Employees are entitled to sick pay if they're sick, if no reason other than to ensure they don't come into the office and get everyone else ill as well.

Two jobs ago (in the States) my employer was extremely stingy with any paid time away from work.

I got six days. Total. (Not counting holidays.)

Six days for any and all purposes that one might need to not be in the office.

They even had the gall to say they offered sick days, "because you can use your PTO to stay home when you're sick".

Fuck that.

I came to work no matter how sick I was. I knew exactly how much I made in a day, and as soon as my boss or anyone else would complain about how I shouldn't be there, I'd ask them if they were willing to pay me my daily wage to go home. Because I only got six days, so fuck me if I was going to use any of them for anything other than my own enjoyment. If I was sick, I was miserable and less productive anyway, might as well get paid for that, and not burn any of my precious PTO.

On one occasion, I was so sick my boss actually agreed to send me home and pay the rest of my day without taking PTO...but of course the stingy bastard couldn't just give people more sick days.