Canada’s sick pay rate is the best in North America at an average of US$697.21 per week, according to a recent report by Moorepay Ltd.
The report, which researched the statutory sick pay legislation in 113 countries, found the Bahamas was the second highest in North America, with $500.19, followed by Panama at $493.39 and El Salvador at $445.57.
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Globally, Luxembourg offered the highest first week of sick pay at an average of €1,279.81 based on somebody earning the country’s average salary, followed by Norway at NOK13,358.39. Both countries pay sick pay at 100 per cent of regular salary levels. In Luxembourg, the employer covers this cost for the first 77 days within an 18-month period, after which the Social Security Medical Control Service takes over.
The U.S. was one of three countries (along with South Korea and Tunisia) that offered no statutory nation-wide sick pay. The report noted some U.S. employees of medium-sized firms upwards are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and 18 states (plus Washington, D.C.) have their own sick pay laws. Other than that, sick pay is the employer’s prerogative. As many as one in five workers in the U.S. may have no paid sick leave at all, the report noted.
According to the World Health Organization, Poland had the highest amount of workers taking sick days, with an average of 34 sick days per year, while Malta had the lowest sick days at 1.8. Canada ranked No. 20, with workers taking an average of 12.5 sick days per year.
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