To think DH might get fired?!

[ohgodwhatcanido]

NC for this.

Essentially DH fell asleep ah hour ago after being violently ill all night and morning; I've been sick as well so I think it's a bug. He was off one day last month but hasn't had time off before that for about three months. He asked if I'd call in for him so I did and the conversation went like this:

Him: 'Good morning X speaking how can I help?'
Me: 'Hi there, I'm calling to let you know that X'
Him: 'Sorry, who?'
Me:' Sorry, my line isn't too clear, I was calling to let you know X won't be able to come in this morning. He's been up all night being-'
Him: 'I don't want to hear it thanks, bye'

And then hung up. He didn't even let me explain why and sounded really mad. DH just had his days off for the week so I'm worried they'll think he's playing at it. Am I over thinking it or does this not look good?

My company procedure is that you call yourself and speak to your own manager or their manager and in the vast majority of situations I think that's a reasonable expectation. Obviously if you're hospitalised or similar it's different. I don't quite see why Bluntness has been attacked.
I would agree that the manager was rude to the OP.

@Ellyess oh definitely. He was such an arse, if I could of gotten off the toilet I'd of gone to work just to give it him!
Luckily for him, I was bathroom bound and I liked my colleagues.

Of course, because the man understands SO much about pregnancy and giving birth. It's a walk in the park, don't you know?!

I had to call for dh once as he was vvvv busy in the bathroom. He phoned later when events had calmed down. Your dh just needs to tell the boss the truth.

GinandGingerBeer Yep, my nerves are still jangling!
I would always phone in if I could. I can't remember asking my H to phone (he died over 25 yrs ago). However as I said earlier, I get absolutely blinding migraines, really incapacitating, and I can't use the phone when I have one. I can't see it! I'm too sick. In all my work places I had a system, if I hadn't arrived as expected a mate phoned me. I usually can pick up the call although it's harder with a mobile because I do often cancel the call by mistake, but my friend at work then knows I have a migraine. Only had to do it once for work luckily, but for going out have had to several times. I actually have to wait till I'm better in order to call a Doctor if my meds don't work!
I do think the system is very hard on people. It does assume people are pulling a fast one or are guilty and have to prove their innocence. It's terrible that managers can't know their employees well enough and respect them enough to gauge when someone is being unreasonable or taking the piss. I have seen people going to work when they are really ill and that spreads infection, just because of their fear of the rules.

I've called for my husband before-I had no idea it was so frowned upon.

It's a big company & a message is left with the relevent person who then passes it on to the department that husband works for.

Well I do think that’s different Ellyess, I have epilepsy and type 1 diabetes and I’d be incapable of speaking following a seizure and near close to death if I’d fallen into a diabetic coma. But I don’t think sleeping off D&V is quite in the same league as your migraines.

UserV Just had to agree with your comment on p6:
I am baffled at the idea that you cannot imagine someone being so ill that they can barely function, let alone hold a conversation on the phone
I am a bit surprised there aren't more people who have experienced being too ill to use the phone or seen someone else in the same state. I've explained about my migraines already, they just incapacitate me. The pain alone is incapacitating, but I can't see either and I keep being sick... and I can't walk.. can't hold things...even slight noises or some one touching me is horrendously painful for my headache and makes me sick. I can't use the phone with a bad migraine.
I would be so scared if I worked in a place with these strict rules where they don't trust you. The fear of having a migraine would probably give me one!

GinandGingerBeer thanks for answering, I'm really sorry to hear about what you have to put up with. I am disabled now, wheelchair user but can walk a bit. Just have pain a lot. I might tend to over-sympathise with people. I do honestly think the OP and her husband were doing their best and that the responder on the phone was diabolical. I got the impression her husband would phone in when he could and she was doing it to be polite and tell them sooner. I also know I have been too sick to make a phone call but whenever I'm ill (like catching a d&v bug) I get a migraine as well.

Since I live on my own I can't ask anyone to call in for me anyway. However since I have a great bunch of colleagues I am pretty sure someone would try to check on me if I didn't turn up for work.
It doesn't sound to me that the OP's husband was too ill to make a brief call. The type of illness described on the thread since isn't the same thing.

**don't employees get a certain amount of sick days allocated, like holidays? If so I don't think they can legally sack him until he's taken the piss and gone over the allocated days.
I’ve never heard of this. Only in cases where you get paid e.g 20 days a month or 4 instances. At my work you don’t get paid but still have to have a back to work interview and the Bradford score. Even if it’s one day.

We have return to work interviews after one day too. They always include how you're feeling and if there is any support you need.

When my husband had to take sick leave, I would always have to call in for him because his boss reckoned that if he was well enough to phone in then he was well enough to work.

What if you don't have a husband (or wife)?

What utter rot. It's our company policy for employees to ring in themselves. Without doubt we don't want them in at work if they are sick or contagious but we do want the opportunity to assess the information they are giving us and forward plan accordingly. Eg I will speak to you again tomorrow, or let me know what the doctor says, or indeed okay it sounds like it's going to be a while I will speak to you in a week. Employers are not monsters but the buck stops with them. I've had an employee bookend this bank holiday by texting in sick against company policy. The fact he doesn't want to speak in person speaks volumes, however it will be me that has to explain to two customers on Tuesday why their projects are not complete, given that as a result of his absence I will have to undertake that unpleasant task a phonecall is not much to ask. Frankly people are individuals and most long term staff become long term staff because they are trustworthy and dedicated. We've had staff off for months with chronic illness and paid them full pay throughout because we know they're good people. However it doesn't make us terrible ogres or bullies if we want to closely monitor those who are just doing the bare minimum for their paycheck. At the end of the day if the bottom line isn't at the forefront of everyone's mind the business and consequently their job won't exist. If this guy worked for me and had had three short absences in quick succession I'd definitely be keeping an eye on his performance and position. I don't think many people would take pleasure in letting an employee go because of poor performance, it's not enjoyable, in fact it's pretty awful but it is a reality of business and a necessary evil. Tarring employers with taunts of bully is frankly naive.

He will probably get a bollocking and maybe a verbal warning. It depends on the company’s absence policy.

Does he already have a warning?

If the OP is genuinely worried her husband’s job might be on the line, advising her to make a complaint against his boss is unlikely to help.

I understand that you should call in yourself, but there are some right jobsworths out there. DD1 has epilepsy, when she worked in a supermarket I called in because she had had a seizure (full tonic-clonic, after a seizure she usually mumbles something barely comprehensible and falls asleep). Person on the phone insisted on talking to her and refused to accept she would not be in a position to speak for an hour or more, I was calling so they could arrange cover if they needed to. Luckily her manager had common sense and didn’t apply the phone-in-yourself or x-days-sickness or a disciplinary rule.

PrinsPolo I'm glad I do work in the UK. I find the notion of having a certain number of sick days very strange. My employer will pay me 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay, and redeploy me into a suitable role if possible (at the same or higher rate of pay).

The Bradford scale has its uses - to identify employees whose sickness might be a concern. (It is unfair to people whose illness is genuinely episodic e.g. epilepsy, but our policy allows you to group different episodes with the same underlying cause together and count them as one instance.) I've held meetings with employees who have triggered. Sometimes that is simply, 'I'm not concerned about the pattern of your absence; I don't see a link between your absences; have you got any health concerns you want to share with me? No action required.' Sometimes it will trigger me to refer someone to occupational health, or raise concerns about their manual handling procedures.

A lot of people get worked up about the fact that they're on a 'stage 2' or whatever, but if your not taking the Mick, I'm not concerned about it.

I think it's generally reasonable to expect people to ring in sick themselves. I would much prefer to speak to them myself; you get a much better idea of when they might be back and you can reiterate policy for keeping in touch. I have started disciplinary procedures over someone else calling in sick for an employee, but that was a little more complex as she wouldn't say what was wrong and it turned out the employee was on a bender. I've also recorded people as unauthorized absence when they've face booked a friend to say they won't be in rather than informing me.

On the subject of sickness for colds, I think it depends on what you do and how the symptoms are affecting you. You won't be passing colds to your coworkers if you 'catch it, bin it, kill it'. In more physical jobs this can be harder to manage. I have recently worked a day when I was fairly unproductive due to a cold, but none of my team came down with it, and the day after I could work fine, even if I was still congested.

Manager sounds like an idiot and what if your hubby was seriously ill in hospital would be be expected to phone in sick then??

First time, he wasn't off sick in hospital though so I'm not sure you can use that as a comparison

If the OP had called and said DP is in hospital after car accident/ heart attack/ fallen down the stairs the boss may have reacted differently.

Someone else phoning in on behalf of an employee would result in instant dismissal at the office I manage.

If this is the UK I don't believe it. I've worked in HR for over 20 years.

Phoning in on behalf of someone else does not constitute gross misconduct. You cannot be instantly dismissed except for gross misconduct.

Even in the event of gross misconduct ... a disciplinary investigation and subsequent hearing would take place.

If such procedures arent followed...it's not in accordance with ACAS guidelines.

They'd find themselves in an ET for dismissing instantly. Assuming the employee knew their rights.

The only time my partner has ever rang in for me was after I had a seizure and that’s because I was incapable of ringing in myself as after I seizure I mumble crap, fall asleep for several hours and then have a blinding headache. My manager was very good about it, covered my shift and asked my partner to get me to ring in myself when I felt better

When I was pregnant I worked full time. Long days on my feet etc. Usually by a Friday I was exhausted so I would phone in sick explaining it was pregnancy related.

My then boss decided this wasn't good enough and wanted a meeting with me to discuss my absences.

I then ended up so stressed and worked up I was off for 3 weeks.

They also refused to allow me to change my uniform slightly to be wearing maternity trousers and I had to wear a shirt, trousers with a belt every day so again by a Friday I was in agony and they wouldn't let me cut my hours.

The day I quit while on mat leave was glorious.

Jesus, how do you all manage to avoid only being sick enough to stay off of work for 3 days a year?

Dp was never sick untill one day 2 years ago.

He was on a trolley in A&E just having been told he was terminally ill and more importantly the bulge in his stomach was a cyst which had about 48 hours before it burst and killed him.

If rang in .

If he had worked for CalFs company he would have been sacked immediately. Instead he had 2 years off .