To be asked to ring in work each day when you are off sick..

[curlysmum]

I have been off work for almost two weeks with this sickness bug then it developed into flu and I am off this week my second week. In my first week I rang I think 3 times to state I was ill then finally saw the doctor last Friday who took one look at me and said you need to rest and I 'm signing you off for 1 more week.
I rang my boss on Monday to tell him this put the Certificate in the post and now today he calls me at home , sounding a bit on the sarcastic side 'how are you' etc I explained all of it again he says , 'so when will you be back ' I told him next Monday and he sounded not impressed so I told him well I have sent in my Doctors certificate etc, he says well I still want you to call in each day WTF! am I a child or a 38 year old women, my dd father said I shd ring the Human Resources lady and give her a piece of my mind. By the way this is a very big American City Company who treat most women like idiots anyway, any view on this??

Curly almost ALL City companies no matter what nationality employ big swinging dicks to be bosses !

I think it is extremely strange to call an employee at home when they are off sick. It is like they are checking up on you.

Having said that if you enjoy your job and wish to keep it, be very diplomatic when you go back to work. Tell your boss you have read the off sick policy and thought that you were doing everything by the book, which you clearly are. Don't make an issue of it because he may use it as a stick to beat you with every time you are sick.

I worked in the City for years. I know what slave drivers those people are. I wouldn't go back to the City environment if they paid me twice what I earned before. I found it soul destroying.

Actually I think most have very small dicks, but are TOLD they have big ones when they get promoted

Message withdrawn

Come on. Loads of people malinger and a regular call system makes them less likely to. It's common sense and nothing to do with bullying.

www.hse.gov.uk/msd/campaigns/pdf/managingabsence.pdf

Employers sometimes feel that asking absent employees for
information to help them return will appear intrusive. You
may feel equally uncomfortable about talking to an
employee whose performance, combined with frequent
short-term absence, is causing you concern. Listed below
are some dos and don?ts to help you deal with these
sensitive issues.
Do:
n create a climate of trust by agreeing methods,
frequency and reasons for keeping in contact;
n consider training for your managers on a sensitive
approach to help them get the most out of contact;
n consider the timing and form of contacts and who
should make them;
n be flexible, treat each case individually but on a fair and
consistent basis;
n if your employee is able to travel, suggest they come in
to see colleagues at lunch time or coffee breaks;
n keep a note of contacts made;
n welcome your employee back to work after absence;
n carry out return to work interviews;
n give your employees the opportunity to discuss their
health or other concerns that are affecting their
performance or attendance in private;
n remember that medication can have side effects on
things like physical stamina, mood, driving, machinery
operation and safety critical tasks.

Pann - I am a HR peep and have to say that I agreet that I think Xenia is wrong.

Asking people to ring in everyday, particularly if they have sent in a sick note saying they will be off for another week, is bordering on harassment so it is not good HR practice at all and I would certainly not advise any managers where I work to do this.

By all means, it is the responsibility of employees to keep their managers informed but this doesn't require a daily phone call.

In terms of covering whilst they are off, if they have sent in a sick note for a week, they are not going to come back earlier so you know you need to cover that week.

I didn't say calling in after the second week when you're signed off for a second week was necessary actually. But it's certainly good HR practice to stay in touch - see that link from the HSE etc below. If you don't get them to call in at all then the employer is failing in their duties both to other employees holding the fort and shareholders. Employers are not charities with huge cash piles to hand out on a whim.

yes, X, I have been a T.U. rep. for many years, and now a manager, and am aware of 'managing' peoples absence rather than letting it all just slide.

yes people do malinger, but that is no justification to bully any individual - we just appear to have diferrent notions of what is acceptable.

Lay off Xenia. I get what she's saying.
When I was signed off ill it was no bother to phone in work and let them know how I was.

However harking back to the OP, I don't think it's the actual request she is objecting to but the way the request was made, i.e. sarcastically. Plus your boss or whoever should not be phoning you at home if you are ill.

It is not law to phone work every day, but as Xenia says it costs little to do this and works favourably with your boss as it shows you are keen to return and want to keep the office informed.

get a copy of your employer's absence policy and stick to it. simple really. if you don't like it take it up with your union, or put in a grievance.

i manage absence where i work and our policy is that if you're absent you have to call in every day. if you have a sick note you don't have to call in. a lot of employees still do call in though as a matter of courtesy. employees on long term sick, ie over a month, are assigned a case manager (possibly me) who will call them at home and may even arrange home visits depending on the situation. our employees are paid while they are off sick, so yes i do expect them to conform to our policies.

In my first agency when I was a lowly junior I managed to break my leg quite badly in 3 places on a company night out

I was told that I had to be motionless for 2 weeks minimum or they would have to operate on it

I moved in with my boyfriend .. and do you know what work did?

they sent me round a fax machine and some research books and a brief for work .. no flowers, no card .. just work

rofl

I think I was recommnending the institute of personell's practices actually rather than being the boss from hell... calling in each day in the first week. A 2 minute call which proves you're not on the golf course etc. I can't see how that's bullying. Just remember the problems you leave for others at work when you're off sick. often colleagues have to do double the work, go home late, cover for you. It's terribly hard for them and a lot of them will be parents too.

Anyway why not keep the boss happy? I am amazed people don't think so. it's common sense. People need to go on a career enhancement psychology course not whinge about calling in when off sick. Offer to do someting from home, be the best employee you can - therein lies the path to things going well

Twigs, I've been off work with a very poorly ds who was vomming everywhere, and work asked if I could do a telephone meeting from home!

Twig, well that is silly of them. Most employers would send flowers etc. But you probably enjoyed continuing to be useful. Most of us could do some work even if unable to move a leg as a lot of work is at PC.

I love you Xenia!
You make me laugh out loud and I mean that in a nice way!

my boyfriend went in and mentioned sarcastically that it might have been nice if they'd consider how I was feeling .. and I did end up getting a huge bouquet

and no I didn't mind the work I was bored rigid .. I hated the total disdain though

Xenia wouldn't last two seconds as a boss in the public sector imo. That's not an insult at all. It's just that it would be a massive cultural shock for her.

Here is a good joke to illustarate why:

Four men were boasting about how clever their cats were. The first man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, the fourth was a public sector worker.

To show off, the engineer called to his cat. "T-square, do your stuff." T-square pranced over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.

Everyone agreed that was pretty clever. But the accountant said his cat could do better. He called his cat and said, "Spreadsheet, do your stuff." Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen fairy cakes. He divided them into 4 equal piles of 3 cakes each. Everyone agreed that was good.

But the chemist said his cat could do even better. He called his cat and said, "Measure, do your stuff." Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a pint of milk, got a 10 ounce glass from the cupboard and poured exactly 8 ounces without spilling a drop. Everyone agreed that was good.

Then the three men turned to the public sector worker and said, "What can your cat do?" The public sector worker turned to his cat and said, "Coffee Break, do your stuff."

Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cakes, drank the milk, peed on the paper, had sex with the other three cats, claimed he injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for Workers Compensation and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave.

I'm not advocating not staying in touch but certainly don't think it is necessarily 'good practice' to ring in every day - still seems OTT to me.

Certainly ring the first day, maybe the second with an indication of when you expect to be back - and the manager needs to take it from there. For example, if the employee rings on the second day and says that they will be off for the rest of the week, I would expect the employee to ring at the end of the week to give an update but not in between.

And for long-term sickness, yes the managers should keep in touch/visit at home/refer to Occupational Health and we do expect them to do that.

then again this was the boss who when we all had personality profiling and my strength came out as managerial and his came out as team-building took me to one side and told me I should try to be more like him

it was a frickin' personality profile .. it was supposed to determine where your strengths lie .. it is not changeable

Chris .. wherever you are .. you are such a nob!

Scummymummy - lol! As a public sector worker myself, that about sums it up

SM, very true. I would rather be there abolishing the public sector entirely, cutting back the frontiers of the state. We have hardly begun with privatisation in reality. I would like to get tax down to 15% too.

Twiglett - some employers are just total arses ! Sending a fax machine home indeed ! You could have put your butt on it and sent a copy to your boss

When I announced I was pregnant, not a single person congratulated me for it and when ds was born I got a shitty, cheap card through the post, no flowers, nothing. One woman told me how she will never, ever have a child as they are a pain in the arse ! Great !!

That is when you realise you are working for the wrong employer, or should be self-employed. I am going down the self-employed route.

Don't you think we need a public sector then, Xenia? What about services for the great unwashed?

We don't work hard enough scummy! If only we could all put our kids into childcare from day 1 and drag our lazy arses into full time work then the world would be a much better place!