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?

Travelling Spoon's governing board are being poorly advised by their clerk to governors and being too "operational". The Headteacher should apply policy and make decisions on staff absence. Governors don't even need to know what is wrong with a member of staff if they are ill, and in fact shouldn't.

Governors are supposed to operate at a strategic level, not get involved in day to day decisions like this.

I don;t work in a school but my workplace have some relatively clear guidelines for this sort of thing (I say relatively as there are frequently grey areas involved when it comes to health matters):

Purely cosmetic surgery and self-funded - annual leave or unpaid BUT if complications arise which delay recovery and/or need additional medical attention then this can be covered by sick leave if certified by a doctor.

Elective for clear medical reasons - sick leave

Elective for indirect medical reasons - the day of the surgery/pre-ops etc will be AL or unpaid but recovery time is sick leave.

OP, I think you would fall into either the first or third category here but it really depends how your health would be impacted by not having the procedure done at this time and whether you can get a doctor to document that.

@TravellingSpoon I’m not a teacher but I would be fucking furious if my private life (funerals, illness) was being laid out and discussed in a meeting judging the merits of whether I “deserved” the time off!!!

The school where I am a governor would not give you paid leave for this, it's against policy.

To the other poster who is a governor, the only absence governors should be involved in is that of the head teacher.

Just say you have to have an operation, something 'delicate', They aren't going to ask what and your doc will write a certificate if needed.

Well if the medical advice is that they need to be replaced then that’s different to just getting them done in the first place I think

Exactly. It makes no difference why you originally chose to have them (and it's none of your employer's business), the point is whether there's now a medical necessity.

If I - say - got fake nails and as a result one got infected and I had to have finger surgery or time off work or something, it wouldn't be considered ineligible for sick leave! Highly unlikely scenario but you get my point

OP you're now talking about it as cosmetic surgery. And that you're having the implants replaced. If the current implants are a risk to your health the NHS would remove them as it would be for medical reasons. That they're being replaced, and that you can only see your surgeon on Fridays because he works in the NHS the other days suggest again that there is a significant cosmetic element to this.

I think you have to be upfront (so to speak ) about it and ask for unpaid leave. Before you have the op, and when you return to work, people will ask about it, partly because they're concerned there's something seriously wrong and partly because they're nosy. You'll be involved in a lot of fudging, and it could get awkward.

Just tell HR you are going in hospital for surgery. You should get sick pay if you can't work as you have paid NI stamps.

I'm not surprised that some schools still have the governors far too involved in staff absences/illness etc but it's very wrong. Even if it's the absence of the Headteacher, generally the only person who knows what the Headteacher's illness is will be the Chair of Governors. Any decisions that have to be taken by the board can only discuss the absence, not the reason for it.

The devil is in the detail. If OP has been advised that it's medically necessary to have the implants removed or replaced within x months then that would usually qualify for sick leave, if she can produce a doctor's letter.

If, however, it's simply the case that the implants have reached the end of their life and it's recommended that they be replaced then this is a foreseeable consequence of having them put in in the first place and it would be reasonable to expect her to plan this surgery during annual leave, which means school holidays for a term-time job. It would be reasonable for OP's employer to expect her to find another reputable surgeon who is able to perform the surgery during school holidays.

Op - you're a teacher - just get hold of a copy of the staff absence policy and have a read. It should be part of the staff handbook, which hopefully they have.

You should never have arranged this during school time , and then to contemplate dishonesty.
Use a different surgeon in your own time!

Speak to the head, offer to take a Friday before a holiday off as unpaid leave. The head will grant it as every little helps on the budget sheet and you aren’t missing important curriculum time.

Surely as someone has already pointed out of it is a medical necessity then the NHS will do it rather than private. I don't know what your job role is but if you worked as a ta or teacher for example as a parent I would be pretty pissed off if you took time off for cosmetic reasons.

I would talk honestly to the school. You’d be worrying about getting found out the whole time if you lie and it’s just not worth it.
If you’re not bothered about being paid then you have nothing to lose by telling the truth but lots to lose by lying.

You don't have to say what you're having done. I had an elective surgery in term time and Im glad I did because it took the best part of the summer term and the summer holidays to fully recover.
Just explain that the hospital won't do it during half term and enjoy the sick pay!

Just explain that the hospital won't do it during half term and enjoy the sick pay!

So the Op should lie? The truth is the surgery can be done in half term if the Op chooses a different consultant. As others have said it doesn't actually sound like its an urgent issue and as such the OP should be arranging it during her ample time off.

It's going to be blatantly obvious what the surgery is when the OP produces a letter from a cosmetic surgeon!

I don't get the impression that OP is a teacher. I don't think many schools have the specific example of elective cosmetic surgery codified in their ts and cs but Oxfordshire do for their maintained schools, p8:

"When an employee wishes to take time off to undergo elective surgery, such as cosmetic surgery, they must discuss the period of absence they are requesting with the head teacher or line manager. Employees who are employed term time only are expected to schedule elective surgery and the consequent recovery time during school holidays. Annual leave or unpaid leave may be agreed for staff employed all year."

schools.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/schools/files/folders/folders/documents/HR/Policies/ManagingSicknessAbsence.pdf

OP, you say you're new to term-time only employment. In your previous roles, would you have been expected to book annual leave for this procedure? If so, you should schedule it during school holidays. The compromise suggested above of taking a Friday at the end of term as unpaid leave seems a good one if you are determined to have this particular surgeon.

I went through something similar with my employer that wasn’t covered by the sickness policy (I’m not a teacher). They said it was at my managers discretion. Bit shit but fortunately my manager said I could have the time and actually gave me sick leave for it (paid).
I’d be honest. It’s surgery that you need and you should be able to have the surgeon you want.

Do they need replacing because they lose a risk to your health or because they don’t look as good anymore?

^ this

If it is a health reason then you should get sick leave.

All it takes is a google of the surgeons name from a nosey school secretary and they will know exactly what you've had done!

It depends on the surgery !! An elective hip replacement , versus facelift ?

If you have been advised by your GP to have the implants removed for your health, it is not cosmetic surgery and you should be entitled to sick leave. Totally different from having implants put in for cosmetic reasons.

Don't call the secretary. He's not going to change his holidays for you. I used to work on Harley street and the consultant would work term time only. He'd fly back for cancer but that's it. That was his choice and yeah he lost patients over it but he was the best so people mostly waited. So either have it in term time or find someone else don't go harassing the secretary she can't do anything.