"Up all night" reason for calling in sick

[cherrypied]

If you call in sick with "been up all night", do you mean you are tired from being ill or still ill?

Had a few recently of staff calling in sick because they "have been up all night" anything from headache /cold / cough/ bad stomach etc minor illnesses.

They call in sick the next day as they are stating they have "been up all night". Am I I taking this too literally? Because to me it seems like calling in sick for being tired rather than unwell?

Even if haven't slept well and have been ill, by the time 6am comes around I will get up and go to work. I'd only call in sick if I was still ill. And have dragged my bones in shattered having been up with a cold or cough etc

I think it’s pretty simple. Many people would feel ill and able to solider on, but when they haven’t slept because they’re ill so they’re tired and ill they can’t solider on.

Department for Education will not have this as an authorised absence for school children. They have to go in.
If a child is unwell, they are unwell. It should be recorded as an I in the register.

Like many people have said, being up all night unwell is a phrase that expressed the level of illness. It's not someone saying they're a little tired so aren't coming in.

If there's concerns about a child's attendance and the school have reasons to believe the parents aren't telling the truth, that's a different story. Otherwise parents are more than capable of making an assessment about their child's health. As a teacher I'd be annoyed if DC's school started trying to tell me they know more about my children's illnesses than I do.

I often get migraines that keep me up all night. I'd only call in sick the next day if I still had a migraine. I wouldn't if it was gone and I was just tired.

As they can self certificate then a workplace has to accept their judgement that they are too unwell to work. Then manage absence levels afterwards in line with whatever policy they have.

I have to let the council know the day before if I want the bus to stop in my village. It would take 5 buses to get to my nearest office and many hours.

I could get a taxi but only mid morning or mid afternoon because all the taxis have contracts with school runs round here

I WFH so it's not an issue but your comment is very naive

Couldn't agree more. This desperate presenteeism does no one any good. Your employer would chuck you without a second thought if it suited them; don't sacrifice your health for them.

no it isn't naive, as I said, there are people who do need to drive, but the vast majority do not.

I don't know what job you do but for me if I'm too tired to drive, I'm too tired to work. I'd imagine that's the same for most people

Possibly true, just pointing out that being too tired to drive doesn't prevent you getting to work.

Depends on your job. Obviously driving while tired puts other peoples lives at risk, and no one with any ounce of self awareness will do it. But lots of jobs can be done tired, without any danger

Its incredibly naive to think that 99% of people who drive can just hop on a convenient bus or train or get a taxi to work at the drop of a hat

as I said, there are people who do need to drive, but the vast majority do not.

Not even what you said at all

Danger isnt the only reason to not do a job tired!

Its not dangerous if I work in financial services and pay your money out to someone elses account but you are still going to be pissed that happens

It not dangerous to be tired and take the main service and the back up for the BBC off air but you can still bet your life it will be in the papers when people cant watch the news

Its not dangerous to put the wrong ingredients in the beer when brewing it but it going wrong can cost the brewery thousands of pounds

Dangerous is a bizzare line to take on when you should and shouldnt work 🙄

no it isn't. Driving while tired puts others lives in danger. OBVIOUSLY the bar for an acceptable level of tiredness while driving is far lower than for any job where no ones life is going to be at risk.

Lots of jobs can be done tired.

I also couldn’t agree more. When I was younger I had this attitude towards my work where I gave 100%, worked my arse off, came in when I probably needed to stay home and rest. Do you know what my reward is? Osteoarthritis caused by wear and tear, chronic illness and burnout. The people who prioritise their health and wellbeing over their jobs most likely will have much better health in their older years. At the end of the day, sacrificing your health and wellbeing is not going to be valued by your workplace. And it is you that has to live with the consequences.

Lots of jobs can be done tired, doesn't mean they should. Danger still isnt the sole bar that should be used to measure that 🙄

I would take that as they feel so unwell they’ve been up all night? But either way, up all night with DC or sick DC is another reason why people might not be able to go to work

I think if someone has an illness that prevents them from sleeping, then it's fair enough .

If you have been up all night with a sick child or you've had to accompany someone to hospital, then you are not sick, but equally you may not be able to do your job properly and most likely aren't safe to drive . When I've been in that position I've requested a leave day or to try to swap shifts. If I've not been successful then I've forked out for a taxi. Of course if I was up with a sick child that mostly required booking a day for child care anyway.

Yeah if you've been literally ill all night and are totally wiped out then that's fair I suppose. I'm talking up with a D&V bug or cough, symptoms have stopped but you're still feeling fragile and beyond normal realms of tiredness.
Unfortunately I have a colleague who calls in sick or works from home every time he gets less than 6 hours sleep as he "just can't function" and I can't be doing with it as he's always planning things that make him late home on weekday evenings, so totally self inflicted

I think they mean I have been throwing up all night - ie I am proper ill. I don’t think it’s using tiredness as a reason.

Up all night to me means really NO sleep eg vomiting or diarrhoea or unstoppable coughing, all of which would mean I wouldn’t be safe to drive to work.

I would usually in that case try to log on from home and do basic tasks and I would say “I expect to be back at work tomorrow.”

I wouldn’t go into the office if I was t safe to drive due to exhaustion- it’s worse than being drunk.

I’ve been tired for years due to a demanding family life and mostly manage ok. But I have a weak immune system and if I catch a bug I and get no sleep due to vomiting or whatever then I don’t go in. My job is intense and mistakes could have devastating effects so I have to decide whether I’m well enough for that responsibility. I think most people would go to work tired but going in ill and tired when you have a demanding job where people’s safety is in your hands is stupid. We all know our capabilities and should be trusted to make the call.

I would take it to mean they’ve been ill all night - you don’t need to give a manager all the gory details !!

I was a PA and used to cringe so badly when people emailed my boss saying they’d had D&V all night - a stomach bug is enough info thanks !

You sound like a crank

@cherrypied

Well yeah, people need to say more than 'I've been up all night.' Doing what exactly? Knitting? Partying? Throwing up? Having the shits? Looking after a sick child or elderly relative? 'Been up all night' is not a good enough explanation to not come into work.

Then again, maybe there is nothing wrong and they just loathe their job.

I agree that poster's comment was naïve. But FIVE BUSES to get to your workplace? FIVE?! Do you live in Truro and work in Aberystwyth or something?

I can't envisage any trip to work that would take FIVE buses. I also can't imagine why anyone would take a job that would mean them taking five buses to work, should their car let them down.

Agree. We're humans not robots.