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muzikill
05-10-12, 07:21 PM
For having 5 days off sick in the past year. My last occurrence was 1 day in the last 6 months. Im angry upset etc... Am i overreacting?

To add. This was given to me on my 1st day back from holiday.

littleoldman2
05-10-12, 07:24 PM
No

Bibio
05-10-12, 07:27 PM
hahahaaaa. tell them to feck off as they cant sack you for being off ill as long as you hand in a sick note :-)

you work for the gov... they are all lazy skiving so and so's.

don't get angry about it. chill and laugh at the fun you had when off :-)

muzikill
05-10-12, 07:36 PM
Self cert. Called in when necessary. Man flu and ear infection. So they think they have me over a barrel. I could throttle em bud.

Biker Biggles
05-10-12, 07:36 PM
Oh yes they can sack you for being off ill,sick note or not.
They will have a policy on it,which if they follow it correctly can result in your dismissal on the grounds that you are not meeting your contractual obligations.That is you are not coming to work often enough.The written warning will be stage one of that policy,and will probably contain some sort of ultimatum about not having more than so much more sick in the next 12 months or stage two will follow.That could mean dismissal.
Whatever you do dont thin they cant get rid of you for being sick.

muzikill
05-10-12, 07:50 PM
Thats it exactly biggles but they moved the goalposts every year to a almost unmanageable point.

oOTomOo
05-10-12, 07:52 PM
Time to start looking for a new job..

Bibio
05-10-12, 07:55 PM
don't worry about it m8 its probably just some silly bint in an office doing what she is told by the man. for them to sack you it would have to be abuse of time off. 6 days in a year is nothing and as long as you have a good track record before this then all is well.

scenario. bored boss turns round to silly bint who is not doing anything.

boss. i want you to do a check on employees and lost days then send some letters out warning them.
bint. ok how many days shall i set the threshold (which is probably a big word for her)
boss. ermm lets make it 6
bint. ok i'll get that done.
boss. good girl now meet me in the stationary cupboard in 20mins

Runako
05-10-12, 08:12 PM
Maybe actually get the policy and read it first. Forewarned is forearmed. Then you could offer to convert some of those days to annual leave if allowed. My employers are flexible and allow me to do this for the odd hangov ...er, sick day.

muzikill
05-10-12, 08:21 PM
Wont work if you convert it to al they still count it as a sick day.

Runako
05-10-12, 08:34 PM
Well you can't convert it. You have to get permission. That's the whole point! But if you can convince your employer to turn an unpaid day (i.e. sick day) into a paid day (annual leave) this might offer a fair compromise.

If its not allowed then its not allowed. So next time you know. Or you could try what others have done. Get the policy, read it and manipulate it to suit you (if so desired, to get your own back). But I don't recommend this. Best to talk it out and see if it can be resolved another way.

-Ralph-
05-10-12, 09:03 PM
Be honest - how many of those were duvet days?

Not many people get sick enough overnight to warrant being off work, then recover enough to go back the next night.

Unless it's a Friday, or a Monday where they've been sick over the weekend, I'm always suspicious of someone off work for a day.

If thats 6 individual instances of 1 or 2 days, your employer will be suspicious too. Had you had a week or more off with something serious, backed up by a doctors note, you probably wouldn't be getting the warning whatever the policy is.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk

muzikill
05-10-12, 09:11 PM
Never a duvet day That aint me. If someones suspicious from the start, that must mean their minds made up already and you aint got a chance.

Biker Biggles
05-10-12, 09:21 PM
Many firms just use a mechanical system with sickness.It doesnt matter what the reason or whether they think it is genuine or a duvet day,if the number of days off or the number of times sick is taken reach a certain level you get a warning and a target for the next 12 months.That target can be very low,like no more than two days sick in 12 months.Fail that and further action follows,and that can mean dismissal.
This is typical of larger organisations,including many public sector ones where its much easier for lazy managers just to follow their sickness flow chart rather than use any initiative or tax their brains or god forbid show flair and leadership.

Stuuk1
05-10-12, 09:24 PM
I'm 26 now and can honestly say I have only ever had one sick day since I started work at 15.

That sick day wasn't even genuine and it was because I forgot to book the day off for a wedding! On that fateful day I pulled up at a garage to fill up and at the other pump was my boss... That was interesting.

If I have a sick day I get £0 therefore I don't have them.

Man up and get a stock of pain killers and flu relief stuff.

-Ralph-
05-10-12, 09:32 PM
Fairy muff.

I never get sick days unless I'm dying in bed, because I work from home already. My boss works from home too, so he would just say 'oh FFS, you're too ill to at least sit and tap away on your laptop keyboard whist watching homes under the hammer?'

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muzikill
05-10-12, 09:37 PM
I'm 26 now and can honestly say I have only ever had one sick day since I started work at 15.

That sick day wasn't even genuine and it was because I forgot to book the day off for a wedding! On that fateful day I pulled up at a garage to fill up and at the other pump was my boss... That was interesting.

If I have a sick day I get £0 therefore I don't have them.

Man up and get a stock of pain killers and flu relief stuff.

Oh well, if YOU dont take time off then that must mean noone else needs to. Man up and realise some people genuinely need to take absence.

Biker Biggles
05-10-12, 09:59 PM
I'm 26 now and can honestly say I have only ever had one sick day since I started work at 15.

That sick day wasn't even genuine and it was because I forgot to book the day off for a wedding! On that fateful day I pulled up at a garage to fill up and at the other pump was my boss... That was interesting.

If I have a sick day I get £0 therefore I don't have them.

Man up and get a stock of pain killers and flu relief stuff.

Depends on what job you do.Some jobs involve looking after vulnerable patients who you could kill by turning up to work with flu just so can "man up".Others involve hard physical work that you just cant do if you have certain illnesses or injuries.
All very well for those desk jockies to pontificate about sickness absense from the safety of their nice warm offices.

Bri w
05-10-12, 10:13 PM
Mate's wife, District nurse for 18 years, had a bad year of chest infections. She was finished earlier this year. Don't think a sick note will protect you these days.

andrewsmith
05-10-12, 10:18 PM
5 days in a year seems quite harsh for a written warning, most is 5+ working days within a financial year (same as the holiday year)

I've had day and a half through an accident and its not going on the markers (I lost holidays last year through things I couldn't control)

Seriously get a copy of the Holiday sickness policy from HR (not the boss) and check

Runako
05-10-12, 10:46 PM
Be honest - how many of those were duvet days?

The question seemed to be, "does 5 days sickness for a warning seem harsh?" Not "is your sickness genuine".

There are many legitimate reasons to need sick leave. E.g. Type of job (physical/exposed to the elements) or people with extra curricular activities with high risk of injury (i.e. sports).

How can we sit here and tell if his sick days were genuine?

gruntygiggles
05-10-12, 10:48 PM
You're going to have to take it on the chin and try and manage it better in the future.

The job market is not good enough to risk losing the job you have at the moment and a written warning is just that. It doesn't matter what it is for, it is just the first step on your record and yes, it can lead to dismissal, usually if you have a second written and then a third and final.

So, move on, get over it and in future, if you wake up and feel rough, try and just gets to work...if they can see you are ill, nobody will want to catch anything and you will get sent home, or you can say you're going home. They will just appreciate the effort you have made to go in.

If you can't do that, just do your best for your employer and see if there is a way you can do work from home. If you are so ill that you can't do anything at all, it will take you beyond self certification and that makes employers feel better.

An employer feels much more comfortable with someone off for a week or two with a GP cert than a few odd days here and there if no effort is made to at least try and do something on those days.

Don't fret or be angry about something you can't change...total waste of energy.

Concentrate your efforts on making them value you too much to warrant further actions!

keith_d
05-10-12, 10:53 PM
If all your sick days are Mondays and Fridays, you can see how the boss might think you're taking the pi**.

But, if the boss was giving me a hard time for days when I was genuinely sick, I'd give it a few months (in case future employers ask how many days I was off sick in the last year) then start looking for another job.

-Ralph-
05-10-12, 10:53 PM
How can we sit here and tell if his sick days were genuine?

Did I "tell if his sick days were genuine", or did I ask the man himself the question?

Be honest - how many of those were duvet days?

If the honest answer to the question is "None", then we accept it and move on

Fairy muff

You can't ask a f***ing direct question on this forum without somebody having a tiff now?

-Ralph-
05-10-12, 10:55 PM
You can't ask a f***ing direct question on this forum without somebody having a tiff now?

Actually, scratch that question, you haven't been able to for years :rolleyes:

Runako
05-10-12, 10:58 PM
That's how it appears Ralph. You could have phrased it without the "be honest" bit to get an answer. This just makes it sound like he's being dishonest. Hey ho. OP, the point is made by others. Take it on the chin and move on. Or talk to your employer/union rep/HR if you have concerns.

-Ralph-
05-10-12, 11:07 PM
Are we really going to get sensitive about how I phrased it?

Muzikill's a Fifer, though Dunfermline's one of the nicer areas, somehow I think he can still cope.

muzikill
06-10-12, 09:23 AM
Its ok, thanks for the comments btw. Just sometimes you feel like yer on a limb. Btw mine and bibs towns have good points and bad but when you put them up against st andrews and the east neuk in fife they look like the crap of the world :p

Stuuk1
06-10-12, 09:53 AM
Depends on what job you do.Some jobs involve looking after vulnerable patients who you could kill by turning up to work with flu just so can "man up".Others involve hard physical work that you just cant do if you have certain illnesses or injuries.
All very well for those desk jockies to pontificate about sickness absense from the safety of their nice warm offices.

I work on building sites as an electrician....

Ch00
06-10-12, 09:58 AM
During the games people were giving management warnings and action plans for 1 days sickness. All staff were told of this before the games.

gruntygiggles
06-10-12, 10:38 AM
Its ok, thanks for the comments btw. Just sometimes you feel like yer on a limb. Btw mine and bibs towns have good points and bad but when you put them up against st andrews and the east neuk in fife they look like the crap of the world :p

A first warning is really nothing to be worried about. All it means is that, for whatever reason, they have some concerns about your commitment/ability/loyalty etc and they are taking steps to ensure that they can do something about it if it gets worse. It doesn't mean they think you are a bad employee...they are looking out for their own interests.

The important thing is to get over it, brush it off, forget about it and not give them anything to be conned about in the future.

Next time you are ill, either force yourself into work, or be so ill that you have a GP cert that leaves them in no doubt about your inability to work.

MisterTommyH
06-10-12, 12:00 PM
So, move on, get over it and in future, if you wake up and feel rough, try and just gets to work...if they can see you are ill, nobody will want to catch anything and you will get sent home, or you can say you're going home. They will just appreciate the effort you have made to go in.


I wish they'd send people home from our place - It sounds like the office is dying and sooner or later we're all going to catch whatever the rest of them have..... Although I think it's generally 'run down-ness' rather than proper illness. People can only work so hard for so long.

Having said that what you can 'get away with' depends very much on who you are.

During the games people were giving management warnings and action plans for 1 days sickness. All staff were told of this before the games.

Not sure that's entirely legal. I've had a conversation with our HR lady in which I was told there is a european ruling that it is a Human Right to have a duvet day.... I.e. you can't be sacked for it. Obviously that would rely on it being un-paid and not trying to pass it off as sick. ....and I'm not sure how well it would look when it comes round to reviews or redundancies etc.