It’s likely that every one of us will need to take some time-off this year to rest and recover from an illness, a health condition, or to undergo and recover from medical treatment.

Rest (and not working) is often the ultimate remedy and we want you to feel empowered and supported to take time-off for your health.

We appreciate that this policy will not capture every situation and need — please speak to us to seek support and to understand what’s available to you.

<aside> 🌍 If you’re entitled to more sick leave and sick pay than what is outlined within this policy, rest assured that we will abide by local legal legislation. Speak to the People team if you wish to better understand your entitlement.

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Introduction

Illness and poor health is unfortunately a natural part of life. Most of us will experience some kind of general illness over the course of the year, and some of us may have ongoing health conditions and scheduled and unscheduled medical treatments that may require time off. Taking care of our health needs to be a priority for each of us, and therefore it’s a priority of Pento’s.

This policy applies to both mental and physical health. Whilst we have some specific support in place for mental health Mental Health Support, when time-off is required, the same rules apply as to when it’s your physical health that needs taking care of.

<aside> 💭 How much you share about your health is your decision — we appreciate health matters are private and often sensitive. However, the more we (your manager and/or the People team) know, often the better we can support you. We will treat all matters with confidentiality and sensitivity.

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Taking Time-Off

If you’re feeling unwell, mentally or physically, you should take time-off as sick leave. You should avoid working just because you’re likely already at home. Being remote-first shouldn’t impact our ability to prioritise what matters, our health. Working from home is still working—your body and mind isn’t able to fully rest and recover—and we feel very strongly about this. We care about you and your health, plus being well rested and having recovered will mean that you’re able to return back to work productively and effectively.

How To Book Time-Off

We know that circumstances can differ and your health may impact your ability to follow certain processes. Below is our optimal time-off booking process.

1. Tell your manager and others on the team who should know. You can do this by sending them a private message on Slack (as well as posting in a team channel if helpful)
2. Book the time-off in Humaans (under sick leave or mental health)
3. Communicate with your manager each morning, informing them if you’re going to be off again that day, or that you will be returning to work

<aside> 💭 It is your responsibility to book time-off in Humaans. If you’re unable to do this, for whatever reason, please ask your manager to look after this for you.

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<aside> 💬 Your manager may check-in with you to ask how you are doing or to gauge when you might return to work. This is not intended to put pressure on you and is there to extend our care to you, and to ensure that we can sufficiently plan to cover your workload while you’re out.

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