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Original poster

Raised terror threat - reason not to go to work?

70 replies

DooDahDooDah · 24/05/2017 20:12

In a big city ((not Manchester), all need to be in to do the job and need three people inat a time, anyhoo just this one colleague is saying they wont come in and didn't come in yesterday and today didnt due to terror threat. Shes a good colleague been here a while but team is Hmm, why just her that doesnt make it in, everyone is sad and scared but cant all just not go in for that, has anyone else had this at their work...?

OP posts:
BraCrumble · 24/05/2017 20:38

Assuming she doesn't have a personal connection, that's mad.

As pp said - for it to be logical, surely she needs to sign herself off until the threat level drops again?

Farthingwood143657 · 24/05/2017 20:39

Blush never heard the saying before and got it totally wrong!! That's a true fail right there.Grin

Maudlinmaud · 24/05/2017 20:41

Anxiety can be debilitating she should probably see a gp and get signed off.

TheoriginalLEM · 24/05/2017 20:41

This person my suffer with anxiety. When mine was atvits worst this may have tipped me over the edge if i were commuting to a major city. So it may well have been that my anxiety would have made me unable to travel in for fear of oanic attacks. Nobody apart from my family and my dr knew i had anxiety so if i were in that position people would have thought i was taking the piss.

user1471456357 · 24/05/2017 20:41

Maybe she has bad anxiety?

NotISaidTheWalrus · 24/05/2017 20:43

Anxiety doesnt mean you can not go to work because something happened a long way away. Neither does it mean you don't need to be certified as having a good reason to be off.

Farthingwood143657 · 24/05/2017 20:43

I just googled cop on and cop off BlushBlush

Oh dear.....

MrsTerryPratchett · 24/05/2017 20:46

If she has anxiety then she should ask for a sick day for her medical needs. If a relative was involved then she asks for compassionate leave for that.

If she's asking for a day off because something happened in the same city as her... no.

Out GParents and parents would be shocked at how little we can cope with compared to them. We had the IRA, ETA, Baader-meinhof, Red Army, various gangs and my school had bombs threats every month, kidnap threats. We all went to school and work.

OlennasWimple · 24/05/2017 20:49

Instigate the disciplinary process for unauthorised absence. This should include an appeal process, which would allow her to present mitigating circumstances - but if she has been personally affected by the attack, surely she should be asking to take annual or unpaid leave rather than just not coming in because the terror threat level has been raised?

TestTubeTeen · 24/05/2017 20:55

KinkyAfro: YWNBU.

People with anxiety: I am sympathetic. I think people need to be open and clear about that. Anxiety causes people to react in certain ways. But then they are absent form work due to anxiety, rather than due to circumstances, iyswim.

So my answer is: taking the piss, unless suffering from anxiety. In which case that needs to be explained to the employer.

I was in a meeting today where a key person was missing: their partner had needed to be at work unexpectedly today, very very pressing reason, due to the incident, and this person had had to stay at home and do emergency childcare. Understandable.

TestTubeTeen · 24/05/2017 20:58

MrsTerryPratchett: and some got 'shell shock' or PTSD as it is known now, and then got shot as deserters because they couldn't cope, or sat in corners sobbing. That sort of thing. Or took it out on family members as domestic violence.

Mummyoflittledragon · 24/05/2017 20:59

This doesn't sound great, signed off for anxiety or she should make it in, surely?

PurpleDaisies · 24/05/2017 21:00

If she's only off for a day or two, and doesn't need a doctor's note. You can self certify for up to a week.

OnionKnight · 24/05/2017 21:01

She's taking the piss big time, anxiety or no anxiety she still needs to turn up to work.

Mammylamb · 24/05/2017 21:02

A few years ago I had horrendous anxiety and OCD. One of the things I was obsessed about was terrorism and ISIS.if this has happened at that time I would have been off work. And quite possibly sectioned as I was so scared. Anxiety can be life limiting and that may be well why your colleague is not in today.

PurpleDaisies · 24/05/2017 21:02

You clearly don't understand how bad anxiety can be onion. For some people it's crippling.

OnionKnight · 24/05/2017 21:04

We don't even know if she has anxiety.

Argeles · 24/05/2017 21:04

Good luck to her. You do not know her personal circumstances/history. If she suffers from anxiety, then this could really exacerbate her situation.

NotISaidTheWalrus · 24/05/2017 21:06

Why does every twat and pisstaker have to be diagnosed with mental health issues on MN?
Do you know what most people with anxiety did today? Went to fucking work!

OnionKnight · 24/05/2017 21:07

Why does every twat and pisstaker have to be diagnosed with mental health issues on MN?
Do you know what most people with anxiety did today? Went to fucking work!

Agreed.

PurpleDaisies · 24/05/2017 21:07

We don't know that she doesn't onion. It not something people usually feel comfortable sharing.

Your post said "anxiety or no anxiety, she still needs to turn up to work". You clearly don't get what anxiety can be like.

AFierceBadRabbit · 24/05/2017 21:09

Had to go to a funeral today on a train from here, police all over the place, bomb squad and a local suspected terrorist arrest.

it is unnerving, shocking, but there's this sense that you have to keep moving. The giant knee jerk reaction is panic, suspicion, end of times.

But it isn't.

I'm more afraid of how horribly well timed this even seems in view of the coming election - and who will sadly benefit from that.

However, we all deal with tragedy in our own way, and I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone was out of order to take time off work or do things a bit differently for a while. It's a personal as well as public horror.

LouiseBrooks · 24/05/2017 21:09

She should be referred to occupational health to see if there's an issue (unless she produces a sicknote). If not then she takes it as holiday or gets disciplined.

I lived in London during IRA attacks, 7/7 and worked for a company that had its HQ in the Twin Towers; we lost a lot of people.

I have never met anyone who behaved like this.

PurpleDaisies · 24/05/2017 21:10

Why does every twat and pisstaker have to be diagnosed with mental health issues on MN?
Do you know what most people with anxiety did today? Went to fucking work!

People aren't diagnosing the person in the op with anything, just putting forward a posdible explanation for their absence. They could be a total piss taker. They might have clinical anxiety issues which are different from just being a bit worried. No one here knows.

AFierceBadRabbit · 24/05/2017 21:11

And I loathe the septic viewpoint that work is more important than well being.

It's like oh yeh better get back to the grindstone or i am a moral failure. Fuck that.