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Original poster

Signed of work due to ongoing back issues - can I attend an event

62 replies

Sunshinexo1989 · 27/06/2023 09:58

I have been signed of work for 2 weeks due to ongoing back issues and horrendous . They have been ongoing to months and awaiting physio

I have been in contact with doctors today and he has advised me to take 2 weeks of work. I work in a high school which involved a lot of walkng up and down stairs , and walking around pretty much all day. As well as a lot of bending etc as I'm often working in the printing section.

I'm aware I need to keep active, but I'm finding by the end of the work day I am in absolute agony even with taking all my pain killers

I have really been struggling and honestly I don't think work is making my recovery much easier. I also have 2 young chidlren to look after.

I am due to go to a wedding reception this weekend with my husband , am I still allowed to attend even if I've been signed of ? Obviously I won't be up dancing and I'm not physically capable

OP posts:
Hollyisalrightactuallysorry · 27/06/2023 10:01

I think it's fine to go to an event where you're not physically stretching yourself . I wouldnt be posting photos of it online or anything but I don't see a problem with it

It's like people signed off with stress or depression can still go out to the cinema or socialise - which I know is an unpopular MN opinion!

Chasingadvice · 27/06/2023 10:01

No one can 'disallow' you to do anything. You aren't property of your employer.

Go and don't plaster jet all over social media and you'll be fine.

lucylousweetie · 27/06/2023 10:01

You’re allowed to

But it is a touch odd to be so impacted by this crippling back pain.

but able to travel presumably by car to a wedding reception, which will involve sitting and standing and walking

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General health
BlameItOnTheGoose · 27/06/2023 10:02

What do you mean "allowed"? Being signed off work doesn't impose restrictions on what you do in your personal time. But whether it's wise to attend a wedding depends on how you're feeling and your doctor's advice

lucylousweetie · 27/06/2023 10:02

You better avoid being in any photos that might be posted! 😂

BiscuitsandPuffin · 27/06/2023 10:03

A wedding will usually have an awful lot of standing/walking around in between being able to sit down and drunk people potentially bashing into you unintentionally towards the end of the evening. Obviously it depends on the venue and setup. Maybe you could hire a wheelchair from St John Ambulance (if they still do this) to make it easier?

Roselilly36 · 27/06/2023 10:03

Go to the reception OP, don’t post on SM as this may get tongues wagging, obviously you aren’t going to be breakdancing, but sitting a chair, enjoying the company etc. I hope your back is better soon Flowers

Overthebow · 27/06/2023 10:03

Of course you’re allowed to, who’s going to stop you? But don’t put it on social media.

LolaSmiles · 27/06/2023 10:04

My understanding is that whatever you're doing can't be in contradiction of the reason you're off work.

If the doctor has signed you off work, rather than saying you could return to work with the following adjustments... then whatever you're doing needs to be in line with that.

Eg. Wedding receptions can be quite long. If you attend for an hour or so at a local wedding and then return home then that's going to look very different than being at a wedding reception for an afternoon and evening, where someone might argue that if you're well enough to travel to attend a wedding for a long period of time then you're well enough to work with some adjustments in place.

AlisonDonut · 27/06/2023 10:04

I personally wouldn't go to a wedding if I was in pain.

Chocolateship · 27/06/2023 10:05

Yes, you are signed off of work because the doctor recognises the impact of your particular job on your particular health issue- you can do other stuff. I would be mindful of splashing it over social media though and of course be careful not to cause any further damage.

SweetSakura · 27/06/2023 10:05

If your back is horrendous surely going to a wedding would be horrendous?

But yes, you can still do stuff when signed off, it just starts to look a bit odd sometimes if your condition allows you to do fun stuff but not to work

lucylousweetie · 27/06/2023 10:06

Out of interest
If it was a work colleague’s wedding… would you feel up to going?!

Chocolateship · 27/06/2023 10:06

LolaSmiles · 27/06/2023 10:04

My understanding is that whatever you're doing can't be in contradiction of the reason you're off work.

If the doctor has signed you off work, rather than saying you could return to work with the following adjustments... then whatever you're doing needs to be in line with that.

Eg. Wedding receptions can be quite long. If you attend for an hour or so at a local wedding and then return home then that's going to look very different than being at a wedding reception for an afternoon and evening, where someone might argue that if you're well enough to travel to attend a wedding for a long period of time then you're well enough to work with some adjustments in place.

Your understanding is incorrect.

Bluebells1970 · 27/06/2023 10:06

I'd be pretty pissed off if I was one of your colleagues and found out you'd gone.

I've got fusing discs at the bottom of my spine and find walking around/keeping active is far better than doing nothing. Sitting around is the worst thing that you can do.

caringcarer · 27/06/2023 10:07

Weddings involve a lot of standing, sitting and moving up and down, which is what you said makes it worse. There would be no problem with you attending, but you might make it worse by attending.

FiveShelties · 27/06/2023 10:08

I would not attend as it would be just my luck for the bride's fourth cousin to be related to the Head of Department and recognise me. I am always surprised at just who knows who and how stuff gets around - especially stuff you don't want to get around.

Thisisthedawningoftheageofaquarius · 27/06/2023 10:08

I worked with a woman who was signed off work and she went to a wedding in the middle and none of her colleagues were happy - we were all covering for her

i don’t think allowed comes into it - but it’s kinda bad form imho.

LolaSmiles · 27/06/2023 10:09

Your understanding is incorrect
How? Genuinely interested by the way.

A group I'm in was regularly saying, for example, if someone is off with depression they can go on holiday. If someone is off work with work related stress they can still go about their non work life as normal. They don't have to hide in the house for fear of being seen.

But if someone is signed off with back pain, then it's expected they're not going to be landscaping their garden. If they're seen having an afternoon pushing a heavy trolley round a garden centre then someone might question whether they really do have the sort of crippling back pain that means they can't work

Original poster
Sunshinexo1989 · 27/06/2023 10:16

caringcarer · 27/06/2023 10:07

Weddings involve a lot of standing, sitting and moving up and down, which is what you said makes it worse. There would be no problem with you attending, but you might make it worse by attending.

Yes wedding may involve a lot of standing up and down etc, but I would only be attending the reception, by this time all the main stuff has happened. So I would imagine I would just be sitting down for a few hours socialising.

I think this is slightly different to walking up Multiple stairs numerous times a day, and my work also Involves lots of lifting heavy boxes of paper, bending down constantly to put more people etc In printers multiple times a day

OP posts:
lucylousweetie · 27/06/2023 10:17

I’d be fascinated to know if you’d attend if a work colleague

lucylousweetie · 27/06/2023 10:18

What is going to happen in the next two weeks to make any improvement at all to your back?

Original poster
Sunshinexo1989 · 27/06/2023 10:19

Why should this matter if it was a work colleague? For all you know if could be.

Don't think I'd be walking up multipe steps and constantly lifing things for 8 hours at a wedding reception 👍

OP posts:
Chocolateship · 27/06/2023 10:20

LolaSmiles · 27/06/2023 10:09

Your understanding is incorrect
How? Genuinely interested by the way.

A group I'm in was regularly saying, for example, if someone is off with depression they can go on holiday. If someone is off work with work related stress they can still go about their non work life as normal. They don't have to hide in the house for fear of being seen.

But if someone is signed off with back pain, then it's expected they're not going to be landscaping their garden. If they're seen having an afternoon pushing a heavy trolley round a garden centre then someone might question whether they really do have the sort of crippling back pain that means they can't work

Because the expectations at work are not the same as attending something like a wedding reception. The note acknowledges that the day to day work is exasperating the condition and causing lots of pain, in a setting like a school there's only so many adjustments that can be made which fall into reasonable. Unless you're doing an activity which perfectly replicates the work day then no they can't challenge this; again, the doctor is saying not fit to work in a particular environment, not that you can't do x, y and z in particular. Of course if the activity was more sustained and more onerous ie OP was running a marathon or something more physically arduous then perhaps, even then though an employer would be somewhat hard pressed to get very far with it. The more likely scenario is nosy and bitter colleagues making an issue of it.

lucylousweetie · 27/06/2023 10:21

Sunshinexo1989 · 27/06/2023 10:19

Why should this matter if it was a work colleague? For all you know if could be.

Don't think I'd be walking up multipe steps and constantly lifing things for 8 hours at a wedding reception 👍

Because I’d wager a large amount that if it was a colleague… you would decline as not being fit to attend.

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