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To expect people ill with Covid stay home?

795 replies

LakelandHiker · 12/10/2026 18:09

This week, my manager and a friend who goes to my exercise class are ill with Covid. I don't know if they've tested, but they've both said they have it. However one is still coming into the office and the other still attending the exercise class. AIBU or overreacting here... but why don't they stay home until clear? Even if 'feeling 95% better' wouldn't you wait until potentially exposing others? I can't help but feel mad at them both for being so selfish. I often look after an elderly relative and can't risk passing Covid on to her as she is frail. I get life can't be on pause forever but my manager can get paid sick leave and my friend can miss a class, it isn't like there's anything at stake...

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ExpectMore · 13/10/2026 21:40

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ExpectMore · 13/10/2026 21:38

FunPartyIdeas · 13/10/2026 21:30

@ExpectMore I am pretty confident the rent you charge is absolutely not cheap in the slightest.

It’s £300 below market rate. So probably not cheap, and it shouldn’t be as the property isn’t “cheap”, but good value. Presumably the tenants also think so or they’d have moved into a “cheap” place and out of my “extortionate” digs long ago :)

Love how you somehow have superpowers to predict what rent people charge despite not knowing anything of the property (and forgetting the fact that people can only charge what others are willing to pay and… it’s £4k less than total costs per annum so clearly under priced).

XenoBitch · 13/10/2026 21:37

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And she relies on people not "successful" enough to rent her properties and pay her mortgage.

Pumpkindice · 13/10/2026 21:35

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FunPartyIdeas · 13/10/2026 21:30

@ExpectMore I am pretty confident the rent you charge is absolutely not cheap in the slightest.

Waitingfordoggo · 13/10/2026 21:28

I don’t get ill very much and I don’t know whether that means I literally don’t catch the viruses, or that I do catch them but am asymptomatic. There have been a few times when the three family members I live with all have a cold, but I don’t, even when sharing a bed with a snotty, coughing OH*. To my knowledge I’ve never had flu, I had Covid once, 6 years ago (which I only knew because I tested), I don’t really get colds. I say that I don’t get them but maybe I do and I’m just carrying these viruses around and passing them on without knowing. Not a nice thought but nothing I can do anything about other than just becoming a hermit or testing for multiple viruses on a weekly basis.

*I do send him to the spare bed if it’s particularly bad.

SpunkyOchreSnake · 13/10/2026 21:24

If she is well enough to go to an exercise class then she doesn’t need to stay at home. I am a nurse in the NHS, we don’t test anymore (genuinely can’t understand why some people still are), and if we know we have covid are told to go to work unless we are too unwell. It’s the same as any other cold/virus now!!

cupfinalchaos · 13/10/2026 21:23

MrsDoylesLastTeabag · 12/10/2026 18:21

There's some horrendous "survival of the fittest" shit posted about this topic on here.

How can you read aliasfrog's post upthread and still say it's fine to further disable people because you have to "get on with your lives"?

I find it fucking sociopathic.

Me too. My parents (dad 95) invited people for tea, one of whom turned up saying he had flu after hugging my dad. Makes my blood boil.

Youthinkyoureuniqueyourejustastatistic · 13/10/2026 21:20

KilkennyCats · 12/10/2026 18:24

If they’re well enough to do an exercise class I’d very much doubt it’s covid. It’s probably like the way people used to claim they had flu when it was just a bad cold.

That’s crap because both flu and covid are experienced on a spectrum from asymptomatic to mild cold to can’t get out of bed. The only way you can tell if it’s Covid/flu/cold is to test for the viruses. Some people could absolutely be floored by rhinovirus and only get a mild sniffle with the flu.
Why does hardly anyone know this? Why is scientific literacy so poor that even some doctors think getting ill is good for you.

CactusCuttings · 13/10/2026 21:19

KilkennyCats · 12/10/2026 18:24

If they’re well enough to do an exercise class I’d very much doubt it’s covid. It’s probably like the way people used to claim they had flu when it was just a bad cold.

Covid can have zero symptoms. I'm surprised you didn't learn that during the pandemic!

blondieminx · 13/10/2026 21:17

NigellaAwesome · 12/10/2026 18:24

I think people should wfh and avoid socialising if at all possible, whether that is the cold, covid or the flu. Even before Covid was a thing I thought it completely unreasonable for colleagues to come into work when they were unwell. One colleague came in with dosed with the flu and infected at least 15 others, of which I was one. I appreciate that not all roles can accommodate this. But going to an exercise class when infectious is selfish and also foolish given the risk of post viral syndromes that are caused by exertion when ill.

This, with bells on. Keep your lurgi to yourself - the rest of us really don’t want it.

Redbootz · 13/10/2026 21:16

It’s not a cold 🤦🏼‍♀️

vodkaredbullgirl · 13/10/2026 21:16

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You are so passionate you had to post it twice 😆

Redbootz · 13/10/2026 21:12

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Waitingfordoggo · 13/10/2026 21:11

You are a wondrous example to us all @ExpectMore . I feel humble in your presence! 🙏

Redbootz · 13/10/2026 21:10

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ExpectMore · 13/10/2026 21:07

FunPartyIdeas · 13/10/2026 20:57

@ExpectMore
Why are you making a loss on your rental? I'm sure you wouldn't have any qualms with putting the rent up.

Simple mathematics: less money in than money going out. The costs associated with renting apartments mount up. Service charge. Insurance (higher due to cladding, the cause of not being able to sell). Mortgage. Tax. Etc etc. again, not wanting sympathy, just stating facts.

And no: I’ve not put the rent up in 5 years despite the letting agent encouraging me to do so on each annual renewal occasion (and my mortgage going up). The tenants have been good tenants, they’re early in their lives (mid 20s), and I’d rather them not get hit for an extra £200/£300 a month. The return to me after tax would only be about £100/month and it’s much better in their pockets and I’m much better off knowing I’ve got good tenant.

Again, that old concept of being considerate to others eh….? Alien to many on this thread it seems but generally works for the best when we all apply it.

Wingingit73 · 13/10/2026 21:04

While i agree, because its a killer to the vulnerable, most people wont be paid id they stay home. Unless they're unwell.

ExpectMore · 13/10/2026 21:02

Pumpkindice · 13/10/2026 20:51

Do you really expect people to be sympathetic to your 'oh I'm just an accidental landlord, it's so hard when I've got an asset I can't sell'?

You talk about how hard you've worked and that's why you can swan off work for six weeks. Has it occurred to you, that other people might have worked as hard as you, or actually might have worked twice as hard as you, or worked far more hours, and yet not be as financially secure, not to do with their level of effort but to do with luck, like where and when they were born?

You remind me of people I know born in the 70s who go on about how hard they worked compared to the younger staff, completely ignorant to the fact that they got massive advantages of being born in an era that meant they had free education, a great job market at the time they were graduating, genuine social mobility, and much lower costs of living, most notably with house prices when they were in their twenties.

Of course it doesn’t work out for everyone that tries, that’s the roll of the dice. My point is that most people claim the dice haven’t rolled their way when in actual fact, they’ve just not tried. Or, they’ve mistaken harder longer work for smarter work.

I’m not sure what made you think I want sympathy for being an accidental landlord as you’ve completely misread that. My point is that I didn’t choose to be but am so know the setup and am speaking from experience rather than those slinging mud about “landlords raking it in”. They’re not.

Can’t talk much about those that have benefitted from where they’ve been born. I was born in one of europes most run down estates when there were army deployed on the streets. So can only speak from the perspective of where you’re born not holding you back but accept being born other places might give you a foot up.

FunPartyIdeas · 13/10/2026 20:57

@ExpectMore
Why are you making a loss on your rental? I'm sure you wouldn't have any qualms with putting the rent up.

Pumpkindice · 13/10/2026 20:51

ExpectMore · 13/10/2026 20:38

I can’t take as much unpaid time off as I’d like… just what I can afford. If I could, I wouldn’t work at all but unfortunately there’s bills to be paid.

I’ve rented, and am a landlord, and rented whilst also being a landlord and can assure you landlords aren’t coining it in. I make an annual loss on my rental. I’ll sell it as soon as I can.

I live in the real world. The real world expects me to provide for myself as I have no fall back safety net. That’s why I do. That’s what I’ve always done even when just scraping by. That’s why I don’t see why every one can’t. It’s a lifestyle choice to prioritise other things that often catches people out

Do you really expect people to be sympathetic to your 'oh I'm just an accidental landlord, it's so hard when I've got an asset I can't sell'?

You talk about how hard you've worked and that's why you can swan off work for six weeks. Has it occurred to you, that other people might have worked as hard as you, or actually might have worked twice as hard as you, or worked far more hours, and yet not be as financially secure, not to do with their level of effort but to do with luck, like where and when they were born?

You remind me of people I know born in the 70s who go on about how hard they worked compared to the younger staff, completely ignorant to the fact that they got massive advantages of being born in an era that meant they had free education, a great job market at the time they were graduating, genuine social mobility, and much lower costs of living, most notably with house prices when they were in their twenties.

ExpectMore · 13/10/2026 20:38

FunPartyIdeas · 13/10/2026 19:47

@ExpectMore What are you on about? I have never received a penny in benefits in my entire life - even during my years as a single mum when the only wage coming in was mine.
But can I afford days off ill when I don't get paid? No. Do I have an extortionate prviate rent to pay? Yes.
You can, obviously take as much time unpaid as you like. Great.
You have said you are taking 6 weeks of parental leave to frequently be on MN spend time with your little kids.
Like everyone can afford this! You also earn 3 times the salary of your partner FFS - and you seem to have zero idea how others can't just get a better paid job/take time off for unpaid illness etc.
You don't live in the real world.

I can’t take as much unpaid time off as I’d like… just what I can afford. If I could, I wouldn’t work at all but unfortunately there’s bills to be paid.

I’ve rented, and am a landlord, and rented whilst also being a landlord and can assure you landlords aren’t coining it in. I make an annual loss on my rental. I’ll sell it as soon as I can.

I live in the real world. The real world expects me to provide for myself as I have no fall back safety net. That’s why I do. That’s what I’ve always done even when just scraping by. That’s why I don’t see why every one can’t. It’s a lifestyle choice to prioritise other things that often catches people out

Megifer · 13/10/2026 20:18

FateAmenableToChange · 13/10/2026 18:27

Coming into work or any other environment around other people when you are sick & contagious is the dirtiest thing a person do.

Is feeling fine but likely contagious ok?

XenoBitch · 13/10/2026 20:18

x2boys · 13/10/2026 20:03

Well please tell that to many employers .

Yep, even the NHS expects people in.
If you were well enough to work, then you came in. Didn't matter if you were coughing up a lung.
I was not even sent home when I was shivering cold in motorcycle leathers and sitting in front of heater with dizzyness and nausea . I was so ill.

So many times on here, you have people saying that they have never had a day off sick in their whole working life. I bet they were the ones spluttering all over their colleagues.

Fiftyandme · 13/10/2026 20:05

FateAmenableToChange · 13/10/2026 18:27

Coming into work or any other environment around other people when you are sick & contagious is the dirtiest thing a person do.

Gosh