Sick leave for elective surgery.Work in a school.

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

I get paid sick pay but this wouldn't be an illness so I'm not sure where I stand with this.
I'm booked to have elective surgery mid January
,i couldnt get a date in school holidays as my surgeon is on annual leave as has children.Should I just be honest with work or fake an illness? They seem pretty reasonable but we are obviously not allowed holiday days term time so would have to be off sick.Does anyone know the best way to approach this?

@Penguin I have,he has all half terms off

Maybe change surgeons then?

@TheNinkiestNonk hes got the best credentials in my area

Or can't he do the op just before he and you have the time off for school holidays? The. You would only need to take day or days rather than a week?

he has all half terms off

Cant he rearrange so that he can do your surgery in one of the holidays, surely he doesn't need every half term and all summer off for childcare? Given that you are probably paying him quite a nice chunk of cash and presuming its under his advice that the surgery is required you would think he would be able to compromise.

Either that or is there another consultant who can do the surgery during the holidays (not sure if this is a viable option as i've never had cosmetic surgery but does it have to be this one man who does the work?)

He only does cosmetic operations a Friday,so this narrows it down.He does nhs the rest of the time.I think I'm going to ring his secretary and go through my situation again

Just use a different surgeon who's available during school holidays.

I'm a school governor. At our meetings we will sit and go through absence requests. Most are paid ( illness, I'll child, funerals etc) some are unpaid but we have never unauthorised an absence.

In my experience yours would go through unpaid if you were in my school.

Just arrange it for the last Friday before they break up to minimise time off?

You need to be honest with your employer and let them decide.

They may be happy for you to take it as sick or unpaid leave and arrange cover, or they may quite reasonably ask you to use a different surgeon so you can have the surgery in holiday time as it is private surgery so you are not restricted by NHS waiting lists and it is planned not urgent.

If it were me I'd wait till Feb / Easter school hols and have it done the Friday before the hols start and then you have that week or 2 weeks for recovery?

He only does cosmetic operations a Friday

Surely your best option in this instance if it really does need to be him who does the work is to book it in for a Friday before half term?

Have you looked at you’re schools staff absence policy?
Your school should have an absence policy that clearly state what you’re entitled to - number of days, paid or unpaid for all types of absence E.g. illness, dependent care, funerals, medical appointments, etc...

I’d definitely be honest with your head.

If you've been advised on medical grounds, that makes all the difference.

I've had breast cancer this year and gone through treatment for that, then was advised that due to me gene test results, they would suggest a bilateral mastectomy in place of radiotherapy. I know it's slightly different, but you could say that it's elective for preventative measures, although my employers have said take as much time as I need to recover.

I would tell them now so they have plenty of time to arrange cover and then I guess it will be up to the sickness policy whether you are paid or not, its not like you are going on holiday. At least on a Friday you will have the weekend to recover

I agree that you are under no obligation to disclose what surgery you are having. Inform your workplace that you will be undergoing an Operation for a private matter and go from there - agree if you can get a fit note from the surgeon that says “post operative recovery” or similar that would be good!

If you don't disclose what is for surely there is a risk that paid sick leave wont be approved?

@AnswersandQuestions the sickness policy says nothing about cosmetic surgery

I don't know of any schools where you would receive sick pay for this. You might be granted unpaid leave but it would be at the headteacher and governors' discretion. The general rule of thumb is that if you would expect to book annual leave for something in a 'normal' job then it should take place during the school holidays in a term time job.

Go back to your surgeon's secretary, explain the situation, and ask if the surgeon can recommend a colleague who could carry out the procedure for you. He might make an exception and work a holiday Friday to do your op, but if not at least you would have the reassurance of his personal recommendation.

I would be honest with the school and see if you can come to an agreement. If they find out in future why you were actually off, it could cause you problems. Also, as someone upthread asked, who advised you that the operation is necessary and why? Is it because there is something wrong with the implants that could affect your health or is it just because they don't look good (for whatever reason) anymore?

"11:00TravellingSpoon

I'm a school governor. At our meetings we will sit and go through absence requests. Most are paid ( illness, I'll child, funerals etc) some are unpaid but we have never unauthorised an absence.

In my experience yours would go through unpaid if you were in my school."

Why are you meddling in operational matters? Governors are strategic. You should be setting the policy, then allowing your HT to implement it.

PS don't lie to the school.

I think you should say you need to have surgery and you will need x amount of time off. You don’t need to tell them all the details. Whilst it’s annoying for the school it’s better the sooner they know, presumably you’re having the breast implants replaced for a medically necessary reason?

Do they need replaced for safety reasons eg they are leaking and going to cause you harm? What happens if you don't get it done then?

TravellingSpoon - I’ve never heard of governors making these kind of management decisions except when it’s involving a headteacher. Why doesn’t the head make these decisions?