Are Sick Days for Dairy Farmers Really a Thing?
As I reviewed the upcoming changes to the employment act put forward by the Liberal Premier of Ontario I noticed one of the changes is a that employers must now mandatorily pay for two emergency medical leave days a year starting in 2018 for each employee. Now, I am not here to debate the number of sick days your employer does or does not give you a year, but let’s think about dairy farmers for a bit.
I grew up on 41 tie-stall dairy farm run by my parents and of course my sister, brother, and I. Dairy farming is a way of life where the owner has to commit to feed and milk the cows a minimum two times a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. Question; what happens if the farmer gets sick? I have a news flash for you, it does not matter. As I reflect back on my parents, they never took a sick day; it was just not an option.
I headed to Google in search of farmers and sick days. I found an article where a study had been done and farmer’s rank #2, along with those who work in fishing and forestry as taking the least amount of sick days. The article states that sick days cost the U.S. economy $84 Billion dollars a year. Yes, $84 Billion and that seems like a lot of money to me!! Check the article out at http://www.thebullvine.com/news/sick-day-farmers-year/
I make a good part of my living insuring dairy farms across Ontario and I enjoy working with such great people! Perhaps I enjoy working with Dairy Farmers so much because I appreciate their commitment, resiliency, and “can do” attitude to put in an honest day’s work. Imagine the US economy if people took fewer sick days – The extra $84 Billion dollars could go a long way to solving other problems in the world like homelessness, hunger, etc. But what do I know; I am just a dairy farm insurance guy!!
I best be getting back to work!!
We understand that things do happen and having the right insurance, farm, disability or other wise will help! Call me at 1-877-941-2266 for a dairy farm insurance review – I won’t be home sick!
