To be sick of being made to feel like a lazy lier for phoning in sick?

[QuestionableMouse]

I've got tonsillitis and feel like death warmed up. I'm meant to be in work tonight and tomorrow but there's no way I can go because I'm not well enough and can hardly talk.

Phoned up and got my stores business manager who gave me the third degree on my symptoms, asked if I'd be in tomorrow and then hung up on me! It's left me feeling like he doesn't believe me and basically thinks that I'm lying. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've been off twice this year, once with a migraine where I'd vomited so couldn't work and once with D&V.

Anyone else's boss make them feel like this?

It seems everyone thees days is just assumed to be calling in sick cos they are hungover or cant be bothered.

I've worked where the policy has been that you are responsible for finding your own cover. Cue incidents where people have got their husbands to come in with them and given instructions in how to open the store whilst lying curled up on the shop floor.

Or staff throwing up in bins.

If you are well enough to call multiple people to come in and cover you are probably well enough to work. One person should suffice.

I was in hospital once and dp had to call in sick for me ( no access to a plug to charge my phone as i wasn't in a proper ward)

The person he spoke to told him I'd have to call myself

I hate that you have to find your own replacement nonsense. I have not yet been subjected to this, but my kids have. Reasons I might not be able to call round to find my own replacement; I’m puking, I have a migraine, I’ve lost my voice, I’ve been in an accident, I’m in the hospital.

When my mum was dying in a care home I told my office I had to use my lunch break to go and see her as the nurses said she didn’t have long. She died an hour or so after I got there and when I called the office to tell them I couldn’t come back, they said “what are we supposed to do about your work?!”

I had a c section and was still in hospital (baby was early and maternity leave hadn’t started) and my manager still thought I could come in, even though it’s illegal for the first two weeks after a birth.

Not forgetting that that if you work in a hotel or casino or pub etc which are open long hours, the only people available to do the open shift you were on, are the peope who are on the closing shifts. And whos going to come on at 6/7/8 in the morning when they are wrong til 10/11/12 that night.

I work in McDonald's so it's shifts. Just one of the reasons why I'm working on getting out of there.

DH is a chef and has often been told to go in to work when he has D&V. To prepare people's food.
He was asked to come into work when DS was 3 days old despite being told that he could have 2 weeks unpaid leave. His boss actually came to the door to order him back to work when DS was 1 week old he managed to put them off a couple more days but we'll never get those 2 weeks again, I'm so sad that he missed out on that time.

When I was a nurse I had some surgery (in the hospital where I worked) but was notpermitted much time off to recover. I had my stitches out in my teabreak on a shift.

If you are well enough to call multiple people to come in and cover you are probably well enough to work.

^What a load of nonsense

I remember having to curl up on the floor under my manager's desk with a migraine in one job, I then got sent to a meeting outside the office that afternoon, whilst still feeling absolutely horrendous, by the time I'd got there on the bus I was worse and half way through the meeting knew I was going to throw up. The toilets were in the basement and by the time I had got down there, I threw up all over the door, it was just awful and so embarrassing.

Poor you OP, DS has tonsillitis at the moment and he's so ill, he can barely even get up today.

The problem will be that it's Friday and Saturday night and unfortunately they're the 2 shifts people are most likely to skive.

When I worked in a 24/7 industry with round the clock operations, sickness on Friday and Saturday night shifts was far, far higher than other days/shifts.

It was known as "Saturday night fever!"

misspiggy

I meant that its often alot more stressful when you have to make multiple calls. Calling peope to then get numbers if other peope phoning managers back to ask of they have any other ideas, having to drag yourself in for or three hours cos the one person who answered their phone has plans til lunchtime all the whole stressing about what to do about the rest if the day and worrying thet will decide as you managed the morning you are fine etc

Its ridiculous, stressful and often harder work to do than just going in and shouldnt be something expected of staff.

I don’t think that’s nonsense at all misspiggy

Certainly the last thing you should have to do if properly ill, too ill to work, is be phoning around arranging cover.

I worked with food where people were constantly forced to come and work when they are sick or they risk losing out on shifts in the future. It’s very common to see people run off the shop floor to go be sick, beg to be allowed home for the manager to just order them back on the shop floor. I rang in sick once with d & v, then the manager rung me back demanding me to come into work as one of the other managers had said I was lying trying to get rid of my shift, she even said she’s told the boss and he’s waiting in the office for me to arrive, so of course I drag myself into work feeling like utter crap for the boss to not even be there, the manager laughed and said I didn’t think you’d actually come, then I threw up on the shop floor and left.

@DowntownAbby I work Fri-Mon so can't be helped unfortunately. Remember I've only had three shifts off since the start of the year so it's not like I've got form.

Yanbu. Unfortunately this time of year especially in retail it is manic everyone is stressed.
My job is the same I felt shit last week, rarely call in sick. I ended up going on for the 2nd half of my shift, 2 others had called in sick earlier my boss nearly cried when I phoned him.

Work places are so harsh these days. I used to be a home carer and had a severe asthma attack in one of the homes. Had to run out and speed my way to the hospital in my own car and latter on messaged my mum to phone work to say I hadn’t finished with that patient but had made sure to lock her door and put key in safe. I ended up on ITU with that asthma attack and was very ill with it. Had phone call from work once I was released from hospital saying my shifts would be cut to zero hours until further notice as I had left a patient without finishing the daily diary thing we had to fill in :/ crazy world.

Also worked in a bar where one night a colleague kept running off to be sick and manager wouldn’t let her leave. Same bar tried to make a girl come back to work phoning her a few hours after she’d had a stillbirth and saying she’d be fired if she didn’t man up and come in

Some of these are shocking.

And what's with return to work forms.

Medical information is between dr and patient why do you have to go tell some area manager guy in tight pants your sorry you werent in work but the world was falling out your vagina...

If you dont believe it trust people then why are they even working for you

We don't do back to work meetings in this job but I had them in my last job. I really dislike the-I don't want my boss knowing medical details about me.

why do you have to go tell some area manager guy in tight pants your sorry you werent in work but the world was falling out your vagina...

One of the best sentences Ive read on Mn

I hate the way jobs are like this! I know some people do take advantage but most don’t and are genuinely unwell! I’m in a job now that I’m a member of a union and it does seem to make a difference having worked in jobs in the past without one! It’s ridiculous to expect people to find cover too, in my opinion and it’s not worth much having no hr experience, I think it should be up to management who are paid more for the responsibility of running the place!

I'm lucky that I don't have to find cover but I also don't get sick pay. I can't really afford to lose shifts which is why I've been at work sick the the last few shifts.

@questionablemouse

I'm just saying that's probably why he's got the hump - not that I'm doubting you're ill or think you should go in.

I used to work in a call centre which was a British Gas/Centrica company. The call centre was run by a power tripping clique. Just before I left they brought in a rule which was a GP note was needed for every single occasion of sickness absence, even if only a day's absence.

Another company I worked for - this time a law firm - had no sick pay at all, and anyone calling in sick was put through to the HR Manager, who was also an employment solicitor/partner.