To think that just because you're off work sick doesn't mean you cannot leave the house

[user1485342611]

Someone has just been complaining that they spotted a colleague who is off work sick for the week out and about in their local shopping centre. Apparently if they're well enough to do that, they're well enough to be in work.

One of the reasons a doctor will certify you off work for a week is to give you time to rest and take it easy as you recover from an illness. That doesn't mean you can't leave the house. There's a big difference between getting up at 7am, facing a long commute and a full day at work, and not getting home until 6 or 7 pm; and going for a gentle browse around the local shops/meeting your mum for coffee or some such.

AIBU to wonder why people don't get this, and speak accusingly of anyone who dares to venture outside their front door when they're out of work on a medical cert?

When I worked in HR we constantly had calls from managers complaining about this. It's because absence causes big issues for them. They are always trying to reduce sickness absence. It depends what the individual is off work for - or what they've told their manager. If they've said they are in agony and can't move for example, then yes, it would look circumspect if they were then looking fine in the supermarket.
However, if they have stress/depression, then a dotor is actually going to tell them to go out and try to enjoy themselves. They are not going to get better sitting at home.

The one thing I always remember when hearing about this issue was a colleague I worked with a dozen years ago who had a few days off here and there over a couple of months with a bad back. By the third time some of her team were bitching and rolling their eyes about it. Until eventually she got the MRI she had been waiting for and it turned out she had terminal cancer (unsuspected recurrence after a very long remission) She was dead within 3 months.

So Strawberry, if your doctor told you that going back to work now was likely to bring on a serious relapse, but that your fastest way of recovery would be to gradually start moving outside of the house, what would you do? Risk the relapse and the consequent inconvenience to your employer/business or delaying your recovery, with consequent inconvenience as before?

It's okay saying the people reporting are bitter etc. But it affects everyone if someone really is skiving. If they aren't well then it won't matter if they are reported!

I have to go out to pharmacy, supermarket etc when I am sick as I live on my own. But most places that have strict guidelines do so because people take the piss!

I'm a teacher. Once when I was working in an FE college I spent all morning in casualty with one of my teenaged DC, so obviously I phoned work to say I wouldn't be in. We were eventually sent home with a prescripion so on my way back from the chemists I walked across the road to the bakery - and saw practically my whole class sitting in Starbucks... waving cheerily at me. Appearances can be deceptive.

A relapse of what? I personally don't have any health difficulties so wouldn't consider taking time off unless I was really very ill indeed, as I said above, it's different for others.

It does matter Drusilla. Someone who is genuinely ill or recovering from an illness should not have to excuse and explain themselves to HR because a colleague saw them in the supermarket, jumped to conclusions and went running off to report them. It's between the staff member, their doctor and, to a point, their manager. Other colleagues have no business getting involved.

If it's an ongoing issue that someone is constantly phoning in sick and causing problems for colleagues, then raise it with your manager and let them take it from there. Jumping in all guns blazing is out of order.

I made the above comment despite someone trying to get me sacked for sickness. People take the piss with sick leave and make it harder for genuine cases to be taken seriously

That's true. But it's still not right for staff to go around making personal accusations to HR about a colleague's sick leave.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta Thu 26-Jan-17 16:35:51
"It's okay saying the people reporting are bitter etc. But it affects everyone if someone really is skiving. If they aren't well then it won't matter if they are reported!"

Won't it? Won't it matter to a person recovering from MH problems if they are pulled in for a disciplinary? Won't it make any difference to their recovery?

Noone is saying that we have to be happy about pisstakers. We all like having colleagues who pull their weight.

Merely reminding people that there are illnesses where the recommended treatment is exactly what would look like pisstaking in the case of somebody signed off with the flu.

won't matter if someone is genuinely ill? Tell that to my ex employers, even a drs note wasn't enough for them not to discipline me, they didn't believe i was that ill and thought i was lying to the GP to skive off.

StrawberryMouse Thu 26-Jan-17 16:43:09
"A relapse of what?"

Depression or other MH disorder.

A bad back.

A long term viral illness.

All sorts of possibilities and the fact that we both happen to be ok for the moment doesn't mean we always will be. There but for the grace of God...

I think most people would be understanding when seeing a "sick" member of staff in Boots or similar, but not so much in Next or Costa. At least have the decency to keep a low profile when you take a sickie. If you too ill to go to work, you are too unwell to try a pair of shoes or a bikini. No one said you should starve, not see a doctor or buy the medicine you need.

One of my colleagues was off work for several months last year. She fell down a flight of stairs, injuring both arms. She already used a wheelchair due to back problems - and after injuring herself, she was unable to propel her own wheelchair. Even when she came back to work, she spent a while doing "office work" rather than teaching classes. While she was off sick, I saw her in Costa with a friend once and at the park with her husband and DC once. It wouldn't have been good for her if she was stuck in her home for several months. It wouldn't have been good for the school if they'd sacked her either, given how hard it is to hire teachers for some subjects.

Personally I wouldn't take time off sick unless I really wasn't well enough to leave the house.

Not even to go to the doctors? That would be counter - productive in a lot of cases.

Reported every single post in this thread by Goady Fucker Troll Who Should Fuck the Fuck Off and suggest everyone else does the same.

I am signed off with depression at the moment.
Have spent lots of time taking it easy and a little time getting out of the house.

I am feeling a lot better than I was when I was signed off, until I think about returning to work and facing the unsupportive colleagues who have attitudes similar to Mambos.

I am petrified of losing my job because of this

harderandharder2breathe

Insulting random people on a forum is not helping you to push your point across. I hope you are more professional in real life. What a horrible thing to say to someone!

light hearted I suggest you report Mambo's posts since they're clearly made by someone with no intention other than to offend and upset people

Focus on getting better, including getting out and about

harder Why not have the bollocks to name the poster instead of ranting like a twat?

When the school I work at did a big campaign in PSHE/form group time about the stigma and discrimination around mental illness, I thought that maybe they were exaggerating how much stigma there is, because surely everyone has some kind of understanding about mental illness nowadays. Mambo has proven me wrong.

Ah i see you are issuing wishes that another poster would die.

And I don't agree with mambo in her posts but I have reported your post - if you have to resort to wishing someone dead then perhaps you should step away from the keyboard