From time to time i hear people in conversation calculating the number of days annual leave they have left to take and going on to count the number of sick days they have left – to take. I also encounter people who casually mention that they took a day’s sick leave because they didn’t feel like going to work or because they haven’t used up their full entitlement.

The truth is they are entitled to the time of it they are sick but not if they are not. The truth, however, is because sick leave requires self regulation there are and always will be people that abuse the benefit.

In many ways the current British fiasco around Minister Expenses reminds me of this scenario – most especially when I hear Ministers mention that they understand why members of the public are upset, but go on to mention that they have done nothing outside of the rules. The ultimate truth is they like people that take sick days of when they are not sick, some Ministers have refused to properly self regulate themselves. Probably because they simply believe that they are entitled to an allowance which they therefore spend, whether or not they have a real need for it.