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

[Sunshinexo1989]

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

@lucylousweetie I never said something was going to magically happenen in the next 2 weeks. The doctor is concerned about the constant strin on my back while at work, while he has advised a range of exercise to help , he obviously does not want me straining it more by doing the duties i do at work for 8 hours.

I'd agree with pp. If you go keep off SM. A colleague of mine was off & posted on SM complete with photos sitting in the garden with prosecco, at BBQs etc. While she was perfectly within her right to it caused a lot of bad feeling at work

@Chocolateship Thank you for your sensible reply!

Seems people on mumsnet can get themselves in a bit of a faf!

People can get so arsey, especially when it comes to schools and staff having to cover other staff.

I'm my opinion, some of the replies shows how uncaring some colleagues can be towwars their other colleagues

But in two weeks… you’ll be back doing exactly what you’ve been signed off for.

each to their own

but if I’d been signed off and was looking after two young children, I would be taking the two weeks for proper rest and relaxation and that wouldn’t involve a wedding reception - getting ready, travelling, and yes - there will be walking and standing around and up and down. Inevitably.

Do you have a diagnosis?

@lucylousweetie yes- and in 2 wesks my back pain may well habe eased a bit ??
and I'm not being funny, but resting with 2 young children is not really possible is it and 'rest and relaxation ' certainly does not happen with 2 young children . Yes I've been signed of, so I've got 1 less thing in my life that is going to cause strain on my back.

Enjoy the wedding reception! And make sure no one tags you on any photos! 😂

Are they not in childcare?

Not sure why you've posted if you're sure you're right! Personally I would go only if it was an important wedding eg close friend/family. I wouldn't go just for the reception as it doesn't seem worth the risk of making your back worse. And definitely no posting about it on social media.

Just don't post it all over social media showing what great fun you're having.

Yeah go, you are "allowed". Just don't be pictured dancing in a conga line😁

Anyone who doesn't realise that the demands of working in a school every day, and attending a wedding are different is a bit dim in my not so humble opinion.

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.

I get that in terms of the exacerbated by work but it also would raise questions if someone is out and about doing some of the things they've said they can't.

I didn't mean it to sound like a doctor is saying you can't do X, Y, Z actions ever, more that it's generally expected that what people do when they're signed off sick is in keeping with why they're off sick. So if someone says they can't be on their feet for long periods of time, but then they're seen at a friend's birthday party up on their feet all night, it is going to raise questions. Same for someone being off with a bad back and then they're seen pushing a heavy trolley of gardening stuff.

In some schools I've worked in, for example, someone might be moved from reprographics to a different support role for a period of time, or staff are told that their bulk copying is to be collected from a specific room rather than having someone bring all their exam scripts to them, or a TA might be redeployed, or a pregnant colleague might have their duties and timetables changed for a period of time.

I suppose that is a bit like saying - anyone who does not think their colleagues will be unhappy that their off work sick colleague is attending a wedding is a bit dim.

You need to start physio sooner rather than later. Did you you’ve been waiting months? Time to go private I think.

I’ve had serious back issues in the past and they didn’t start to get better until I started an intense program of physio.

Presumably your children are in childcare though?

All that standing around, sitting for periods also, etc, at a wedding reception doesn't sound like it would benefit your back if you're in agony after a day at work. I wouldn't fancy that.

Keeping movement is one thing, and advised rather than bed rest, but I wouldn't go to an event.

Have you ever managed a bad back and pain? Different certainly. Lots of standing and sitting for long periods at weddings, not good for a bad back.

Going to a wedding …ok, attending something like running a marathon, going bungee jumping, in the crowd at a music festival, no!

Completely agree. Just because one thing/job isn’t possible, it doesn’t mean nothing at all is. You can also leave social things when you’ve reached your limit but at work you’re either there all day or not at all.

The difference being that the OP will be able to choose when she stands, sits, moves about, unlike at work where she is having to respond to situations, and doesn’t get to decide when and how she stands sits or moves around and has to keep doing it through the whole working day, not a couple of hours. She probably stands sits and moves around when she is at home too, and the same criteria apply.

I am also assuming she hasn’t been asked to be part of a mass wedding flash mob dance that will be on you tube. Though if she has I would back out of that one.

Of course you can. A wedding reception is entirely different to 8 hours of work 5 days a week.

Enjoy yourself!

But if she is sitting at a wedding and needs to stand up, she can, and if she is standing or walking around and feels uncomfortable she can go and find somewhere to sit down for a while. It isn’t as though the thing is being televised to the nation like Penny Mordants sword carrying at the coronation.

The difference being that the OP will be able to choose when she stands, sits, moves about, unlike at work where she is having to respond to situations, and doesn’t get to decide when and how she stands sits or moves around and has to keep doing it through the whole working day, not a couple of hours.

Even just the reception and not the ceremony. I wouldn't fancy sitting through formal speeches, etc, for long periods. She won't be able to dance at all or stand stationary if she's in agony with her back.

It can't be someone the OP is close to if they're only invited to the reception, as obviously that would make a difference then I would attend, despite the pain, for close friends or family (for a limited time having explained about my back).

Of course you're allowed.

I've had back pain. There is a big difference between getting through one day for a big event and then recovering by resting - vs - working all day every day and have no window for the back to improve.

Weddings don't repeat themselves- this is your only chance to go. Work happens every day!

Go, enjoy.

It's hardly good for your health to sit at home alone in the dark for two weeks as some on this thread would have you do.

I wouldn't go if I was signed off with back pain.