Would you do this at work?

[RapunzelsRealMom]

Just a poll really to see if I’m in the minority or not...

If you are relatively serious about your job, not senior but in a responsible role, and you have booked annual leave at work but, at that time, you end up sick , would you bother to ‘reclaim’ the sick days so that you can use the annual leave at a later date?

I believe it can only be done if the illness started before the holiday, but that might just be policy for the specific companies I have worked for. Ie if Flo is ill Thursday Friday and leave is booked for Monday and she is still ill the she is classed as being on sick not AL and the annual leave is returned to her. I don't thi k it applies if you are fine on the Monday of your AL but Tuesday come down with a sickness bug for example.

Yes, absolutely.

I didn't know this was a thing. How could you prove you were sick and not on leave? I probably wouldn't for fear not looking bad.

Yes sick is sick. AL is AL.

*The rule of thumb is that 20% of staff give a manager 80% of the HR problems.

Lots of employees just see it as bad luck to fall ill (I don't mean hospitalised) whilst on holiday and would not occur to them to claim it back. But there is the 20% hmm.*

So someone availing themselves of their employment rights constitutes an HR problem for you? You’ll be delighted when our current government starts stripping employment rights to the bone then.

There’s no moral high ground to be had in working yourself to a standstill, I know too many people who work like a demon to clear their desks to go on leave only to fall ill because they’ve worn themselves out and knackered their immune system. The right to reclaim annual leave is there for a reason - people have the right to choose not to do it, but that doesn’t make them morally superior or indeed better employees than those that do.

Generally not but if I was in hospital level of sick then yes

Yes. My employer does it automatically and gives back any leave booked whilst off sick.

No I wouldn't, and I would definitely think badly of anyone in my team who tried to do this.

It’s never crossed my mind to do that.

No but plenty do in the public sector

Yes and it's a policy at work.

If it severely impacts my holiday and I would have been unable to work then yes I would claim it back. I have done this once as I was very ill and had to see my GP when I returned. My manager even nudged me to do claim it back when they had heard how awful my 'holiday' had been due to illness.

• Our organisation doesn't mention this in any policies but I went on the ACAS website and, yes, it seems it's a legal right.

I did approve this, but as a PP said, she's really gone down in my estimations (especially as she had annual leave left to carry through to next year!).*

Sorry but you would go down in my estimations as a manager if you thought so little of your staff in that way especially as you now know that is it a legal right and still don't think anyone should take it.

Yes I would.

I didn't used to - just thought it was bad luck, but then one year my manager told me to. As it happened, it never occurred again, but if it had I would have put in a sick note (fit note now I think - a rose by any other name etc) and reclaimed them.

I would if Was already off sick before holiday started and had a sick note not self cert .

Yes. I reclaimed 3 days when I had gastroenteritis and a Drs note.

The policy is there for a reason

Passing lofty judgement on workers who exorcise this right is classic holier-than-thou busybody behaviour.

Compassion and camaraderie make for a much happier workplace!

Why do you think less of employees exercising thier legal rights, this situation says alot more about you than them. I think you need to brush up on employment law.

If I was in hospital, or completely incapacitated for a substantial period of time, yes. For a few days? No. I understand it's a legal obligation, but what happens if you're ill on a bank holiday, or the weekend? For something serious, ok, but otherwise I wouldn't dream of asking.

The law firm I work for allows it. You just have to ring in every day you are sick whilst on holiday as you usually would if you were working. You can't come back in after AL and retrospectively claim if.

I agree . If that employee has gone down in your estimation, you are a poor manager.
We don’t live to work. Going to work is not the be all and end all of everything. We have families, other obligations and commitments, outside interests and homes to run. If that employee has a legal right to self certify and re-take annual leave then you should have insight enough to accept that, no judgement.

Just goes to show how skewed our work/life balance is, if something like this is grudged. Work does not come before all else ffs. We are people not units!

Hold on a minute - there is a sickness process I'm sure. Did she call you to advise she was sick like she would if she had not been able to come into the office? How do you know she was I'll otherwise - there are policies for a reason, being on holidays doesn't null them.

No I wouldn't, I'm grateful for my job and I think people who reclaim are grabby and don't really care about the company

I don’t necessarily care about the company. I care about my peers, I care about the members of the public I work with, I care about my clients but, no, I don’t care about a company who would make me redundant tomorrow without a backward glance if the business demanded it. How ridiculous.

I can care for my peers, my clients and still care for myself too.

Yes I had a colleague do this, it was reclaimed. But he needed a doctors note for proof.

I have once , not at my instigation, I was off sick for 3 months and hadn't even thought about the fact that I had a weeks leave booked in that time. It was counted as sick and added back to my leave allowance by my manager.

If this person is a good employee in other ways, I wouldn't get riled about them taking something that is legally theirs by right. You could end up looking a bit unprofessional.

I did it twice, first time I broke my leg on first day of a weeks A/L, second time my Grandad passed away the night before A/L started & my parents were away on holiday so myself & my brother had to sort registering his death, sort funeral arrangements etc, that one was counted as bereavement leave.

Why are people such martyrs to work? Do you honestly think you're more productive a anyway if your only time off is if you're ill (hypothetically) instead of having actual, proper annual leave?

We get precious little time to spend at home or with our families. Annual leave is so important to recharge and to spend quality time with your loved ones.

Those who came before us fought and fought for workplace rights so we can actually have balance in our lives (we're not automatons). Sad to see so many people happy to give up those rights or sneer/judge other people who utilise those rights.