Knowing How To Tide Your Finances Over When You're Signed Off Work

At some point in our lives, most of us will be signed off work due to illness or an injury. This is far from an ideal situation: you may miss the routine of the working day, feel listless or restless being stuck in the house and feel distanced from your colleagues. The main worries that people have when they’re not working, however, are financial. While taking time off work may be frustrating for driven individuals, the threat of losing your home, not being able to keep up with bills and debt repayments is a much more serious issue. So how do you go about maintaining your lifestyle while your body makes a full recovery?

If You Are Self-Employed

This is the less favorable situation to find yourself in. When you are self-employed, you work for yourself. This means that you don’t have the benefits of things like paid sick leave. So what should you do if you find yourself unable to work with no income for a prolonged period?

Take Precautions

If you are self-employed, you should always be prepared for these types of situations. This means planning in advance. It may not be positive to worry about accidents or illnesses that might never happen. But it’s better to be safe than sorry. Have a plan in place so that you aren’t plunged into a stressful situation if things do go wrong. You should make sure that you have savings set aside to tide you through tough times. This doesn’t mean hoarding all of your earnings away. But it would be beneficial to take a certain sum from each wage packet and put it aside in a savings account. If the worst is to happen, you will be able to withdraw cash to pay your bills and living expenses while you take time off to recover.

Take Action

If the time being taken off is due to an injury or accident that was not your fault, you should call in legal aid. A personal injury lawyer will be able to represent you in court if you believe that you have been injured (physically or psychologically) due to the negligence or actions of another party. They will often deal with cases of slips and falls, personal damage through defective products, workplace accidents, automobile accidents and medical mistakes, but it’s worth inquiring with any form of accident or issue. Always opt for representation through renowned professionals like The Roth Firm Fayetteville Personal Injury Attorneys. You want someone with a good track record of successful cases and good feedback from clients.

If You Are Employed

Sick leave and sick pay are perks that tend to come with being employed. It makes sense: your employer will want you to regain your health so you can get back to work as soon as possible. Sick pay means that you can afford the luxury of recovering in comfort without the stress of financial worries and a dark cloud of debt looming over your head. So, as soon as you become employed, you should ensure that there is an agreement in place between you and your employer regarding sick leave and sick pay. Make sure that you know all of your rights and any terms or conditions regarding sick leave before signing any work contract. Sick leave laws are relatively lax, which isn’t too surprising when we live in a culture focused on performance and progress. However, despite this, the majority of employers are fair and will agree to a certain number of days paid sick leave a year. Others will include sick leave in the same category as personal time and vacation time under the umbrella of “paid time off.” Sadly this may mean that if you are sick, you may have to work through a vacation or take a little less personal time off to catch up and make up for your absence. But it does offer security when you need it most and will help you to avoid racking up debt on top of all of your medical bills. When beginning work with a new employer, you will need to make sure that they are aware of any preexisting medical conditions that you may have before you start. This means that they can be prepared if you are prone to regular flare ups. If you find that you do need to take time off, you will also have to provide a doctor's note to prove that you are unfit to work. This should detail your condition and an expected time needed for recovery.