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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to complain about the germ bag in ASDA

58 replies

MrsMoosickle · 07/01/2011 17:17

Ok, so I know I was being unreasonable having a quiet cup of raw sewage coffee in this quality establishment, however, I was served by a lady who literally snotted and spluttered her way through my transaction.

So shocked by her demeanor was I that I continued to study her flu like antics as I sipped. She wiped her nose repeatedly with her hand, took money, gave change and handed over the coffee cups etc and all the while, not a drop of Anti Bac gel passed her hands.

Utterly minging. She should have stayed at home or been sent home. I don't think its cricket at all.

Mrs M x

OP posts:

Narketta · 07/01/2011 18:38

My DH is having a disciplinary on Monday for sickness even though his company have seen his medical records and they show that he has recurring chest problems that he is still under the hospital for. :(

Dylthan · 07/01/2011 18:41

vivalabeaver I work for the nhs and I think your line manager is abusing this policy if they are using it to disipline you for being off sick.

After 3 absences we must have a back to work interview each time we are off sick but it was made very clear to us that tge purpose of these informal interviews was very much so that our line managers could support us if we were having problems.

bupcakesandcunting · 07/01/2011 18:45

Is he having a disciplinary or a back to work kind of interview, Narketta?

xstitch · 07/01/2011 18:47

I have been disciplined for being off sick. I also know of another person who was disciplined because her husband handed her sick note in for her instead of doing it personally. She was lying in ITU at the time, in fact her line manager went to the hospital to deliver her warning but wasn't allowed into the unit.

Doramustdie · 07/01/2011 18:49

Just to clear up the melodrama behind back to work interviews or repeated periods of sickness being questioned. As an employee who is genuinely sick and unable to work a back to work interview should pose no issues at all. Get sick notes if you're worried. It's the people who have no genuine reason, like hangovers or laziness that get warnings. I had an employee who took at least 2 Mondays a month off at one stage. The fact was she was getting more and more blaze and whilst some days may have been genuine, a pattern was forming. She got a warning and kept her job...surely that's better?

bupcakesandcunting · 07/01/2011 18:49

xstitch. WTF?!

MackerelOfFact · 07/01/2011 18:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Narketta · 07/01/2011 18:49

A disciplinary, bupcakes things have become so stressful. Everytime DH has had to phone in sick his manager has given him shit over the phone and on his return to works she threatened disciplinary everytime.

BluTac · 07/01/2011 18:52

Of course you can be disciplined for being off sick. Everywhere I've worked has this policy.

bupcakesandcunting · 07/01/2011 18:52

How odd. Can he not get put on long-term sick if he has recurring chest problems, so that it would only count as one spell of sickness?

Doramustdie · 07/01/2011 18:53

Bupcakes, he needs to raise a grievance against his boss or he will have no defence at disciplinary. Contact Acas asap

doughnutty · 07/01/2011 18:54

I want to know where you work if you're not invited to an attendance hearing after a few instances of absence. The high street retailer I work for do this for 3 shifts in 12 weeks or 6 in 26 weeks. I still had them when I had pregnancy related illness even though they knew I could not be formally disciplined for it.
The argument being you are employed to work a contract and if you are off more often than this you are not fulfilling that contract.
In this poor womans case she would not be 'sent home' either. She would have to ask to go home and her part shift would count.

Narketta · 07/01/2011 18:55

I should also add that because DH had the nerve to finally say to his manager "You can't sack me for being ill" they are now going to discipline him for poor attitude because in her view he was arguing with her

I honestly feel that they are looking for a reason to get rid of him.

xstitch · 07/01/2011 18:58

That's what I said bupcakes but I saw the written warning. It was in her contract that she should handle all communication if she was off sick unless there were extenuating circumstances. Her boss did not regard her circumstances as extenuating enough. She has been left with after effects of what she was in ITU for and is only slowly getting back to full health but drags herself into work out of fear now.

bupcakesandcunting · 07/01/2011 18:59

What Dora just said, Narketta. Is he in a union or anything?

BluTac · 07/01/2011 19:00

Employers don't give a shit about why you're off sick, just how many times you're off ina certain period IME. Someone I worked with had been hospitalised with a heart infection, he was disciplined, just the same as anyone else. Bastards.

bedubabe · 07/01/2011 19:01

You can sack someone for being ill though. It's only when it hits in with disability discrmination that it becomes an issue, surely

bupcakesandcunting · 07/01/2011 19:01

I'm feeling very touchy about arsey bosses (I started a thread last night about my boss who wanted me to go to work today despite me having gastroenteritis ) I understand that there are slackers in the workplace but when there is hard evidence of a member of staff being sick, I am agog that they can be treated in this way.

wintersniffle · 07/01/2011 19:03

At Tesco the policy used to be that if you were off sick you would be put on an overtime ban, at the time they employed most people on minimum hour contracts with the rest of the hours being made up of overtime. They claimed it was so people didn't overstrain themselves after illness but in fact it meant no-one could be off sick if they wanted to earn enough money to actually survive on .

This was years ago but if anything the supermarkets have got more unpleasant to work for, they can get away with even more now they have a queue of applicants for every job.

Narketta · 07/01/2011 19:06

No he's not in a union unfortunately.

I'm sure that he'll lose his job on Monday and DH being the walk over that he is will let them get away with it were as I would take them to tribunal.

bupcakesandcunting · 07/01/2011 19:07

Is it his first disciplinary? Not claiming to be a HR expert but am pretty sure he needs 3 warnings before any sacking can happen.

FudgeGirl · 07/01/2011 19:11

It's terrible that workers are in this situation but I would also be annoyed to be served by someone clearly not well - you only have to breathe in the germs of someone who is unwell and you are at risk of catching whatever they had.

I picked a prescription up from a chemist recently, the lad who served me was coughing, sneezing, snotting and clearly not very well - but he didn't even have a tissue or hankie and was wiping his snotty nose on his hands.

I had to take an item back that they got wrong, and I told the manager when I went back that I was shocked that they allowed someone who was serving people who were potentially not well or vulnerable to illness themselves - especially as he didn't even have a tissue or any hand gel!

I just got a shocked face back from the manager - but several customers nodded and murmured their agreement.

atmywitssend · 07/01/2011 19:13

Mother in Law works for M&S - has done for 20-odd years. She has bad asthma and has had a warning as she was off sick 3 times in 6 months. So no pay rise for her now this year. The fact that she could barely walk seemed to make no difference.

Narketta · 07/01/2011 19:15

Yes it's his first disciplinary.

He has worked there for 2yrs 3mths and in all that time his boss has been an arse.

She has told DH that by arguing with her over the sickness disciplinary he was being abusive which counts as gross misconduct and is sackable.

So it looks like as of monday we are in the shit:(

BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree · 07/01/2011 19:17

I went into work several times when I was unwell. I had no choice really - we needed the money.

The one time I did call in ill I was berated for not giving them notice as I'd already been "called in" to be spoken to about spurious things such as not getting enough residents up before the day staff came on duty/not getting them up quick enough, and for not opening the blinds in the lounge I didn't dare call in sick again.

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