AIBU to think someone with a broken finger can still work in a supermarket?

[SpinalDra]

Surely they can just be put on the tills? I'm a team leader and really pissed off. A girl has recently phoned in sick to say she can't come in as she broke her finger at work. Store manager has said she can stay off because it causes less fuss especially as she did it at work it's a piss take. He's not the one who has to run the shift with lack of staff.

AIBU to think she could still have worked on till?

Your problem around staffing is not her fault

You should be directing your frustration at your managers - if they run things so tightly that 1 staffmember illness causes problems, you need to address THAT

Not ponder why she's off/could she work. That's been assessed medically and her note says it's fine. Keep your nose out

YABVU.

You not having any staff that actually want to come in and help you out is your problem, not hers.

And to be honest, with the attitude you've displayed here, I think it's pretty obvious why they won't help you out and come in extra.

I was lost at "have lots of staff".

I'm a manager at a supermarket, checkouts as it goes. I highly prioritise my team's health above coming to work. As a result I get far fewer sick calls than the previous department manager did.

It is always frustrating when someone calls in sick or hands in a note, but unless working for the NHS/police/fire service/armed forces...being short staffed is not life or death. It just isn't.

It will most likely be for insurance reasons. You don’t sound like a very good manager slagging your team off.

I broke my finger at work. I knew my manager would have an attitude similar to yours so I came into work (physical job, involved heavy lifting and fairly precise work too) for a whole week with it. It was only when I got bullied into going to A&E by DP and a surgeon friend that I actually discovered it was broken. I was too late for the stitches I should have had though. 5.5 years on and I still have to be careful with it.

She could do the self-scan tills but if it's a local surely there isn't enough to do for her to solely run them her whole shift? I worked in one and I would die of boredom because the tills were never busy enough

As if people are reporting OP 😂😂

And this

Nuttynoo

Am sure Mumsnet could share your IP/email if Sainsburys put the pressure on. Have reported it to Sainsburys.

Nuttynoo

Not sainsburys, mumsnet.

Is just hilarious!!

Eh, I'm not a manager. Anyway, you are welcome to report me, not sure what mumsnet is supposed to do about it

Unless there are complications I think she is being a bit pathetic - It's just a broken finger.

I've broken my finger my foot and my wrist twice - carried on working each time. Fair enough I don't have a physically active job - mostly at meetings or at my desk, but I know people in the same type of work who take weeks off for similar and they manage to do plenty at home

I think some people think if they get they chance to be signed off they will take it, with no thought to everyone else who has to put in the extra work

On the other hand if you are ill and are infectious - stay away

We have a bloke in our Tesco with one arm. Not even joking. If he can work, she can work.

How many stores will have an employee off with a broken finger and the details you have given.

I'd ask for this thread to be removed. I'm sure it is very unfair having to pick up the slack, a lot of information given in your OP.

Not broken bone related but a few years ago, I sprained my ankle, not work related. In fact, I was knocked off my bike. I was signed off sick by the GP for 3 weeks. I was absolutely bored stiff at home and asked if I could go back to work as mine was a desk job. The company (a big well known one) refused to let me go back as if I had another accident, it would invalidate their employer liability insurance.

SpinalDra Eh, I'm not a manager

Clearly, being able to manage situations and absense effectively without near outing yourself on a public forum would be a prerequisite for that job

Better to let the finger heal properly than to risk what could be a life long problem.
I'm sure the tills can wait.

We have a bloke in our Tesco with one arm. Not even joking. If he can work, she can work.

What an odd comment.

Broken fingers are painful and aren’t going to heal properly if she’s at work tapping on screens/keyboards, handling shopping and cash/cards.

Surely it’s better she’s off for a while to heal, than she comes in and causes herself lifelong damage?

I wouldn’t think much of my boss if he knew I’d broken my finger at work, told me to come in anyway, then moaned about me online

If she sees this, you’re in trouble!

it isn't her fault if you are short of staff who want to work for you.

If she or your colleagues recognise this (broken finger in a supermarket team with you implying she is skiving) then you have left your company open to a complaint on several grounds. You have been given privileged information and you share it on social media. Do you get no training in team leading and staff management and data privacy?

Why on earth would you assume a damaged hand should be able to operate a till? Are you medically qualified with details of her injury or do you treat all your staff like skiving liars?

I'm with SendintheArdwolves. Your supermarket bears some responsibility, morally if not legally, for getting one of its employees injured at work. Hassling them to come back to work is just adding insult.

I understand you being irritated, it does make your job harder, OP. But blaming her and accusing her of skiving isn't kind. Maybe if you cared more for your team's health and wellbeing you would find them more willing to step in and help you out at times like this.

Broken hand bones are a very big deal. The thumb especially, since it is involved in 40 percent approx function of the hand. If it is the dominant hand, then even more so. The pain from a severe thumb fracture is horrendous. Just because it is a smaller bone doesn't mean it is a trivial injury.

Even sprains often need physio/ot and take many weeks to heal. If she continues working and damages it, it could mean lifelong pain, arthritis and disability. Fractures vary and anything intra-articular could be quite significant. So yabu.

How did she break it?

Is she is making a claim against her employer, her case might be weakened by going to work shortly afterwards.
.This happened to my friend who was quite seriously injured after a fall at work .The back injury didn't hurt too much at the time so he initially went back to work.That decision ended up costing him thousands in lost compensation because the courts decided it was contributory negligence and reduced his claim by a third

The little finger of the dominant hand isn't no big deal either. I severed the tendon on mine and it was a right pain, I could hardly do anything properly. It's still not right and I did it in March!

Can't believe some of the posters' attitudes on here - or yours OP. Have some sympathy FGS.

Can't quite fathom why you are so irritated by this one person (who is injured and off sick) not coming into work, yet when you call in other (presumably fit and well) staff to work they refuse. They're the ones you should be cheesed off with, surely?

Wonder how many people have forwarded the link to sainsburys by now...

@sporadicrains why? They're contracted to their shifts... people make plans, I can't expect them to drop everything and come in. It's not their job to.

She isn't making a claim against the company! It was her error.