Do airline pilots have to work when they are sick?

Question

Do airline pilots have to work when they are sick (like the flu or something), or are they more or less told to stay home in case being sick would affect their ability to fly?

Answer 1

Airline pilots have very good benefits, including sick leave.  My brother-in-law flys for American and he doesn't work very many days a month even when he's well.

Answer 2

When we are sick, we are not allowed to fly as it will affect our judgement and it will also affect our reaction time so they suggest that we call in sick if we have to fly that day. Personally, I get 2 sick day's a month paid, and any other days will not be paid because it is not my choice to come in sick because I wouldn't put the passengers at such risk. If we have the sniffles, we are allowed but if we ahve a full blown cold or stomach virus I speak for most pilots when I say when I'm sick I don't wanna be anywhere near a plane.