Should DD go to work tomorrow?

[SummerLove2306]

DD is 19 and has a job in a sandwich shop. She's currently got a cold - sniffles and scratchy throat included. She says she will see how she is in the morning about whether she should go into work.

I am in 2 minds about whether she should go in, one the one hand she is prepping food so probably isn't hygienic for her to be so close to food, one the other hand. It's a cold....

I'd say go in, but don't lie. They can choose to send her home

She could call in the morning, explain her symptoms and let the manager decide. I’d hope that they don’t want her prepping food with a cold but depending on the set up of the shop they might want her to come in and do other duties e.g. the cash register, clearing tables, inventory etc.

It's a cold, of course she should go in, unless she can't get out of bed or something that you aren't telling us.

No. She is preparing food. This is how sickness gets spread. Better hope someone immunosuppressed doesn't fancy a subway.

It's a cold, not ebola.
If everyone stayed at home with a cold I'm not sure how the country would function.
She's hardly going to blow her nose in the bread

Yeah she should

Depends how sneeze-y she is, honestly. If she's going to be unable to do her job without sneezing on customers food then she shouldn't go in. If it really is just sniffles then she should.

Although she might get some backlash. I remember being asked to come into work in a kitchen at aged 17 when I had a horrific D+V bug. I was physically unable but felt so pressured, even though I knew it would have been so unhygienic and wrong for me to go in.

You don't get the day off for a cold, for goodness sake. Take some Lemsip or something. Go to work. Wash your hands regularly, and don't sneeze on the food.

Wash your hands regularly, and don't sneeze on the food this issue is, if she's really sneezy and snotty is time.
So she feels a sneeze coming on, removes gloves etc, moves away with her tissues, sneezes and blow her nose, flushes said tissue, washes her hands, gets new gloves and goes back to her sandwich. By which time she could well have a runny nose.
If she's really snotty and sneezy, she's gonna spend more time in the loo than the shop

Seconding letting the manager decide.

I mean.. I would not want my food prepared by someone with a cold.

Tbh if anyone is that immunosupressed they’re very unlikely to be buying a sandwich in a shop , as they’re more likely to have problems from the food (as it’s kept out etc) than from the staff member with a cold !

I would have her check with her supervisor tomorrow - if they want they can send her home . I wouldn’t call in sick unless things get a lot worse overnight, hopefully not !

Thanks everyone, she went in and managed her full shift. Said she kept having to stop to blow her nose but thankfully the shop wasn't too busy today so she could do that in peace!