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 think it depends on the illness, a sniffle no, something you would generally call in sick for yes.

At our work, you have to phone in sick, as if you were in work, not claim it back retrospectively.

No I never have, a couple of years ago I had full blown flu over my Xmas leave, was ill for the whole two weeks, annoying but I think it's just one if those things, never thought if claiming it back although I think our HR policy is that you can claim it back but only if you have a doctor's certificate. What does your HR policy day? If you have a doctor's note and it was a significant amount of leave lost due to illness I don't think it would be unreasonable.

Yes, policy here is you can't be sick and on holiday at the same time.

When I worked for a gov't department you were expected to record sick leave properly. The view was that annual leave is important to allow you time to rest from work and should be preserved as such.

The down side of this is the risk of hitting absence triggers if you have more time off sick.

No , but only because I don’t get sick pay. Least holiday pay I’d be paid

Yes if signed off by a doctor.

I would never have thought of going this and I don't know anyone in my office (large financial company) that has.

I was off for extended sick leave due to complications with a miscarriage and I had a holiday booked right in the middle of it. Our company policy meant I got the holidays back and I was able to take them again later in the year.

Like PP, I work for a multinational corporate where this is official policy. We are not 'allowed' to take holiday if signed off sick. Nowadays with self certification, it's any reported illness. One email to let people know and it all gets sorted and annual leave cancelled.

It's also frowned on to not use (pretty generous) holiday allocation.

Responsibilities include managing workload.

Overall costs to the organisation of a few people burning out far outweigh the costs of prioritising sick pay over holidays.

I'll admit I was gobsmacked when I first came across this but not, I do really think it's admirable. I really hope OP comes round to this point of view, too.

There was a time when small children were sent up chimneys, too.

Our company insists you log it as sick leave otherwise people could sway their sick record, so it's not a case of being unprofessional - and YABU to suggest it is! It happened to me recently and I would be seriously unimpressed if my LM thought I was a CF for doing so!

personally, after covering for a colleague in sick leave, doing her job and mine, craning both jobs in my work hours for three months, just to be told that once she returned she was disappearing for another month because they have moved her annual leave out of her sickness leave and she had to use her before loosing it, almost send me in sick leave due to stress.

Be nice to an employee who is ill, but don’t be unfair to the team to be fair to the employee who has been unwell. Get a temp to cover for them.

I think it’s reasonable for the employee to claim it as sickness if they are and if they would not have gone to work.
But for those who say your leave is for enjoying yourself, that’s not inherently true either. You need leave to stay in to have your boiler fixed, or for your sick child, or for a funeral etc. One year I used all my AL on my child who was in and out of hospital. Last year it was used on caring for elderly parents.

Me as a 20- something manager would be really pissed off if my staff did something like this.

Me as a 30- something manager would be encouraging them to take exactly what they are entitled to.

On reflection, 20- something me was a jobsworth and not a great manager.

Personally, however, I haven't done this and can't really put my finger on why. It's probably knowing that some of my superiors are a lot like 20- something me.

The only time I did it is when I was signed off for a few weeks and holiday happened to fall within that time off. If I'd just had a cold while I was off the no I wouldn't.

You do have the right to do this, but I never have.

Yes, because it's in the staff rules that we can claim it back (with a valid doctors' certificate) if this happens.

Of course. Most people has to work for many years, and obviously need time off for a holiday to relax and recover. Unless you are a martyr.

I am heartened to see the recent replies to this post.

With the ongoing erosion of employement rights and conditions due to zero hour contracts, bank shifts, self employment etc, I think it is really important that those of you who are entitled to this right use it.

Always Moving Forwards I would hate for you to be my line manager. Turnover high where you are, is it?

I am now self employed which brings its own rewards but no paid holiday, sick, dependants, bereavement or maternity leave. I am lucky that it is my choice to work for myself but others have to give up these hard fought for rights through no choice of their own.

Depends: you feel shitty for a couple of days with a cold - don’t reclaim.

You spend a week in hospital with pneumonia - do reclaim.

I’d be worried about the competence of a manager who judged the people they managed for exercising their legal rights.

Of course annual leave can and should be reclaimed if the person is sick.

Yes I would. Being sick isn't a holiday.

It's a legal right so people should not be judged for doing it