This thread reminds me of the old saying - there are two kinds of men: w@nkers and liars

So to modify it a bit for the holier than thou people here:

In watersports addicts there are 2 kinds of people: those who admit they pull sickies, and liars

For the tradies who are into windsurfing or kiting - forget plumbing, tiling, electrics, there is only ONE and the truth shall set you free: get into colorbond roofing. Windy: go home. Rainy: go home.
Schweeeet!

Just a quick note to share how a couple of employers I know deal with this problem.

- One guy simply gave a cash bonus to each employee who didn't use any sick days within a 3 month period. No affect on accumulated leave, just a cash 'thanks' for coming in each day. He reasoned that the cost of the bonus was a fair price to pay for not having the disruption to projects that can happen when people don't turn up.

- A previous employer had a workplace agreement that included him 'buying back' accumulated sick leave each year. Each employee would chose their prefered minimum number of days to keep (could not be less than 5). At the end of each year, the employer would 'buy back' (at the employee's normal rate of pay) any leave accumulated above the preset limit.

This seemed to work well in both cases. There was still the occasional person who took days off just because they felt like it, however their behaviour stood out compared with the rest of the crew. Those that were reliable and had a good work ethic at least felt appreciated and no longer felt that the system rewarded bludgers.