Colleague off sick, don't want her to come back. AIBU?

[Penny80]

Colleague currently off sick, has been for two months and will be for another month at least. The reason given on her sick note is not true, but would've been very hard for a doctor to doubt her. She planned to go off sick and told more than one colleague that this was her intent. Manager is aware of this but has to deal with her by the book so unable to confront etc.

Colleague has a history of poor behaviour in the office, she is snippy and outright nasty to other staff, including one in particular who has been very upset by it. In my mind this clearly amounts to bullying. Wouldn't be the first time, colleague was investigated by previous manager (same company different department) for similar behaviour, accusation was completely true but colleague never accepted it - witch hunt, conspiracy blah blah blah. Measures were put in place but she soon after moved teams.

She is a horrible person and although I only work part time I find she makes the office so tense and uncomfortable that even though we've been short staffed that it's much better without her there. Everyone is noticeably happier.

Writing this now I feel like there's no way I'm being unreasonable (maybe people will disagree with that) but DH and a couple of friends who don't know colleague have suggested I should be more understanding and maybe she's really ill (she isn't). It's hard to explain the impact one person has in the office but it's a small team and she's so horrible there's just not enough people to dilute her influence iyswim.

It's not clear at this stage if she will be returning. AIBU to not care about her and hope that she doesn't come back? Feel a bit heartless but secretly happy I don't have to deal with her at the moment. Obviously NC btw.

In some offices there are often people who upset others in various ways and whose absence makes others happy. Bullies or not bullies. Perfectly reasonable thoughts to have, though perhaps ones to keep to yourself until (hopefully) she leaves.

Not unreasonable at all. We had someone like this in our office, ostensibly great fun but actually very toxic and divisive. When this person left, it was as if a great big snide weight had been lifted off us, and the atmosphere improved hugely. You spend too much time at work not to enjoy yourself there.

How do you know that she's not ill? Has she given the game away on social media?

I work with a woman who is negative the entire time, she is toxic and incredibly unpopular to everyone. She's been in the company for over a decade and has this odd way of making you feel like you can't say anything to her, many have commmented on this, her manager included. You are not BU. I wish she would do what she constantly threatens and leaves, but unless a perfect opportunity comes hand delivered that isn't going to happen!

Third sentence in the OP

She planned to go off sick and told more than one colleague that this was her intent.

Thank you for replies. I'm not usually the type of person who would 'celebrate' someone else's bad times, I just feel like we've been made to feel so bad for so long by this horrible woman that it's been so lovely since she hasn't been there.

She describes herself as direct and not afraid to stand up for herself when really what she is is a horrible bully. The rest of us, it's not as if we're perfect, but we're not bad people and we get along quite well most of the time, just really sick and tired of us all being treated so badly.

YANBU to want this employee to go through disciplinary proceedings if they are making the workplace toxic.
If you have hard evidence that this person is not ill then provide it and it might form part of that. Otherwise this is just hearsay and illness is irrelevant.

Sorry, I saw that so no idea why I asked the question!

I'm surprised a doctor would sign someone off for months, though, if there wasn't anything wrong. My doctor would request a few visits in that time.

@HollowTalk she has been signed off three times, for a month at a time. She has actually been quite active on social media, but it's mainly the comments to colleagues that she was planning to go off sick re me knowing she's faking.

How can you be sure the reasons shes off sick are "untrue" ?

So what is she off with that a doctor will sign her off for 3 months if she’s lying?
If she’s a bully you need to speak to management and have it dealt with appropriately.

I'm not awful, nasty or toxic, thank you @WhaleofaThyme but you have accurately described my colleague there. I haven't seen her sick note, and I'm not suggesting the doctor is lying. The doctor has been lied to.

Look, why don't her colleagues just dob her in? Why don't they tell their manager that she was planning to be off sick?

@whaleofatime that’s a good point, how have you seen her sick paper?

The reason given on her sick note is not true,

Actually, you are accusing the doctor of lying with this statement alone. How do you know what the sick note says if you haven't seen it? Who has divulged this information to you?

Grow up and perhaps look at your own personality before blaming others.

Whatever the reason for her absence, you are (all) dreading the day she comes back. Can you not get together with your colleagues and ask the manager to rearrange the team or the office so she'll work by herself or on something different when she gets back? It's horrible when you have got someone nasty at work. The woman she picked on/upset in particular must be dreading her return.

@whaleofathyme OP sounds nothing of the sort, are you the person in the op's message?

@Weddingplanningandlovingit Nope. And bitching about a colleague, accusing them of lying, accusing a doctor of lying - really doesn't sound like a nice person at all to me.

Off sick colleague told everyone about the contents of her sick note. I haven't been shown it at all. My manager is not going to show that to anyone. And I am definitely not accusing the doctor of lying, colleague is a master manipulator and has lied, after telling people she was going to do this. She just assumed she would have support in the office. She is devoid of emotional intelligence and has no idea how she is thought of.

Yes but op. How do you know?
Unless you’re the doctor or the HR person how could you’know’ that it’s fake ?

Maybe you can’t do anything about the sick note but address your concerns with your manager about the bullying issue

I have had an employee just like this. It is extremely easy to keep getting signed off by your GP if the reason for being off is stress and/or anxiety. And before people jump in to support the poor stressed one, I knew, for a multitude of reasons that I can’t be bothered to go into, that she was pulling a fast one. She knew I knew and didn’t give a shit.

But Whale She hasn't accused a doctor of lying. She has accused the colleague of lying to her GP for some ailment that it would be hard to disprove. She said she knows this as the colleague told other people that this was her intention.

So... why is OP not a nice person?

The reason she is doing this is because there have been some changes in the office recently and she didn't like them. She regarded herself as indispensable and thought she could hold my manager to ransom by going off sick until the changes were reversed. She has come back in once, realised people were coping without her and that no one thanked her for her walking out and left again.

@WhaleofaThyme I'm sorry for your situation, I think I might've read a thread of yours and commented in support under another name. I think you're possibly taking this a bit too personally in the circumstances. I'm sure your not my colleague and this situation is different. I'm sorry if I've upset you but I can assure I'm not any of the horrible things you've accused me of being.

Not BU
Hope they fire her arse eventually

If she is so bad and a bully why not complain ? Easier said than done I know