To think she’s faking?

[Appleofmypie]

One of my team at work is 14 weeks pregnant. She’s been off sick for 5 weeks with severe hyperemesis and still has a week left on her sick note (she’s being signed off for 2 weeks at a time)

By complete coincidence she is Facebook friends with a friend of mine.

My friend has put some pictures on Facebook this morning of her Greek holiday she’s still on, and my work colleague is in most of them - sunbathing, eating, swimming in the sea, playing volleyball. She has obviously blocked me as she is tagged in the pictures but her name is unclickable.

I’m gonna sound like a complete cow but I think she’s faking her sickness.
She’s on full pay from work and we’re having to pay an agency temp to cover her work too. It’s a small company that is struggling and I doubt we’re going to make any profit this month due to this.

My questions are:

Should I tell/show our boss?
What evidence of hyperemesis does a GP need to see to sign you off or Could it just be on her say so?
Is she actually doing anything illegal?
I know that pregnancy sickness is covered separately to normal in terms of disciplinary but if it’s proven she’s faking could it still be gross misconduct?

Thanks

You did the right thing.
I wonder if the amount of pregnant women who suddenly suffered form hyperemesis shot up after the duchess of Cambridge suffered from it .

Putting aside the over whether or not she’s actually got HG - in fairness, these things affect different people in different ways, even if her story sounds a bit far fetched.

What I’d be asking if I were the business owner was why she didn’t give me a heads up she was heading off while I was paying her her full wage. And why she didn’t booked annual leave....

The OP hasn't seen the sick line. She is relying on office gossip for the diagnosis. And even if that gossip/information came from her boss, the boss may not have divulged the detail of her colleague's sick line because it's none of OP's business. In fact, she shouldn't have divulged any of the detail at all.
The scope of the DWP is completely irrelevant.

In which case she can report her colleague in al good conscience. If she’s genuinely sick she will have medical records to prove it.

Personally if my job was at risk I'd be putting my energy into finding a different job rather than trying to get a pregnant colleague sacked. Horses for courses I guess

No chance she could be doing both?

And why is it relevant that the skiver is pregnant?

She is relying on office gossip for the diagnosis.

Is it office gossip if the pregnant woman herself said it?

Sounds like she's faking and that is fraud. I would absolutely confidentially tell your boss with proof.

Yesss I love the comment about asking about her Greece vacation in front of everyone LoL

I think it is unacceptable to go on holiday while signed off sick unless you've cleared it with your boss. I can't imagine a scenario where your boss would say yep off you go have a great week, either.

How about a bus driver has an eye operation and is banned from driving for a month but is otherwise ok. The company are unable to provide any suitable alternative work in an office, so the employee is off sick but perfectly capable of enjoying some sunshine abroad.

I think as the business owner I’d be most pissed off about the fact the CF was stupid enough to allow her friend to share photos of her on social media.

Without this knowledge business owner would still be paying CF’s full wage, sharing her workload, paying a temp PLUS agency fees and the temp’s annual leave accrual in good faith under the belief CF was very unwell.

I’d be most pissed off that she’d not only had the cheek to lie about it, but then also be totally indiscrete in the assumption I’d never find out.

How about a bus driver has an eye operation and is banned from driving for a month but is otherwise ok. The company are unable to provide any suitable alternative work in an office, so the employee is off sick but perfectly capable of enjoying some sunshine abroad.

Then if a colleague reports him/her then he/she will be fine. Simple.

Yes definitely show your boss.

Well enough to go holiday, well enough to go to work. Only one exception to that I would say (and personally I don’t always think this either) is MH/stress issues relating to your job.

@SickofPeterRabbit

Wrong. In a tribunal, (if the person in question was fired and brought it to a tribunal, that is) the pregnant person would be required to prove she wasn't in Greece. OP has proof she was. Very fire-able

I have no idea why you think this. The employee doesn’t have to “prove” anything - that isn’t how employment tribunals work.

It’s on the employer to demonstrate that they had a genuine and reasonable belief that she committed misconduct. They don’t have to prove it either. They just have to believe, on the balance of probabilities, that she lied about being sick to go on holiday. If they can show that, she can be fairly dismissed.

If she's lying it will all come out anyway. That's the thing with the truth

I had severe hyperemesis and I couldn't even go from room to room. No way could I have even got to the airport let alone Cope with the flight. As other say, gather evidence while you can

In think the fact she has blocked the op speaks volumes.

Wow. That's cfery at its finest.

Are you sure the photos are definitely from now, not some taken a while ago and only just posted? If yes, I’d screen shot and show your boss. Although this might be a challenging one for them to resolve, they would at least have an opportunity to, or at least a frank discussion with your colleague. I had a few weeks off with severe morning sickness because I really couldn’t function in any area of life. No way at all I could have gone on holiday! The very thought would have been hideous and that wasn’t even hyperemesis. She may well have hit the 14 week mark and suddenly felt better, but it would be all very co-incidental that this fitted with a pre-booked holiday, and also odd that the time hadn’t already been booked off for that.

There are times that you can be signed off and still go on holiday

The whole point of this is that if she has what she said she has she wouldn't physically be able to

You did the right thing to report her.

Going on holiday is often suggested for depression.

By who? The depressed person. Bullocks. If you go on holiday, you take holiday pay or no pay. It's really really that simple.

You’ve done the right thing OP.

When I had HG I couldn’t even get out of bed. One of the many times I needed to be taken to hospital I tore all the muscles in my legs on the tiny walk from the car to emergency because I hadn’t moved in so long.

My DH had to take my sick notes in every two weeks because there’s no way I could have.

They just have to believe, on the balance of probabilities, that she lied about being sick to go on holiday. If they can show that, she can be fairly dismissed.

And I hope she is. With zero maternity. Serves her right.

“Both parties have to build a case against one another”

You said they have to “prove” which is not the same as building a case against one another. I think you mean the same thing, but you unfortunately are not using the correct language.