AIBU to be peeved about this?

[SuperMeerkat]

I had an absence seizure this morning. For anyone not in the know, they cause wandering, confusion and a headache generally. I knew I couldn’t go to work as I would need a lie in to feel better and just chill. I emailed my boss to say what had happened and said I would start work at 9-9.30 when my head fuzziness had gone and I felt better. I normally start around 7.30-7.45 btw. I have a work laptop and can log into Office365, SharePoint and other secure systems to do my role at home but in my jammies.

I’m feeling better now but still worried about a tonic clonic seizure as an absence develops into a TC about 25% of the time. She’s now miffed but my way of thinking is that I could have had an entire day off sick yet i’m still working, just a bit slower. My commute is an hour so I haven’t had to do that plus haven’t had to do all the other morning routines (lunch, get dressed, makeup etc) Assuming no TC I should be back in the office tomorrow. I thought I was being conscientious but obviously not...

When you say "she's now miffed" what has she said?

(YANBU btw, I have TC seizures)

What exactly did she say? It's a health and safety issue, and you are being diligent by working at your pace from home.

What is she miffed about? If you’re sick you’re sick. When I’m sick my boss tells me not to work just rest.

Does she think you just wanted a lie in?

Are you authorised to work from home?
What is your working from home procedure?
Did you ask, or just tell your boss?

From her point of view (and HR) it may be better if you had taken the day off sick.

If you have a TC seizure later today, and can't continue to work, they would have to try and decide which percentage of the day you actually worked, and how much should be down as sick leave.

Although it may make sense to you, it's not really practical for a business.

@LochJessMonster- Yes, this is why I have a work laptop and have an official 1 day a week working from home.

@WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles It was more the tone of it (so maybe i’m overthinking it) She said that it wasn’t acceptable to just say I was working from home, you kind of had to hear it really. Although I have an official work from home day, the occupational health report says it can in exceptional circumstances be ‘fluid’ I need
To clarify I guess whether i’ll Still be allowed my other work from home day this week.

it wasn’t acceptable to just say I was working from home
I think this is crucial. You may want to WFH but it is really up to your manager to decide if you can, or whether you should take the day as sick. You can't just decide for yourself.

It sounds like she's annoyed that you just said "I'm ill so I'll work from home."
Does she understand your condition? (Presumably it's ongoing)

Maybe you need to have a proper conversation and put something in place to make things easier for you both next time this happens.

I also have a work laptop but mines so we can work from other locations (client offices, on the train if travelling for work etc) rather than so we can choose to WFH when we like

Fair points from everyone. We have quite a lot of sick in our team at the moment though and I just really want to help and not take sick unless it’s genuinely needed. One person has just left and another goes in six weeks. We’ve gone from 10 people to 4 so if I feel I can work, even at 50% capacity I just want to pull together as part of the team.

Honestly there's no point working at 50% performance because you're likely to make mistakes or miss things and cause more work in the long run

I would ask for HR clarification to be honest . You could have taken the day as sick, however you've worked from home, meeting a business need. With the occupational health review I would not ask her but ask HR if you will be allowed to work from home another day as you were unable to travel for health and safety reasons and there is still the potential for this to develop into a sick day.

I'm not entirely sure I'd want a member of my staff working from home if, by their own admission, they're only working at 50%.

Also I don't think you helped yourself by emailing and telling her "I'll start later, and work from home".

Do you have a sickness procedure at work and have you followed it?

Is she aware of your condition? I would make sure she's informed about your seizures - how often they happen, what is likely to happen afterwards, recovery time etc. Does she maybe think you're lying entirely?

I think YABU - ie telling your manager you’re WFH when i) it’s only in exceptional circumstances you can do so (over and above your contractual entitlement, ii) you would be doing a diminished day (hours and quality of output), and iii) you did not ask your manager or suggest this but informed her

Hope you are in a trade union.

What do you want your manager to record this as today?

You’re starting later and working at drastically reduced capacity. 50%. So you’re effectively doing less than half a days work?

You may think you’re doing her and the team a favour but when it comes to reporting on performance you probably haven’t.

On the back of what @skiptheskip said, if performance is lower when WFH, as a general rule, management will use this as an excuse to stop staff WFH on a regular basis.

Do you commute by public transport?

Are you asking to swap your wfh days, or do you still intend to wfh again later this week?

Are you salaried or hourly/day rates of pay? Do you get paid sick leave? How is your sickness record looking?

Ultimately, you were meant to be in the office at 7:45, you didn’t show. Your working at home wasn’t authorised today. So are you phoning in sick or is this unauthorised absence for your record?

@Aridane 1) Do you not consider a seizure an exceptional circumstance?
2) True i’m doing less than a day’s work but off sick means 0 work. This means half a day’s work.
3) Asking/Telling yes I suppose people might get annoyed but I need quiet time. Like now when i’m On lunch. Rather than sitting in a noisy break room I can sit in my silent living room.

2) True i’m doing less than a day’s work but off sick means 0 work. This means half a day’s work.

Will you be accepting half a days pay?

See, @SuperMeerkat, if I started work an hour late I'd tell my boss I'd work through my lunch to make the time up, or I'd ask her to log it as half a day sick and start work at lunchtime (and work at full capacity because you said yourself you'd have been feeling well enough to work by 9:30)

Well she’s told you the issue - you told her, rather than asked her.
I know that my boss would have zero issue with me WFH if MH child was off school sick. I have the right to not work - emergency carer leave.
But I’d still say “is it OK if I...” not “I need to” or “I’m going to”.

You say we kind of had to hear it... I suspect your boss would say the same thing!