Unemployment doesnât just happen to âother peopleâ. It can happen to you March 17, 2021 â 10.45am Save Normal text size Advertisement Itâs excellent news that Daniel Andrews is home from hospital and recovering from the broken ribs and fractured vertebrae he sustained after slipping on wet stairs early last week. As he has said, heâs lucky not to have incurred a life-changing spinal injury, and to be looking forward to being back at work in six weeks. Heâs also fortunate to be able to take six weeks away from work and still have a job to go back to. Something as simple as slipping on wet stairs could be catastrophic for an average worker â most employers offer five sick days a year for full-time workers, and an increasing proportion of Australians work in part-time, fixed-term and casual jobs, where there is no provision for extended leave at all. For far too many Australians, an injury that required two months off work would spell unemployment and financial devastation.