EllanVannin
Wouldn't it be up to the companies that people work for ?
Many companies don't give sick pay. Some would go bankrupt if they did. Maybe the law should be changed so that companies take out compulsory sick pay insurance, but then there would be people who would claim that some companies and their employees would abuse it, as they do with claims about public service.
No, the quickest and most efficient way to ensure people take time off, for the benefit of everybody, would be through the benefits system. In the context of what's already been spent, it would be a tiny amount.