To want people who are clearly ill to stay at home?

[Firsttimer78]

Boss has been ill all week - feverish, hacking up a lung every time she tries to speak, aches and pains, upset stomach. She NEVER takes a day off ill, and that's her perogative, but when you're clearly infectious AIBU to think you should stay at home and not spread it around to anyone else in the vicinity? I've now got the same thing and will more than likely pass it on to DS/DH. :(

some employers do not care if you are ill you are still called in unless you have a doctors note, even then they are still bugging you

maybe she fears her job is on the line if she takes time off.

some people do not have the option to stay at home and get better they have to get out

YANBU she needs time to get better at home. It could turn into something more serious. Eww and who wants her germs?

yanbu

I find this really awful about today's work culture. I have recently moved from the public to the private sector and i am horrified at how unsympathetic and inconsiderate they are to staff illness. Basically you have to come in and spread your germs around or risk losing your job. So if like me you have a weak immune system, and a lot of illnesses result in hospitalisation, then you just have to get ill.

I was taken from work to hospital as i was having a TIA (mild stroke) then a few weeks later i got a terrible chest infection (I went in but was sent home). On my return i was told if i have another incident of illness in the next 12 months i would face a disciplinary.

OhDear - I'm an advocate of building up immunity (he regularly licks the dogs bowl and finds skanky bits of food on my less than clean floor!), just feeling slightly irrational as he is now struggling to breathe through his stuffy nose and I know I'm facing a sleepless night!

I know some people have less than sympathetic bosses/absence policies, but in this case HER boss was telling her to go home to bed! Crazy.

No one rings in sick with a cold
You get faces if you did

OP for me - my boss sent me home/to the hospital both times, but the company policy is still in place. So even if my boss now tells me to go home i will have to say no, as i don't want a disciplinary meeting.

Someone was off sick last week and had to have a lumbar puncture and an MRI and everyone was slagging her off for calling in sick. It's just horrible :(

My sister was p**d off this week with the mother who sent her son to school, clearly not well. Next day, he was off with chicken pox. Mother said airily to my sister (the teacher) "You know I thought it might be chicken pox but I wasn't sure so I sent him in. Oh well, what can you do?" Well, keep him away - half the reception class have gone down with it, there are at least 2 newborn siblings among the class and 3 pregnant mothers. Not to mention that my sister has been TTC for 18 months and so could have been pregnant herself. Inconsiderate, big time.

Wow so when I get a cold I have to take a day/days off and therefore not get paid?
Do we all have extra lovely bosses or is mine just an arse?

YABU IMO. All helps build up your immune system anyway, and your DC's.

feathers my old work had a similar policy. Sick pay was not offered although you could try and claims statutory sick pay, but I think that is something you need a sick note for. So people would drag themselves in in the hope they would get sent home (in which case you would get paid) or they would work more than half the day (and again get paid). Similarly, three periods of sickness in 12 months was an automatic discaplinary. It's very hard for people at the moment.

I hope you feel better soon OP.

To be fair babybythesea the boy would have been most contagious before his mother was even considering whether he may or may not have had chicken pox. That's the trouble with a lot of these ailments - by the time you are actually sick and need the time off, the damage has already been done so you aren't really protecting anyone by staying away.

We send and receive very mixed messages in this country. On the one hand we're told we're spreading germs and being irresponsible if we come in when sick, and our DCs are told to stay off from school. On the other hand, we award 100% attendance certificates at school, sack people if they take too much time off work, and generally consider people to be lazy slackers if they take more than the very occasional sickie.

I don't get paid if I don't go to work, so I go in I'm afraid - mortgage to pay and all that.

I was off sick last week with a really horrible virus. It was dreaful and I could barely get out of bed. There was no way on earth I could stand in front of 30 children and teach all day.
Was annoyed with myself as I was trying to not have any absence this year as I'm looking for a new job. But in the light of having 2 pregnant close colleagues whom I didn't want to catch it, and access to supply teachers who could really do with the work, I think I did the right thing staying off.
I'll still be hauled in the office for a grilling interview about it tomorrow though.

I don't get paid until my third day off sick in a row, unless I can literally not get out of bed and with 3 dcs thats not really an option I can't afford not to go in.

YABU. People are open to infections from all sorts of sources, and for all sorts of reasons. If you are healthy, then there is small chance of being infected, esp. after someone else's 'illness' is over 24 hrs old. HR advice is to go in to work - they don't want a whole site infected any more than you, but the stats and what we know about how viruses spread indicate staying off isn't warranted.

And discussion of 'disciplinary' for being off work is pretty misleading - disciplinaries would be relevant for deliberate absences when you are well. Most companies have an 'absence management' policy these days, which is different in operation and outcome to disciplinaries.

Slightly different, but I was at a baby goods sale today and one of the sellers had her daughter with her who clearly had chicken pox. She said to my friend that the child had been off all week and they now know why. So why bring her to a crowded room full of pregnant people??

I was at yoga last week and a woman came in and put her mat next to me and then starting coughing and sniffing and then blowing her nose. The final straw was when she blew her nose and then put the tissue on the carpet (yes we have yoga in a carpeted hall). I picked up my mat and moved. She was there again this week doing exactly the same.

Why would someone go to a gym/yoga class and spread their germs?

Well in theory YANBU but reality gets in the way sometimes. I've been sick for 3 weeks and DS was sick for a week. I've had a week off uni to look after DS and then a week myself. I couldn't afford to take any more time off else I'll fail my degree!

I had no choice but to go in sick.

YANBU - however, DH has just left for work even though he has a dodgy tummy today. We lose about £150 if he takes a day off sick (he doesn't get his monthly bonus if he has any sick days) and we just can't afford that.

I also work for a company where not only do you have to fond your own cover you also receive a disciplinary for having touch time off sick. So basically we all drag ourselves in providing we can get out of bed. :(

Whilst I agree, the rather handsome Dr at the hospital told me this is the problem and actually everyone should get out more to spread the lurve germs so we can all build up our immune systems!

Think I'd rather stay away from ill people though tbh!

So YANBU

Babybythesea if this happened last week it is highly unlikely that the child you talk about is responsible for the other children getting it as the incubation period is 10 to 21 days. Also he would have been infectious for a few days before showing any symptoms.

You should try being in France where despite being as ill as the OP's boss, they still lunge in for a kiss! No wonder they are ALL always ill! If I am ill, I say no kisses as I don't want to infect them. They seem to appreciate that, but don't think of it themselves very often.
And our doctor's surgery is a conservatory for crying out loud! So if you are ill and go and sit in it (no appointments so for up to three hours of waiting) you certainly will go home with more than you went in with! Talk about a breeding place for germs. And bloody hot in the summer too,even with a window open. I wonder sometimes if he is touting for business.

If I have a fever - I go in, vomiting bug - I go in, broken leg - I go in otherwise the absence policy kicks in and I'm likely to lose my job

It's designed to intimidate and it does

One of those things but nice to hear there still are workplaces that don't try and sack you if you have three days off in a year

I agree with mchappypants I would much rather stay in bed if I am I'll but unfortunately my old company was not very understanding if you were off sick and you didn't get paid either so I had to go in if I possibly could.