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?

"It's not a bad break. It is only strapped to the next one."

That's not a break. You strap a finger to the next one and let them both move in a restricted way when muscle or tendon has been damaged. Not bone.

I broke a finger. It was incredibly painful, for a very long time. I had a "soft cast" to which my hand was strapped, and which I could take off to wash. The pain was constant and maddening.

YABVU.

Sorry Cote, just have to point out that I and Ds1 have definitely broken our fingers in the past and have only had them strapped to the finger next to it.

I think it may differ in different countries though?

OP you have a manager problem. Leave the poor girl alone to recover. The fact is she's been signed off, end of! And don't be gossiping about her either, it's really unprofessional and out of order.

I broke 2 fingers some years ago and had to keep my hand elevated in a sling for the first few days. It was bloody swollen, went black and blue and was very painful.

I couldn't dress myself, so slobbed around braless in trackies and a t-shirt for a week. I also discovered how very strange it is having to wipe my arse with the non-dominant hand (just give that a try - it is beyond weird). I was off sick from my desk job for 2 weeks.

Mine was self-inflicted. I fell down the pub stairs, pissed.

Many years ago I suffered a severe knee injury outside work (sport related). I carried on working as I was the only person doing my job, and I was foolishly loyal. (I also didn't want the work to build up!) My doctor and physio kept saying I should not be working, and I should be signed off, and they were really quite annoyed with me. As a result I have been left with long term knee problems, simply from not letting it heal properly at the time.
Injuries happen, and they should be allocated the right amount of time to heal. This poor woman. Perhaps you have never had a painful injury yourself? It's not pleasant, and if you are having to take strong painkillers it can make you feel woozy. Also, does she have to drive to work? May be difficult with a broken finger.

As a team leader you should know better than to discuss this publicly. I appreciate that you work for a national supermarket, but if the girl - or any of her colleagues - see this thread I am fairly sure they would know who it concerns. You could end up in serious trouble for breaching confidentiality. I am surprised that you don't seem to appreciate this already TBH.

In addition to the above, you should also know that injuries are not always as straightforward as you may think. A medical professional has signed this member of staff off as unfit to work. Given that you are responsible for RTW interviews then doubtless you are already aware that your duty to your employer is not just about covering shifts. It's also about being responsible for the health and safety of your staff and ensuring that the company is not exposed to any unnecessary liability.

Being perfectly blunt, if your attitude to this is such that you are complaining about her being signed off work and you can't capably make alternative arrangements to cover her absence, then you don't sound like a very good team leader. I'm surprised that someone who works for such a large firm isn't more used to covering absence.

My suggestion would be to ask for this thread to be deleted and hope that nobody from your store has seen it - because I can tell you that if they have and they complain, then your HR team will take a very dim view of what you've done.

"broken our fingers in the past and have only had them strapped to the finger next to it"

I'm finding that hard to believe (although I believe you, of course) as you should immobilise broken bones so they can stitch back together and at the correct place, as quickly as possible.

The more I hear about the NHS, the happier I am to have nothing to do with it, frankly.

This is exactly why I left working retail, some 'team leader' jumped up sales assistant that doesn't have the faintest clue on how to actually manage anyone, no empathy for anyone else and only cares about themselves.

Totally agree VivienneWestwoodsKnickers. Having finger drilled when bruised and possibly broken worst possible pain. I think the op should be more sympathetic and wonder how keen she would be to man a till and move heavy shopping with a broken finger.

If she is signed off then there is feck all you can do. Yes she has broken a finger but she does have others she can tap a screen with ffs.

I'm betting you will end up having to do her hours as well as your own. It is shit. Just make sure she get s a proper return to work when she does come back.

Yabvu.

I'm glad you're not my team leader - YABU and showing incredible lack of empathy. You come across as not very bright, too.

@BarbaraofSevillle to be fair the person on tills does that as it's a Sainsbury's local

I knew it would be Sainsbury's, I've never known a supermarket chain to be so unprofessional and vile to its staff. You're the perfect and accurate advert for that company OP. No empathy or sympathy whatsoever.

YABVU. Amazing to assume that all broken fingers are equal/manageable, or that you're qualified to judge your colleague for taking time off to heal.

I can't imagine you'll accept that though. You don't sound particularly interested in reflecting on your own attitude.

God almighty @ reporting the ISP to MN to forward to Sainsburys to hunt down the OP

You couldnt make this stuff up

[where is the crying laughing emoticon??]

Alis how do you prioritise their health to avoid more people calling in sick?

I’m more interested in this than Sainsbury’s finger lady!

Tills means handling money.... can you be sure she has the flexibility to handle those slimey fiddly plastic notes?

She finished the shift the day it happened.

That doesn't mean she's not in pain

DD broke her foot on a residential once. She still completed the residential and walked on it all weekend before we took her to A&E where it was confirmed it wad broken In my defence we had had it checked over by first aiders and a locum GP who was all as useless as I was it appears!

I once took the piss out of David Hayes when he broke his toe. Imagine my complete turnabout when I injured my toe a year later and i was suddenly full of sympathy for him!

Niece broke her finger playing basketball and went on with it too. Still hurts her now years later in the cold weather.

YABU on several counts
and although many pp have made all these points, for the record I'll add my two pence worth.

A broken finger will cause pain (which could well extend beyond pain in the affected finger, and loss of function (which probably affects her entire hand, at least).
She's also likely to be taking pain relief that could have side effects making her drowsy.

It wouldn't just be her work that would be affected, she'll also probably have trouble dressing and travelling to work (you said "girl" so do we assume this is a child whose parents might take her to work? or a woman who would either drive and or use public transport?) Jostling into other people could cause her further pain and injury and she might well not be able to drive atm due to the injury or any pain relieving medication.

You are not in a position to judge her ability to work whereas the person who has signed her sick certificate is in such a position, so you really shouldn't be passing comment and suggesting she's skiving, it's unprofessional and shows you to be lacking both in an understanding of your own role and in basic compassion.

Lastly, it is completely inappropriate for you to be raising this on a public forum. To be honest, If I were your manager I'd be taking disciplinary action.

But they don't just tap screens do they. I have a friend who's sometimes on checkouts. Sometimes on shelf stacking. Even on checkouts it isn't just tapping screens. It's handling money helping people like slow as a snail me pack very heavy bags.

She finished the shift the day it happened.
None of your business whatsoever and has no bearing on whether she can work now.

I hurt my finger. It wasn't broken but it was very bruised (almost completely blue all over). I couldn't put any pressure on it all, I couldn't grip properly, using that hand at all was difficult. I wouldn't have managed a till. Yabu.

The Store Manager has said it is ok for her to stay off. She has been signed off by a doctor.

I therefore don't understand why you as a shift supervisor think you know better than (a) your boss and (b) a medic.

I'm pretty sure if she's been signed off by a doctor she's not allowed to come in. As your company, well as we all know it, sainsbury's, wouldn't be insured to have her on the premises.

I'm also massively uneasy about how much your sharing. And find you quite unproffesional your not giving your employers a good name. Which it's not actually their fault it's your attitude. Sharing medical concerns over the internet is unprofessional