To think this is mean

[lizzlebizzle33]

Where I work (very big well known coffee shop) if you are Ill unexpectedly you are required to cover your shift yourself or you have to come in.

This morning a young girl I work with has messages on our group chat to say she is being sick and in a lot of pain, all our store manager has to say is she needs to call everyone to ask if they can do her shift today.

She has been very short and rude with her the poor girl, so now in between going to the toilet to be sick she is having to ring around other staff and other stores to try and get her shift covered.

AIBU to think this is just mean? Why is this not the job of the manager? I've never worked somewhere before that would make you feel this bad about being ill. Nobody wants to be ill, I really don't think it's fair.

Name and shame. Then customers can avoid the chain where sick people are working with food.

Is she preparing food in-between being sick. Yuck.
Your manager is BVU

Of course it’s not fair
Tell her to go to bed and turn her phone off

That's a terrible way to treat staff.

I agree, name and shame. I don't want to support a company who behaves like this.

YANBU. That should absolutely be a job for the manager. That's a pretty shitty way to treat staff. Even if that's company policy (awful!) any half decent manager would take that on themselves.

WTF? I can't even begin to imagine having to do that! Why isn't the manager sorting it out?

It’s not just mean but pretty unhygienic (not envy)

Broken Britain. Is it costa?

Get on Twitter (anon account if necessary) & ask their shiny head office account why their sickness policies don’t allow people with D&V to be off work (& away from food).

Or name the chain and we’ll all link to this thread.

Surely this can't be company policy?

Please name them, that's awful.

That's definitely the manager's responsibility. It's fine to say that if you want to change a shift for personal reasons you have to sort out your own replacement. But if you're ill, that's up to the manager. I would definitely query this with company HR and get them to take it up with the manager.

YANBU, the manager should definitely be trying to arrange cover not the sick employee! I would screenshot the group chat and in an ideal world make a complaint. If she's getting the ill employee to call around other stores, it may make it easier for the complaint not to be traced back to you.

Oh, and in no circumstances should people be coming in to work in a food preparation place when they are ill. No matter what. That needs reporting up as well.

I used to have to do this 35 years ago when I was barmaiding. You were rostered, if you wanted time off you had to get one of the other barmaids to cover for you, or you didn't get the time.

McDonald’s used to do this too. Awful

I definitely think you should name and shame. Sick people are usually advised not to prepare food.

Sadly this is a lot more common than you think. I've seen medical staffing at several different NHS Trusts to encourage doctors calling in sick to attempt 'swaps' with colleagues before going off formally.

Im so pleased everyone thinks this is awful, had horrible suspicion it might be commonplace, glad to know its not. Dont cafes have to display a hygiene rating,? A call to the council environmental health might be in order.

So they are in effect trying to stop people taking time off when they are actually ill, and presumably serving food and drink to people with sick people handling it.

So not only Dickensian, but actually negligent about food safety.

Bloody outrageous! I agree, name and shame

Retail is notorious for this I remember when my dad died I phoned in to let them know and they asked me if I was still going to do my shift!! I was also expected to find cover for the funeral if I was rostered on.
Another time i got held up at knife point and my manager phoned irate asking if I was going to be in for my next shift as people had phoned in sick and she would have to do an13 hour shift otherwise.

That's a terrible way to treat staff. And bloody stupid too - sick staff shouldn't be coming in if they can't get their shifts covered, especially if they work with food.

It should absolutely be the job of managers to get shifts covered.

Surely this can't be company policy?

No it won’t be officially. So blasting their twitter account with links to this thread should get them to issue a hasty reminder to all outlets that this is unacceptable.

Oh my goodness, this is a public health issue, she should not be anyware near the coffee shop preparing food and drinks for the public. Totally irresponsible of the manager, name and shame. I want to avoid that coffee shop.