| The corporate daycare setting has many advantages | | | | the area of 10 sick days for each employee. Sick |
| over small daycare centers and home daycare | | | | days are to be used, unscheduled, for an employee |
| centers. | | | | illness as it arises. The corporation sets a number of |
| One very important advantage is their ability to extend | | | | usable days for illness, and thereafter the employee is |
| meaningful benefits to employees that traditionally | | | | directed to file for Disability Insurance or Workmen's |
| have been at the lower end of the pay scale. | | | | Compensation. |
| However, in working in a corporate daycare setting | | | | The rub comes because unused sick days are often |
| there are other problems that crop up. Such a problem | | | | not cumulative, so if you don't use them you lose them. |
| in the inevitable annual corporate negotiation to find a | | | | Many employees see this as an erosion of their |
| health care plan that will fit in with their "bottom" line. | | | | benefit. They feel they should have the additional 10 |
| These changes generally mean a loss of some of the | | | | days, of their financial equivalent, or they are being |
| previously received benefit, such as medications on the | | | | cheated. To combat this, employees call in "sick" and |
| insurance company's formulary, or an increase in the | | | | utilize their sick days. |
| "visit" fee. These little increases are not little to daycare | | | | This has three effects for the corporate daycare. The |
| employees and they greatly impact the quality of their | | | | first is that the employee leaves himself open to |
| lives, and therefore often impact the quality of their | | | | having no sick days available when a true illness arises. |
| performance at work. | | | | Filing for Disability Insurance or Workmen's |
| Most corporations will have a prescribed vacation plan | | | | Compensation generally requires a specified "wait |
| that is usually tied to the length of time an employee | | | | period" during which it is assumed the party will collect |
| has worked there as well as the level of responsibility | | | | through their employer sponsored sick days. This |
| that employee holds. For example, our lead teachers | | | | means the employee may have unwittingly created a |
| receive 20 days of vacation time, which they must | | | | situation where they would receive no money at all for |
| schedule to use. That comes to 4 weeks of vacation | | | | several days. |
| for the year in addition to whatever holidays the center | | | | The second effect this has on daycare is that once |
| may be closed. Vacation time not used by the end of | | | | employees begin to do this, there is a domino effect. |
| the year is not allowed to be carried over to the next | | | | Their co-workers feel it is acceptable to call in sick too. |
| fiscal year. | | | | After all, when their co-worker isn't in the classroom, it |
| Vacation is earned and accrued for use at a | | | | would be fair to say that the remaining worker is doing |
| predetermined level. Usually an employee may | | | | his job. |
| "borrow" against their yearly vacation. This makes it | | | | The third effect is on the daycare center's |
| possible to take a January vacation that the employee | | | | programming. When there are several unscheduled |
| might not really have accrued until much later in the | | | | "sick" days it is often necessary to move staff into |
| year. If the employee's work is terminated for any | | | | other rooms to have proper coverage. There have |
| reason, the portion of used vacation that was not | | | | been times at my center when it resulted in staff |
| accrued is paid back to the employer in the last | | | | lunchtime being cut to only one-half hour and being |
| paycheck. | | | | required to work overtime. |
| Vacation time is usually not a problem for employees. It | | | | I'm not sure there is anything that can be done to |
| is set and it is scheduled. That's pretty clear. | | | | convince staff that not using all 10 sick days is to their |
| However, another benefit, known as sick time, can be | | | | benefit. There seems to be a bit of professional pride |
| a serious source of conflict between employees and | | | | that is necessary to make this all work properly. |
| employers. Most corporations provide somewhere in | | | | |