To ask for advice about ringing in sick to attend a job interview

[Winterjoy]

Ok, I know its very wrong but I have to do it - environment/management at current job has driven me to the brink of a breakdown, to the point where I spent each morning having a panic attack as I walked down the road leading up to the building. I have finally got to the point where I feel mentally strong enough to apply/interview for new roles and after a number of failed applications over the last 6 or so months, have finally been invited an interview later this week.....

Unfortunately there is NO WAY to take leave on this date, and no way to change the interview date. So, I have resolved to call in sick (feel terrible about this) but am now panicking about:

1. If offered position new employer will check sick dates as part of reference and withdraw offer as a result

2. At interview I will be asked about how it is possible to attend i.e. am I on leave?

Any advice?

This has happened to me whilst I was interviewing someone who had said we could not take up references until after an interview. This is extremely unusual in teaching and I asked how he had managed to attend the interview if he had been unable to apply for LOA. He said he had rang in sick. We did not appoint him.
For me, that he was prepared to lie to his current employer was a red flag. It made me question his honesty and under what circumstances he would be prepared to lie to us.
I think you are entitled to unpaid leave to attend a job interview and would ask your employer for it on tha basis.

1. is unlikely, but it is possibly as pp have said

It is gross misconduct though, and you could be sacked if they do find out.

My advice would be-

Option1- Ask for leave for an urgent personal appointment and only take the morning/afternoon off

Option2- Risk taking the sickie

BUT, don't tell the interviewer you threw a sickie for goodness sake! Say you took leave.

Good Luck, hope it all works out for you

Certainly food for thought Lulu

I am planning to vaguely mention the negative environment as part of the reason for moving on (but not moan about it) when asked about that so if push comes to shove hopefully the interviewer can put two and two together and realise there was little choice - if not, well maybe we're not well suited to work together

Thanks again everyone for your opinions & insights

Op I wouldn't recommend that you say anything negative at all about your present employer, even in passing. Keep the whole interview as positive as possible. You need to concentrate on why you want to work for them and why they should want you rather than inferring that you are desperate to leave you present employer.

But Shakey surely

sickie + telling interviewer leave = 2 massive lies (one to potential new employer)

sickie + telling interviewer truth = only 1 massive lie

The latter must be better, oh gggooodd I DON'T KNOW!!

There's no 'good' option here is there?!

Could you actually make a medical appointment just so you have a letter to show work then cancel the appointment? Of course it's not guaranteed you'd get the timing right though

That is the way I would usually go Durham but because of the sickie situation I feel I should drop something in to explain if away if need be

But then I guess if they are the type of employer to mind, they are going to mind no matter what

How far apart are the two places? How long do you need? Is there any way you can wangle some other arranged absence:

• being out on work business
• being out on your own business, vaguely explained, but personal and urgent - you could imply legal business, property business, medical business - if it was around 2 hours you need you should get away with this if you take it as lunch and make up the other hour.
• childcare crisis. You could over-egg this by implying your childminder had let you down completely, and then turn up for the afternoon saying you had found alternative childcare and come in so as not to let the team down. Under promise, over deliver

Unless your line of work is very different from mine I strongly doubt that throwing a sickie will in any way affect your job offer. But for your own peace of mind, as you are so worried about it, I advise you to do anything you can to avoid it.

But you are quite right to attend the interview at all costs.

If you don't mind me saying so, unless your work circumstances and conventions are a world away from mine, I think your current place has got to you to the point that it is almost a paranoia, almost a sense that something will definitely go wrong, you will never get away, you don't deserve to get away. This is all wrong! you do deserve to get away! you will get away! They can't stop you!

Best of luck with the interview. Focus more on selling yourself and what clever questions you will ask, and less on these tossers at your current place. They can't hold you back

Agree wholeheartedly with Durham - DON'T say anything negative about current employment, put as much of a positive spin on your situation as possible. Being negative only really reflects badly on you, and interviewers/employers are very wary if they hear you slagging off your present job.

Oh, and I'd throw a sickie without a second thought if I were in your situation, for what it's worth.

Bloody hell I'd throw the sickie no problem. Obviously I would exhaust all other possibilities first - arranging a days leave, getting cover, etc. But if those were not options I would merrily call in sick and not even worry about it (ok, mostly not worry about it).

I have been in awful work situations and when it's that bad you just gotta get out. It's not worth your mental health.

I cannot see them asking how you have the day off in a million years, if they do just say "oh I just booked it off". It's none of their damn business. And they are so very unlikely to find out you called in sick. Does your business give out specific dates of absence in their reference or something? Otherwise there is no way they'll ever know.

Don't say anything negative about your employer. Talk about wanting new challenges, better career goals, etc. But don't allude to them being crap.

I don't know Cassie, I had always assumed a reference included just the info 'X amount of sick days/occurences in last 12 months' etc but am wary that they do include full details? Have never seen a reference from either side so not at all sure

I'd do it without a second thought. The company interviewing you won't ask how you were able to be there, but on the minuscule chance that they do, just say you took the day off. Don't mention sickness.

FGS don't admit the sickie and don't moan about the old place.

I'd sympathise, but I still wouldn't appoint if a candidate did this.

Throw the sickie if you must, although it is perfectly okay to say 'actually I can't get leave on that date, but I am available for interview on X, Y or Z date'. I have done so (and been offered the job).

no, don't say anything negative about the current place. It doesn't matter about the sickie. It honestly doesn't matter about the sickie!

If they ask how you arranged to attend the interview say something vague about flexible hours.

If they find out you took a sickie they won't care.

If asked "why are you leaving?" don't say "it's awful to the point of damaging my mental health". Say "It's time for me to find a new challenge" or something. Say "I love x, but I've been doing x for so long and am so confident in it, that I now want a chance to see it more from a y angle". It's bullshit but you've got to play the game

Load of worry warts/moralists on this thread..

Obviously it would be easier if and better you could take annual leave but you can't so.. take a sickie - loads of folk do it for interviews.. And don't worry, they won't ask you how you managed to attend or cross reference the date.. References are normally very basic these days, might give the overall level of sickness and that would be about it.

I would suggest you book a dental check up on the day of the interview, show the appointment card to your employers, then cancel the appointment. Or you could even find a dentist near the interview and go to a check up?

You feel very guilty about this situation clearly.

I might be a worry wart but I once had to discipline (and eventually sack) someone who did similar. Admittedly they posted what they were doing on Facebook. The whole thing made me sad.

Can you take a half day's unpaid leave?

OP, I would NOT risk a lie about a sick day, because many employers would regard it as theft and a dismissable offence. It's on your employment record.
Anyone could spot you on this sickie and mention it. Your new employer could cancel the offer or even sack you during the trial period if it somehow got out, especially if your current employer were vindictive.

If you don't feel able to insist you need a day for "private reasons" then do a "plumbing lie":
you have a leaking pipe, the plumber can't give a time, so you are just taking the full day as leave, unpaid if necessary.

A leak is something that has to be fixed urgently, unlike repairing an appliance.
That way, you are not defrauding your employer. and much less serious if it comes out. If spotted, much easier to explain the plumber finished quickly.

Leave the message via Voicemail or EMail if possible, so you don't get into a conversation about coming in if the plumber comes early.

I guarantee the person interviewing you pulled a sickie at some point to go to an interview. Everybody does it.

Do not tell the interviewer you took a sickie, FFS
If you are going to, just don't bother turning up because you will NOT be hired.

They are extremely unlikely to ask. If they do, and you don't want to lie, just say "I took a day of leave." Given that "leave" can mean holiday, emergency paid, emergency unpaid, parental leave, sick leave, study leave, jury service or many other things, it's technically true.

I would generally avoid taking sickies full stop but if the job is destroying your health then do it. Given that it sounds like you could cheerfully be signed off by your GP for work-related stress for an indefinite period, it's not even untrue.

References do not ask for specific dates of sickness, just X number of days in Y period (usually 2 years in my experience.) It would be against the law for your current employer to disclose the nature of your illnesses. Unless you are working in a very specialised role (where it's more common usually to use recruitment firms for anyway) they will give a very simple tickbox reference which asks dates of employment, role(s) held, number of sick days, current salary, and would you re-employ.

If you don't get on with your line manager, make sure the reference request goes direct to HR.

I strongly suggest you don't say anything negative about your current employer at interview. If you are asked a question such as "Why do you want to leave?" turn it around and talk about how you want the opportunity to develop your skills in blah blah that their company does, or "I feel that the time has come to work for a larger organisation that will give me exposure to more markets" or "I would like to experience more of a one-on-one relationship with customers that a smaller organisation like yours can foster." Obviously fit your answer to their company.

Good luck!

And ffs don't ever tell anyone in rl what you did, not even your best mate.

I've always called in sick if I've had an interview on a work day. Given that by the time I've got the interview I've already decided I'm moving jobs I'm not worried about a sickie.

Definitely don't say anything negative about current employer or hint that your interview attendance is due to sickie or anything.

In our line of business, it is a running joke if someone is unexpectedly sick for a day "job interview hahaha" and I mean, I'm sure it goes on.

I don't think we would mind if we found someone had chucked a sickie to attend an interview with us because, well, they might not have any "choice" and so you know, whatever. That may depend on industry though!

I've never done it but in your situation OP I would.

So say the worst that can happen is that they offer job, get sickness record including dates (unusual? surely it's just numbers) link the 2 and retract the offer, then you're only back where you started.

the idea that the potential employer might then dob you in to existing employer - that's pretty far fetched, I mean it would take a special sort of bastard to bother going to all that trouble. Unless it is a very small industry / locale and they know each other personally.

Biggest risk would be being spotted I would think. So that's down to locations.

I think you should go and good luck OP.