You no longer need to be as sick as a dog to take time off work.
Companies are allowing employees to work from home or take days off
to look after unwell pets.
Some have introduced “paternity” policies giving staff paid leave to
care for ill dogs and cats or to take them to the vets.
Other businesses such as Halifax bank and Bank of Scotland allow
staff to take time off work to deal with sick pets so long as they
organise cover. Royal Mail will consider allowing “compassionate
leave” if a pet dies.
Some firms, including the central London office of Google, the
internet search company, allow dogs in the office, realising that
workers are reluctant to leave them at home or give them to dog
walkers, who can charge up to £25 for a two-hour walk.
Employment experts say that bosses are recognising the importance
that people place in their pets, adding that arrangements that allow
time off for pet care could make them more attractive as employers.
Research by Petplan, the insurance company, found that 35% of its
customers admitted to having taken time off work to look after pets
or settle new animals. Half said they took a week off a year to look
after their pets, potentially costing British businesses £19m
annually.
The Courier Service, a delivery company in Edmonton, north London,
has had a “peternity” policy since last July that allows two days’
paid annual leave. “It is awarded if you need to go to the vet or
your animal needs an operation, in the same way people might need
time off for a baby or to look after a child,” said Denise Fresco,
the human resources manager.
Nadir Farrell, 47, who works for Communications Management, a public
relations firm in St Albans, Hertfordshire, was allowed two weeks at
home to look after Amber, her six-year-old chow-chow, who had a knee
operation last year: “It was a worrying time for me and helpful to
know I could do that.”
However, Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and
health at the Lancaster University management school, advised
against seeking time off to care for pets. “When jobs are insecure,
telling a boss that you want time off work to look after a pet would
not go down well,” he said.
Original article:
www.timesonline.co.uk
Article listed on 14 March 2007
Here’s that article from
NY Times.
