Flu / chest infection what to do about work

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I came home from work early last Monday as flu symptoms hit me out of the blue. Went to out of hours GP and was diagnosed with flu. Bed rest, fluids, painkillers etc. By Thursday I was much worse and felt like I was drowning in fluid. Went to my own GP and given antibiotics for a chest infection. Day 3 of them today and although I’ve seen a slight improvement I’m still breathless, coughing very badly, aching and extremely tired, sleeping on and off throughout the day.

Ive kept my manager updated on all of this but he asked me to call him on Sunday (tomorrow) to let him know whether I’d be back on Monday.

When I saw GP on Thursday and she said chest infection I said I was hoping to go back to work on Monday and she said ‘nope - I’ll be happy to write a fit note if you email on Monday, you will need to rest to get over this, it’s a nasty illness’ so no issue there.

I’d have to make a vast improvement to be well enough to go to the office on Monday but I’m not sure how to present this to my manager.

Should I say that unfortunately I will need to put a fit note in but will return earlier than the week (which is what I assume it will be written for) if I feel able to do so? I feel awful being off as I know my work will be piling up (that’s stressing me too) but I genuinely don’t feel well at the moment.

Is two weeks an excessive amount of time to take for this kind of thing? We are a team where rarely anyone is off so it will be strange for me to be away for so long.

Any thoughts on whether this is ok or not? I don’t know whether to just put my big girl pants on and suck it up and go in on Monday.

You're not well

stay home and rest

why is your boss bugging you on a weekend?

You need to be off for the length of a fit note or get signed back as fit to work - if anything happens to you in the workplace then insurance won’t cover you. A good manager will understand that

Don't put pressure on yourself with a time limit. If you rush back to work you may end up poorly again. You need to rest and feel alot better before going back. Take the time like your Dr said x

Take the time off and recover, if you go back too soon it will be worse for you in the long run. That's what sick pay is there for.

I had very similar illness last year and absolutely needed a full two weeks off non fact I think it was over 2 weeks. I just didn't have the energy to do anything and I worked from home.

Take the time to get well. Work is just work.

DH had bad flu a few years ago. He had to have 2 weeks off sick, then could only manage 3 days a week for another 3 weeks.

You have a chest infection on top of flu, take the sick leave and rest as much as possible. Then hopefully you'll be well enough by next week. Tell your manager that he's not to contact you while you have a sick note. Don't feel guilty about it as your normally in work.