Would you pull a sickie?

[rubberboots]

You work in an office that has flexible remote working, meaning you get to work from home 2 days a week. However, your boss leaves and the new team manager is mandating 5 days a week in the office.

You can ask for permission to work from home but this can be refused and you need a good reason. The manager seems to decide based on his mood and often decides people’s reasons are not good enough.

Before the new manager came you had booked flights to go and see an elderly uncle for the weekend in Poland. Flying out late on Thursday. You’d planned to work from home on the Friday as you have done before.

Someone else in the team is on annual leave that day so the boss would say no way. If you ask him to work from home and he says no then you’re buggered.

So do you pull a sickie that day? You’ve never taken a day off for being ill.

Yup, 100%.

Yes, I would.

Without hesitation if your sickness record or bradford factor can withstand it. :)

100%

To make it more realistic I would take the Thursday off sick as well before you leave.

Everyone including me gets so panicky about calling in sick but who really cares! It's not like you do it often so take the days off and don't feel bad 😊

No, I would book leave. As it happens, we can't work abroad (as you are planning to do).

No because I don't believe in lying.

Do you let your kids believe in…?

Yes definitely

Absolutely.

No, I would tell him as arranged before you came here, I will be WFH on Friday, c u when I get back

Were you actually planning to work in Poland? Would you have been allowed to do that under the old rules?
I'd book annual leave and not work.
(If you think you would be refused annual leave then I would reluctantly pull a sickie)

Do your work track your ISP address?
We're not allowed to work from certain countries due to data security.

If you're going all the at to Poland to see your uncle, why don't you actually spend as much time as you can with him?

can you actually work from abroad?
if you pull a sickie it might be safer

work from home in Poland?

Can you wfh in Poland? We cannot work abroad unless jumping through lots of compliance approvals post Brexit. Very annoying and another. “Benefit” of Brexit…

Sickie

No, I'd book annual or unpaid leave. Be hard to hide a visit to another country and you'll have lost trust.

I wouldn't pull a sickie, I would tell the manager this leave is prearranged and authorised prior to his arrival. Pulling a sickie is all very well, but you only need one person to mention you're in Poland and you're busted.

100% sickie since the leave request is highly likely to be rejected as you have explained. On the Thursday & Friday.

Working one day in Poland is not going to trigger polish tax obligations.

OP I would fight this your old boss set a precedent and they are changing terms and conditions even though those may not have been in writing.

On this occasion I would say you have to work from home, you don't have to say you are going to Poland but can say you have a family emergency and you need to be at an elderly relative's house for the day.

No! I would book annual leave. You are not sick.
You planned Friday as a day off for travelling.
Not as a working day at the home office. Are you allowed to work from abroad without your boss knowing? Most compagnies have a policy on this.

Why would you travel on a Thursday to see a relative if you were planning to be working on the Friday anyway? Or were Thursday flights cheaper and you thought you'd just log it as WFH while basically catching up with your uncle and checking your inbox every couple of hours?!

WFH can be great - if it works! But personally knowing of 2 cases just recently where someone who has a regular WFH day has been spotted out shopping/ afternoon tea with a friend, you can understand why some bosses are wary. To be clear - in the case I'm talking about, there are clear core hours. Some people are just as productive WFH as in the office; sadly other people screw if up for everyone by seeing it as a chance to take the piss

Yes I would

If you were planning to travel abroad on the Thursday evening then you should have booked annual leave on the Friday before booking. If a member of my staff asked for annual leave and had it declined but then called up sick I would go to HR.

What if HR finds out you work abroad not at home office in UK?

What if HR finds out you "pulled a sickie" instead of annual leave enjoying time abroad with relatives?

Anyone knows?