Catchword: on the sick

Filed under: English, United Kingdom, Employment, Health

Part of speech: adj.

Quotation: The growing number of people allegedly unable to work due to illness is strange, because the health of the population has continued to improve. But in truth, no one now expects what are known as sick certificates to indicate actual illnesses: when I ask my patients why they are “on the sick,” as they call it, the only explanation they can give is that they receive a sick certificate. And when asked why they receive a sick certificate, they reply, “Because I’m on the sick.”

Article or document title:
“Britain’s Sham Unemployment Drop” (URL)

Author:
Theodore Dalrymple

Article, document, publication, web site:
City Journal

Date of publication:
Jan. 28, 2005

This catchword has yet to be researched.