AIBU to think if you are signed off of work, you cannot go to university?

[LetsLightItUp]

Don't really want to be outing and write a full story. However, in general, if you are signed off of work, surely you can't be in university for the rest of the week?

@EmotionallyDestroyed

You haven't got a clue what we see regarding alleged sickness.

Work in my field for over 2 decades then you can talk. All my HR colleagues past and present have seen the same thing. Not all sickness is genuine.

There is genuine sickness absence and some sickness absence is not genuine.

To believe otherwise is naive at best.

Evidence of the sickness not being genuine is sought before a challenge is made.

Going to uni is completely different to work. Uni you can go in and out when you please. If you are running out pain relief u can just head home. Whereas work you can't do that. It's also much shorter time frame. Uni is 2 hours or so, work is 8 hour straight shift. Bizzarely I'm in a similar type of situation although off sick from both.

You would need a fit note from doctor. For us also workload would just pile up so makes no sense faking it.

It depends completely on the job. Something like nursing, or manufacturing operations where you are on your feet and processes are relying on you, it would have a completely different threshold of health to be able to do it compared to going to a uni lecture where you just have to sit and listen. Kidney issues can be very painful and you need strong painkillers that then mean your head us a it out of it and it would be very irresponsible to be making critical decisions or operating machinery but attending a lecture would be fine.

I think you are jealous OP. I don't think this person is actually having much fun.

When I was waiting for my gallstone op I missed a ton of work. I teach and there's no way I could be in charge of other people's children. You can't just abandon them, for one.

I still kept doing my college course where I could. There it didn't matter if I was drugged up to my eyeballs with opiate painkillers, or if I left the class to be sick or go home.

YABU. And have obviously never had to suffer with gallstones. They can cause a whole host of other issues, including pancreatitis, which is life threatening.

@SandyY2K I second what @EmotionallyDestroyed stated - I'm also glad you are not in my HR department - although I have met people similar who have become intrinsically cynical (especially over that period of time, 20+ years you have worked in HR? I suggest a refresher course...?) -

Of course you have encountered various cases that may not have been genuine, but you have to also remember your primary role is to look after staff, your 'Human Resources', not 'Sick C.I.D'! - but it's quite clear you 'raise an eyebrow' at every employee who would dare to phone in sick -

I'm scared to ask how you deal with staff suffering a mental illness - do they go straight on you 'investigate bullshit' list?

Well said @Tadda!!

I have a couple of GP friends who say they sometimes agree to sign people off to get them out of the surgery. They know their not sick, but they tell me it's the stressof the NHS.

So because you have friends who collude in fraud you assume everyone does it? That probably says more about the people you choose as friends rather than those you work with.

If you actually work anywhere near HR my sympathy is with anyone who has difficulties whilst working and needs support.

@Tadda

In my first post on this thread I said it depends on the nature of the job. There may be times you can do other things, but not work.

However, that isn't always the case and people do take sick leave when they aren't sick. I don't know about this specific situation the OP mentioned... but in a number of cases, activities that sick employees perform don't add up.

It's their colleagues that notify us. I'm not one of their FB friends, who screenshots what they see and forward to HR or to the manager.

My primary role isn't to look after staff who are sick. It's to advise and support mangers to manage the absence of their staff.

It's rather pointless in engaging further with individuals who would rather resort to being rude and resorting to personal attacks on the matter, ad opposed to being adult the discussion. If that makes you feel good about yourself, then do feel free to carry on, but I'm not a dartboard.

I've had gallstones and my gallbladder removed. Your colleague is pulling a fast one. If you are not well enough to work, you are not well enough to go to uni.