For Sale On Taobao: Sick Notes
June 22, 2010 | Filed Under Chinese Society | No CommentsAnd we don’t mean those notes that will send you to the loo, vomiting, or notes that have graphic content of two moths doing — well, what they’re supposed to be doing.
We’re talking about sick notes as in notes you’re supposed to present when you’re off on a sick day. When your inner self hyperventilates at 104°F, nobody in China in the biz world will buy that unless you get a signed note from the doctor that you’ve been “officially sick”. That’s what we mean by a sick note.
They’re a way to be legally at home — so to speak. There won’t be cops knocking on your door forcing you to work unless you’ve been playing biz truant for a looong time — but there’s your money down the loo. If you play around and don’t work, well, you’re paid less and might even get the hated pink slip. Unless you can fake your way in with a sick note.
Which is precisely what football maniacs around town are doing. CNNgo reports on the phenomenon: Taobao, essentially the eBay of China, is offering sick notes — at CNY 280 a pop. That’s about USD 41 — a fair price to pay for three days of freedom, which is what most notes go for in terms of validity.
Not sure if local firms have gotten in on the act yet — by requiring more “supporting documentation” in terms of the day off (real or otherwise) — or if the bosses here are soccer fans anyway…





