Telling my son to take a sickie.

[PissedOffAndHot]

DS works as a landscaper and grounds maintenance worker. Smallish company. Boss has made no concessions regarding the heat. Full days working in blazing heat.

DS is planning on traveling later in the year and will be handing his notice in in a few months.

I've told him to take a couple of sickies tomorrow and Thursday as his boss is inconsiderate. Temp due to be 37 both days. I'm genuinely concerned for his wellbeing.

Wwyd?

I said the same thing to my Son. He’s a brickie, I’m worried!

How old is he? Has he agreed to do it?

Can he afford to not get paid for 2 days?

I guess it depends if he really needs the job for another few months or not. It will be fairly obvious if he’s off sick those days.

I would. Say it’s Sunstroke. It’s unsafe.

They cannot fire him for being sick for 2 days with no proof he’s lying. Heat exhaustion is a real danger.

Why so annoyed about it? She’s not your mum.

Parents don't stop caring about their kids, being invested in their wellbeing or even offering unsolicited advice just because their kids are adults.

God forbid someone is worried about their child’s health in this extreme heat.

Jesus, is the heat making you rather rude or are you always like that?

My son does a similar job. Full thick jacket and trousers, no concessions although the boss has bought them some water! He can’t afford to take no pay so is going in but I do worry.

If I was going to advise a grown up son, old enough to have a responsible job, my advice would be to use high factor sun cream, wear a hat, and drink lots and lots throughout the day, not to take a sickie.

Let's shut the country down. Schools are too hot for kids, hospital wards are boiling, restaurant kitchens will be sweltering, probably should shut the tube down too and heaven forbid anyone should work outside in this heat.

Or we could just get on with it, have slightly more breaks, drink more water, wear more suitable clothes if we're able too (or take layers off on our breaks if we can't).

If we had 37 degrees then years ago, we would have just got on with it.

Pulling a sicky because it's hot, absolutely not.

would be down to my two themselves if they wanted to do that, not my decision.

Only thing I’d say to them is, It’ll be obvious what you are doing, if you get found out and then sacked, it will be a “you problem”, so don’t moan.

Seriously? You think parents should he getting involved telling their, presumably adult child if working full time, to pull a sickie? No wonder youngsters are failing to launch. Our job as parents is to equip our children with the wisdom and tools to make sensible decisions for themselves. If he cannot make that decision on his own, his parents have failed him.

Three of my sons work outside, and I hadn't even thought of telling them to take days off sick because of the heat. They are grown men and know how to keep hydrated etc.

Has he got additional needs? Trying to work out why he needs you to tell him what to do.

I didn’t give my opinion on the situation, I just thought you were really rude.

I told my 17 year old DN to pull a sickie since they haven’t fixed the AC in the kitchen where she works. I remember my hospitality days, sweating in a 40 degree kitchen for minimum wage and I wish I’d pulled more sickies. No one will die because their Wetherspoons chips took a little longer to come out.

🤣 I didn't see the arsehole post before it was deleted.

He's come close to quitting without notice before so I suggested phoning in with heat exhaustion. Not exactly untrue.

Should we say just get on with it, e.g. to soldiers who collapse and die of heat stroke?

How many of you could do manual labour all day in 36+ heat?

I do agree with you but pulling a sickie isn’t the right thing to do. As I said upthread, my son is in the same situation. He is going in as he needs paying. But I’ve said they should challenge the boss if expectations are too high.

Plenty of people do though, and he’s not in the army… he’s a gardener. He can put himself in the shade and drink plenty. It’s a shame the boss isn’t cutting them more slack but he’s not in the trenches or stuck in the desert.