Was I unreasonable to let my partner ring in sick for me? I have hardly any voice left

[curlysue1]

I was sick for most of December and so was our 1 year old. I had 1 week off (part time I work 3 days) but they let me take it as holiday early in December. I worked through the rest of it.

On Wednesday I went home an hour early as I was a walking hot mess, my whole body ached and burned. By the time I got home I was really poorly and I stayed in bed for the rest of the night.

Yesterday I still felt bad but I also had a terrible cough and sore throat and my tongue was covered in ulcers. I rang in sick and the store manager said it was fine.

Today I wake up and I feel like my throat is closing up, cough is horrible and again tongue is still covered in ulcers. I feel very achey and light headed. I would be absolutely no good at work at all. I work in retail.
I got my partner to ring in because it hurts to talk and when I do it’s croaky whisper which hurts. (I have no issue with ringing in at all usually, but today it really is uncomfortable and painful to talk)

A different manager demands that I ring in, partner tries to explain the reason I can’t but this manager is quite rude and Demands I ring in.

I now feel incredibly nervous and bad that I’m not at work. I feel genuinely not good enough or up to go stand and serve customers for 10 hours and lead a team doing so.

Am I being unreasonable not to ring back? They know I’m not going in. They know why I’m not going in. I’m lay in bed worrying. My partners mum is helping with the baby today as my partner has now gone to Work himself. So I finally get time to rest.

I’m not being a wet lettuce I promise. If it was any thing less I would go in to work but I can’t face talking to hundreds of people when I feel my tongue is the size of a whale and I’m as germ ridden as a rubbish tip.

I think you should ring in.

If I were you I would ring and then you can rest without worrying.

I’d ring them back. I’ve had to do this with no voice at all and no, I wouldn’t have been allowed to get someone else to do it for me. They usually like to speak to you personally.

Hope you feel better soon .

Just ring back. You are sick. You are an adult. Don't let yourself be made to feel bad. Just follow policy and call. It will be worse when you go back if you don't.

Unless you physically can’t produce any sound, I think you should phone in yourself. It’s a short call to explain ashy you can’t come in. It’s totally reasonable not to go to work.

Poor you. Yes, I think you should ring in, then go back to bed.

Sorry you’re feeling so poorly.

I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but you should probably just give them a quick call. It would likely take less time then it took to write this post and then it’s done. Then you can relax and not spend the rest of the day worrying about it and what might happen when you get back to work. It’s almost sure to be one of those things that take more energy to worry about then to actually do!

If you’re almost impossible to understand on the phone then it only serves to prove that you’re actually sick!

(Do you have a staff handbook that states what procedure you should follow? Might be worth looking up at least for future reference.)

I hope you feel better soon!

oh there's nothing like the comedy moment of phoning in sick with a chest infection and laryngitis!! I had to get dh to "introduce" me once, since our receptionist absolutely couldn't hear me, aside from sounding like some overwrought heavy breather.

it's pretty standard policy that you have to call in sick yourself...barring unconsciousness really.

Feel better soon.

I’m really worried about that particular manager being an arse to me now.

(I’m sounding more and more like a wet lettuce)

She is the only manager who would react like this to me as we never have gotten on.
She’s not actually MY manager. She runs a completely different department.

Should I leave it a bit before ringing back?

Do it straight away. Then you can rest

No, you’ve been told to ring back so it’s much better to do it straight away.

Ring in now then go back to bed.

Just ring in now and get it over with then get tucked back into bed and rest.

Ring back. Let them hear how ill you are, then GO TO BED!

Do it straight away, then get on with the rest of the day.

Just bite the bullet, once it is done that that's it. Get yourself back to bed and rest. I'm sure your customers wouldn't appreciate you breathing in their direction anyway

Aww. I hope you feel better soon

You sound like me. I have really bad anxiety over calling in sick, I have to be near death to do it (I'm actually sick today but I didn't want to call in so I'm here feeling sorry for myself) and I get terribly nervous beforehand.

You do still need to call in though.

Jeez just call in and get it over with. If you don’t you will have far more issues than if you do.

Ring in, then they have no comeback on you at all. Manager sounds like a piece of work, don't give her ammunition.

I'm not sure that it matters who calls in sick for you, as long as they have been notified that you won't be there. I take it you get a 'back to work' interview where the reason for sickness can be clarified?

I hate ringing in sick too but you really need to call yourself. Most workplaces won't accept others ringing in for you unless you're in hospital or suchlike.

company policy at my place is you yourself must ring in (we had one woman who always got her boyfriend to ring in for her and it was frowned upon).

Just ring in and confirm the status of your illness then get back to bed.

Don't let a stroppy manager intimidate you - remember she will be ill herself one day and have to ring HER manager.

No don’t leave it a bit, just ring in!

If you're well enough to start a thread about a total non-issue then you're well enough to call in sick yourself. It's called being an adult.

Look, even if this manager shouts at you over the phone, you are clearly ill and would serve no purpose by going to work today. The longer you leave it the worse you will feel and that won’t help you to recover either.

I had a boss once who did this. My dh has explained I had complete laryngitis-no voice at all and the gp had said I wasn’t to even try talking as it could cause more damage. It hurt so much anyway that I wasn’t keen to try it. I did try and she couldn’t hear me and hung up on me. I sent her a text explaining, which she ignored. I had a week off and when I went back I was brought into the office and bollocked. At the next whole staff meeting she announced to everyone that it was unacceptable for anyone but us to ring in sick and told them I had done this. Everyone was shocked that (a) she had divulged this (b) she expected someone with no voice to talk. She was a horror in all sorts of other ways too.