affected you very adversely, that is the real test. I agree with this. Edited May 30, 2014 by Kirislin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperspal Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I recently had a couple of months off on holidays, then the Sunday afternoon immediately before I was due to go back to work , we had a massive fight between 2 of my dogs which resulted in them both being put down. I had full intentions of showing up for work the next day and just keeping my head down and laying low while there, but a number of people told me not to go in until Tuesday. Best thing I ever did. I rang my boss first thing on the Monday, said I'm not going to be in and why, and she was fine with that. One of my friends/ neighbours works on the same department and she went and saw my boss and explained what had happened anyway. I just put in for compassionate leave, and it was approved immediately. My boss actually said that I am one of the few people who had never used that option until then, I have been with them 15 years. I think it's up to the boss, and what the persons emotional state is like, the work load and work particulars would be a consideration as well. You wouldn't want someone serving customers who was obviously upset, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korbin13 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Our employment contracts don't require doctors certificates anymore. Sick leave is now called as personal leave and we can use it however we like, with managers discretion. I have taken a day off though and have said it was for personal reasons. I have taken two weeks personal leave to go to Victoria to attend my stepfather's funeral and to help my mum with a few things. I still have over three months personal leave in the bank, as I very rarely touch it and use it for it's intended purpose. I do work with people that don't have any personal or annual leave as they take the time at the drop of the hat and often have to take leave without pay when genuine things come up. I live regionally and the vets only do house visits during the week, during certain hours. So for a planned PTS, we have to take a day off or else you have to wait in a full waiting room on a Saturday morning or during the after hours clinic. We also don't have an emergency vet, so if you get a sick/injured animal, you have to take time off to take them to the vet. I would argue it is cruelty to leave an animal that needed veterinarian care until the end of the day when they do their after hours clinic. Obviously some things can wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Weirdly the payroll person questioned me taking a day off to go to my ex MIL funeral more than time taken off because of a pet death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I don't think we need extra leave. I have taken a sick day and a day without pay before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MavericksMission Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We have extra few days of bereavement leave at work for our pets. I do work in an animal shelter and if we have a particularly hard loss of a shelter dog we are entitled to take it then too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malamum Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I don't think a separate pet bereavement leave is necessary but I do think people should be allowed to take a personal leave day when their pet dies (bereavement, sick, annual, flex or unpaid leave), without feeling that they have to lie about the reason. I agree with this. I don't think it's something that should be legislated but I also think employers should just show a bit of common sense and compassion when appropriate. I know that my boss would have no issue with me taking a bit of time for something related to my dogs and I'd be the same for my staff but there are plenty of people who take the piss at any opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixeduppup Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Generally no, but I know someone that got a week off after her dog was killed in absolutely horrible circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Flying Furball Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 You can take it to go to funerals, look after sick family members or take dick leave Dick leave? Could you please define that? LOL!!! Best auto correct ever!! I think that's for when someone dicks you around and you need some recovery time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I don't think a separate pet bereavement leave is necessary but I do think people should be allowed to take a personal leave day when their pet dies (bereavement, sick, annual, flex or unpaid leave), without feeling that they have to lie about the reason. I agree with this. I don't think it's something that should be legislated but I also think employers should just show a bit of common sense and compassion when appropriate. I know that my boss would have no issue with me taking a bit of time for something related to my dogs and I'd be the same for my staff but there are plenty of people who take the piss at any opportunity. Agree. My boss has no issues either - I have been able to work from home to monitor an unwell dog and have also been able to leave early or come in late for vet appointments. I know I will also have no issues taking a couple of days personal leave if I lost one of my pets. I rarely use my personal leave but others may use a couple of days a month for child related things like illness etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 My old boss was always very good at letting me take off to go to the vets and I even spent a few days at home with Guin - at what was the beginning of the end. My current boss would also be OK with it but I dont think it should be extra and above. Annual or personal leave is adequate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I don't think it is really necessary, but obviously I think employers should be compassionate and understanding and allow a person to take annual or unpaid leave, because it is very difficult to lose a pet. My dog Jess had to be put down 5 weeks ago tomorrow . It was very hard, but she had become unwell and I knew that it was unlikely that she would live for much longer after she was admitted to the vet. I work casually and don't get paid leave. The day after we lost Jess, I decided to go to work, because I thought it would keep my mind off what had happened with Jess. I went to work to distract myself, but ended up slipping over in the hallway (the floor was greasy) and broke my wrist. In hindsight, I wish that I had cancelled my shift for the day, it was the worst week of my life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We have extra few days of bereavement leave at work for our pets. I do work in an animal shelter and if we have a particularly hard loss of a shelter dog we are entitled to take it then too.. That's good. I mean not good, but suitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 If pet is to be PTS I think this should be arranged on a day off. You can't really say things like this because a dog might be in absolute pain but you're essentially saying that because you're PTS, the dog must suffer in pain for a few days whilst you wait for a day off? If I have to make the decision to have a pet PTS, it's because it's not fair to keep them living and it's certainly not fair to have them hang on for a day or so more. I was lucky enough to have the day off work when we found out Pooch was in the later stages of kidney failure and that there was nothing left we could do. I spent the following day at work between customers rushing into the toilets and bursting into tears. My co-workers were totally understanding and sad for me too but my management team we're complete arses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Would 'pet' include a budgie or a goldfish? I would think it might be too easily abused. I've taken time off before when a pet has died but I've always used my own time or my boss has allowed me to take off as sick leave. It's common knowledge usually in any office I've worked in that my pets are part of my life and that I am involved with animals in various ways. I usually have a pic or two sitting in my desk or pinned to my board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 You can take it to go to funerals, look after sick family members or take dick leave Dick leave? Could you please define that? LOL!!! Best auto correct ever!! I think that's for when someone dicks you around and you need some recovery time Or you need recovery after a horrible breakup. Me: I need to apply for a week off Boss: sure, what's wrong? Me: I just broke up with a complete wanker, I need time to put my life back together, I need to apply for dick leave Boss: oh you poor thing, take all all the time you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YvonneM Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 In the 15 years that I have been with my current employer I have taken 2 days off when I had to have my pet PTS. I have no kids, so furkids are my world. When I had my last pet PTS in Feb last year I took the day off .... dog had been unwell the previous night, was at the vet at 10pm and then back there at 9am when he was PTS - there was no way he could have held out for a couple of days for me to organise a day off!! It would have been cruel of me to put it off an hour more let alone a day. I expected and received no compassion from my immediate boss. Sheesh - when my father died 2 years ago I got "for gods sake he has been dying for 2 weeks" and she expected me at work the very next day. Luckily, the greater workplace, other than my immediate boss, are great and I take/took what time I needed, with no further explanation required. They knew what happened and allowed it without question. Having said all that ... i don't think that pet bereavement leave should be a separate leave allowed. It came out of my sick leave when I took the day off. I think it should come out of personal/sick leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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