To be angry that husband has been called back to work

[Vitotitto]

Yesterday my DH felt unwell. He told that to his team leader. Today he had the fever and messaged him (team leader) that he decided to stay home.

At 5 pm DH received a call. Team leader asked to come to work as he is calling sick too often (to manage's point of view).

He had 3 days of absence in September 2017 (with enterovirus coxsackie, even visited his doctor that time) and 2 days in December 2017 (kind of cold).

He got today's virus last week from another guy who came ill (very obviously).

Team leader told him today that one of the bosses said that "diarrhoea is not enough to miss work". Err... Excuse me?

What to do? Visit HR?

That's not normal, isn't it?

What's he supposed to do, go in and collapse? Pity the request was verbal, not in writing. Maybe he should ring HR and ask them to reiterate when he has to have a doctor's note and how many days he is entitled to etc. in case his boss wants to make trouble.

It’s very difficult, but in most of the companies I’ve worked in you’d have had a meeting with HR as soon as you reached your 4th sick day in a year.

It looks like your DH has had 6 days off in six months. That’s pretty high.

That would trigger the short term absence policy at my work.

He had 2 days off for 'sort of a cold' 😒?

I work from home so don't have to worry about sick days but my DP hasn't had a sick day in about 4 years. I know it's in his companies policy that after 3 sick days in a short period of time then he has to get a doctors note.

It does sound like your DP has had quite a bit of time off sick recently.

The problem is that that's an unacceptable level of absence for many organisations. 3 incidences in a year is enough to trigger a review where I work.

Depending on his role, length of service etc he could be disciplined or worst case dismissed on grounds of capability. Can he access the staff handbook? Full details of procedures should be outlined in there. His contract should specify the absence policy.

I'd advise him to keep his line manager informed as possible about expected time of return. I realise that's not always easy but it will help any case if he co operates.

How long has he worked there?

Think he will either have to go in or expect consequences, the policy at my work is you are put on an ill health plan/absence plan after 3 lots of absence in a rolling 12 months.

What time does he start work usually? Waiting until 5pm before calling sounds like someone pressured into making the call.

Check the absence policy. If someone who was really ill was pressured into coming into work and has passed on an illness, then you could argue a failure of health and safety.

6 days in six months is nothing if you get the flu, which will be more. Or if you get pneumonia, which will be more. And both are quite prevalent at the moment.

I think your DH's boss is ridiculous.

It's hard for any of us to say.

I've certainly been to work with a raised temperature. Pushed on through. Others are different and consider themselves too ill to work at the hint of a cold. My DH works long hours in a stressful role - I can't actually remember him ever having a day off sick. He gets colds like the rest of us.

Impossible to say isn't it?

Three periods of absence in less than six months does seem a bit much to be fair. OK, he shouldn't be going in if it's D & V, but a "kind of cold"... what does that mean?

That sounds perfectly normal. Yes, they might be legitimate reasons (although at the 'sort of cold') but enough incidents to trigger a meeting/warning about it.

I think it can be a sign of being unhappy at work, if you call in sick at the drop of a hat. Certainly that's my experience of people at work with a dodgy sickness record.

Others are very unlucky and are genuinely ill and there's not much you can do.

I am a Civil Servant and that level of absence would trigger an Attendance Management meeting here.

He shouldn’t have been asked to go in, but that is enough at my work place to trigger a phase 1 sickness review. I don’t think its the number of days but rather the number of incidences. So I could be off once in the year for three months and not trigger but have 3 lots of single days and trigger.

6 days off since September is quite high. Where does he work? If he works with vulnerable people etc then it's understandable to not go in and potentially infect others. However if it's retail/office or something similar, then he's a bit unreasonable to not go in. Especially for a "kind of cold". Most employers much prefer you to go in and will send you home if you're that unwell. I've fired people for less when I was managing a retail store if I'm being honest OP.

6 days in six months is nothing if you get the flu, which will be more. Or if you get pneumonia, which will be more. And both are quite prevalent at the moment.

You'd be bedbound with the flu unable to go to work and signed off for it if a GP visited you and OP didn't mention pneumonia at all.

Blimey you have to be off several weeks at our place before anyone says anything (very high pressure so probably see quite high sickness levels) I would query someone demanding someone comes in when ill (although depending on policy potential to take dock pay if in line with policy). Usually 7 day self certification.

I think one of the reasons for the overprescription of antibiotic# is the pressure people feel to go into work when they are ill rather than stay home and rest.

Jasey - you’ve fired people for being ill for a week? And no one sued? What a wonderful boss

I do love the 'I've never been sick get on with it' brigade

Bewareofdragons but one instance of a serious illness like flu or pneumonia is far more acceptable to business that several instances of a variety of minor illnesses.

The problem with the OP’s sickness record is that it looks very similar to the sickness record of someone who is swinging the lead.

I’m sure that’s not the case with the OP’s DH but I understand why it’s raised eyebrows with management.

Dipity I bet Jasey’s staff weren’t off for a week. I bet they were off 5 Mondays or 5 Fridays....

@Dipitydoda

Several weeks at one time sounds reasonable but does your place of work not look into people having separate, random days off (more than once per month)?