Parent phones in sick for their DD at work. AIBU to think this is silly?

[AppleBananaCarrot]

I don't understand why my manager allows it. I'm a supervisor btw. I have name changed for very obvious reasons.

The woman is almost 19! I could slightly understand if she was 16 (although I'd still expect her to do it) it's in our policy that you can't get someone else to phone up and on the 3 occasions she has been sick (over last couple of years) it's always her mother that has phoned in, I asked my manager and he said that the DD was on a drug that makes her tired, so she couldn't get to the phone, but really? If my husband phoned in and said that, I think they'd life and tell him to put me on the phone.

Sorry OP but I'm with those who say the policy should be redrafted.

There are clearly plenty of people who take the piss out of firms and surprisingly go sick on Fridays and Mondays. Or after a big match/event etc.

But if I were too sick to go to work I might very well be too sick to phone which PPs have pointed out. If I had a partner/family they would do it for me. If I didn't and was alone and was down with really bad flu/D&V whatever, then it would be radio silence but I hope you would be concerned enough to check.

Clearly your firm needs to have a rethink. Fine, plot people's sickness and see if there's a suspicious pattern and have a record so you can ask them why. If it's the stress of the job rather than being flakey - and I can think of care homes, social services etc - then that needs to be addressed too. If they're just flakey, then you shouldn't be employing them because they'll let you down and your clients down.

I've phoned in sick for DP (and he might have done for me - I can't really remember) when he was just a groaning heap sitting on the toilet - sure, he probably could have kept himself together for long enough to make the call, but I was there, I may as well do it for him - I reckon if I was living with my parents they would have thought the same thing.

Other places I've emailed in, or texted, or just not turned up and told them why when I was in a fit state to do so.

I think it's just as adult to have someone else do it if they're there, and you're in difficulty.

Just remembered my dad rang in for me a year ago!

I'm in my 30's

Ds cracked his head open at 5am and hospital has no service. So text my dad before leaving home to say at a and e, ds done but needed stitches, can he ring school and my work at 8 unless he hears otherwise before then.

Many Local Authorities have this policy. They employ thousands of people. One employee unless they are very senior, are not going to be able to redraft the policy.

It depends entirely on the circumstances surely? My OH phoned work for me once, I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital so slightly otherwise occupied........

I wouldn’t care all that much if one of my teams family members phoned in for them.

My old old workplace got shitty when my work mate's spouse called in for her - the reason he called on was because she was having an asthma attack that her inhaler wasn't touching and they were on their way to hospital! How she was supposed to call in when she could barely breathe I don't know! They also got funny with someone who broke their ankle falling on ice on the way to work. She didn't have a mobile, so they only found out when she was in hospital.

Your manager should not have told you about this womans medication and the side effects tbh

If the adult is capable of ringing herself, then she should. But if not capable, aslong as work know, and know the reason I don't really see the issue?

My mother rang in for me once when I was like 25 as I had caught some horrific vomitting bug and I was puking every few minutes which started like half an hour before I was due at work. I couldn't really ring myself due to endless retching and vomitting. I think it was best all round that my mum did tbh. If I had been at home instead of at hers I would have had to ring, but I may have rang in late to tell them I would be off, which would cause huge problems.

All these peopke who 'just couldn't" and had to have their partners do their big girl work for them - how do you reckon single people handle this?

Friends. Parents. HTH.

A black and white policy is ridiculous. I have far more time for supervisors who use a modicum of common sense to judge situations on their own merit

If you care about your job you would get more training yourself and not rely on the company to do it for you

The company makes the policy. The company needs to make that policy clear both by documenting and providing the training.

The OP is unlikely to get training in her company's policy via Google.

It sounds like she is ticking boxes and not investigating why she cant phone up sick

In this case unless the sick employee is her direct report its actually none of her business to investigate the details. What she can do is ask HR/company to clarify the policy and give examples of where it is appropriate to accept a third party call.

Many Local Authorities have this policy.

Mine doesn't, we mainly email in. And in any case, different LA's can have different rules.

In the past my wife or my mum have rang in for me but they've relaxed the rules since then because as this thread demonstrates, there are a lot of situations where an employee will not be able to call in.

I would if I could. I hate talking on the phone

Unless you intend on guilt tripping said sick person into coming into work why would you care who does the calling?

Someone sick enough to warrant a day off is quite easiky to sick to wake up at stupid o clock just to make a call.

Dp has to do it for me before I was in hospital

You don't have an employee not following procedure problem, you have a manager problem.

I suggest you escalate it over his head and speak to HIS manager about his actions meaning you being disciplined for something that he's taken out of your hands.

And to the one who said about 'mates' phoning in for people

I don't think a parent/oh/spouse calling in for you falls under your friends taking the piss.

Where I work we are supposed to find our own cover.good luck waking up really sick, and not being told you have to come in anyway as understandably no one who isn't already doing the morning shift answers their phone befire 7 in the morning

Friends. Parents. HTH

That's a bit snidey. If you're single and live alone it isn't as easy as that.

I think the OP needs to clarify as suggested re exemption from the policy. She certainly shouldn't be held accountable for her manager's actions. That's grossly unfair.

I've phoned in sick to gasp, in single words, that I was in A&E resus, and I was the patient.

On a different occasion, I tried to ring in sick with laryngitis. And they kept putting the phone down on me, thinking it was just a heavy breather...

DH calls in for me about 70% of the time..... but that's because whenever I'm ill it's always laryngitis!

That's a bit snidey. If you're single and live alone it isn't as easy as that

It wasn't meant to be snidey to the OP. I'm single. It was a response to the "big girl pants" comment

I live alone. Once I woke up with a fever and raging sore throat. I called my boss and only discovered I had no voice when I made a really creepy noise and freaked her out. I had to whisper shout to reassure her I wasn't a phone pest.

A couple of times I've had flu, unable to get to sleep till the early hours and I did resent having to leave my alarm on so I would be awake to call. Had to be done though.

youarenotkiddingme thank you. He is ok thankfully but no appology from work about the way they handled it.

Someone's mum phoned up to say her daughter was sick where I worked once. The daughter was 32

I live alone. Once I woke up with a fever and raging sore throat. I called my boss and only discovered I had no voice when I made a really creepy noise and freaked her out. I had to whisper shout to reassure her I wasn't a phone pest

Yep I've done this in the past ... woken up with a raging cold/sore throat/laryngitis early hours of the morning and knowing I had to be in work in a few hours I spent the next couple of hours stressing about how I was going to be able to communicate with work instead of getting some much needed rest.

Fortunately I knew which of my supervisors was going to be on shift that morning and ended up messaging them on facebook a couple of hours before my shift to tell them I was ill/couldn't speak and asked them if I needed to call in to the store. I offered to put the call on speaker and have my DD act as my voice if they really needed me to call in as I knew my croaky whisper would never travel clearly through the phone line.

They were really lovely about it and since they had seen me the previous day and knew I'd been feeling under the weather generally they gave me the benefit of the doubt that I wasn't faking it and said not to worry about calling in and they'd let the duty manager know that I wouldn't be coming in but shouldn't be disciplined for not calling as I had made contact to explain why that just wasn't possible.

It all depends on the team and the manager. My oh has phoned in sick for me due to the specifics around the illness, but normally I will text the team to let them know.

This works well for us as no one takes the piss even though the policy is to phone in.

My DH phoned in for me, every time I tried to speak I vomited. He held the phone near me and they were horrified at the sound effects and said to stay away until I was 48 hours clear.