medical reporting culture

[jumbobelle]

I'm not surprised the German wings FO kept stum about his problems. What's in your medical records affects your career- airlines directly ask if you've suffered from depression/had more than 20 days off etc etc. So many stories from colleagues along the lines of cutting their head open slipping on tiles and the next thing they're accused of being an alcoholic, or taking more than a couple of sleeping pills and you're on a 12 step programme for 'substance addiction'. I've had my medical pulled for something I didn't even have.

Interesting how far away the medical side is from the open reporting culture that airlines are aiming for.

[tonker]

I've flown with Captains who couldn't land they were so I'll after an operation. They didn't call in sick because of the "paperwork"

Call in sick more than three times and it's an interview with HR, so guess what people choose to do? One thing won't change, the companies will never accept their ever increasing rosters and type rating depts etc being part of it!

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

So, the Germanwings FO kept quiet about his problems = 150 people dead.

[tonker]

So you've go a head full of cold, and you really shouldn't go flying. But you've already had a meeting with HR about you catching illnesses on their filthy aircraft, and they've quietly warned that if it continues you can forget next years command upgrade.

What would you really do? And that's a mild descritiption of what I've seen.

[Denti]

Thing is, that may be the issue at some very dodgy carriers, but at germanwings (which is lufthansa on the A320 flightdeck) that is simply not the case.

In germany the question why you call in sick is not even allowed, you are legally allowed to lie on that. You are sick and that's that, same for unfit to fly. Up to six weeks consecutive sick leave will be fully paid by law and the bigger airlines pay even longer, up to a full year (usually depending on length of service). If you get sick during a vacation you still call in sick and those vacation days you lost because of sickness will be reimbursed. Of course there is a tiny minority that abuses that system and works part time on full time pay that way. Most are very professional though and call in sick if they are sick, and go to work when not. A few of course try, for whatever reason, not to call in sick at all.

The medical record might be of interest for your AME and the authority, but employers do not get access to that. And in he same vein as for the reason to call in sick, any question during an interview to sicknesses (including pregnancy), current and past, is illegal and an answer might be declined or one may lie.

Upgrades major german airlines (including lufthansa/germanwings) are purely done on seniority and ability to pass the upgrade process (no upgrade assessment). History of sick leave doesn't play into that.

It might not be a completely open reporting culture, but everything is done to make calling in sick as hassle free as possible to encourage employees to use that instead of flying impaired.