Employers being unreasonable

[timestheyarechanging]

I have Covid (or did). Ive been ill for about 10 days. Partner got much more poorly and ended up in ICU for 7 days, out of hospital on Sunday eve. he's thankfully out now but is still very ill.
I've been off sick since I tested positive by PCR and still don't feel well. Advice from 119 is to stay indoors. Work called me this morning and essentially said I have to go in as my 10 days isolation is over. It is but I don't feel well. Manager said to me that another manager had it and is back at work so why aren't I?? My son had it and had no symptoms, my daughter had it and was ill for a couple of days, my partner ended up in icu and nearly died. Obviously this affects everybody differently but I'm expected back into work, feeling unwell, just because my manager is.
Do I have to go in? I can't work from home, it's retail

Can you email the GP? Sick notes can be back dated if needed. An email would give you the opportunity to outline your symptoms and they may issue a sick note based on this - depending on the surgery I guess. It explains the issues without explaining over the phone which may be easier.
It is unreasonable of an employer to insist that you attend work if you are unwell.
An independent HR specialist will back you all the way and take your employer to town - I can recommend one if you’d like.

@blablablafoghorn

Are you vaxxed?

Why would that matter? OP is still unwell so shouldn't be at work

Self cert for the 7 days then you need a sick note. You just have to keep trying.

Does your GP practice have a website? If they do & have a "contact us" option or a stated e-mail address you should be able to request a note that way.

[quote timestheyarechanging]@sweeney thank you for stating the obvious but I'm up all night coughing, feel dreadful and can't get through to my GP![/quote]
Can you do an E consultation to request a sick note? We have lots of request our surgery this way.

econsult.net/nhs-patients

I emailed my doctors to request a sick note which worked fine.
But you are nbu to get signed off if you still feel ill. We have someone whose been off for months with long covid and others have had more than 2 weeks off!

You need a sick note if you're unable to work still

I'd want a sick note from your GP to confirm that you're still ill.

Fairly normal practice, as not going in would count as unauthorised absence.

Im not in the UK, but EU country. Here the advise is to isolate minimum 10 days. But you have to be symptom free for at least 48h before you go out again. So when you test positive they tell you to isolate 10 days. On day 9 you get a phone call and if you have been symptom free they “let” you out again. If you tell them you still have symptoms they advise to stay home until fully recovered.
You can obviously still be contagious now if you havent recovered, so going to work would be stupid. Apart from feeling bad while working you would put everyone at risk.

OK, so you’ve isolated for ten days, but that doesn’t mean your employer can expect you to come in if you’re still sick. My partner and I had Covid in February and it took us weeks to fully recover. There’s also the advice that if you still have a temperature after ten days, you should continue to isolate until it comes back to normal. Get a sick note and tell you’re employer that just because one person bounces back after ten days, doesn’t mean others will - recovery from Covid is different for everyone. My advice on contacting your GP is to start ringing just before the surgery opens - hopefully you’ll be somewhere at the front of the queue when they start answering the phone. Hope you feel better soon.

You need a sick note. Contact your GP by e-mail and explain.

Dh had this from his employer at the peak of the first wave. He got a sick note (although had to beg as at the time GPs were having nothing to do with Covid and it all had to go thru main NHS phone number, which his employer refused to accept.) He stayed off until a couple of days before his sick note ran out, then on his return was given a disciplinary warning even though it was Covid, which was a) supposed to be exempt and b) entirely at the manager's discretion.

They totally ignored the sick note they had so vehemently demanded, as "anyone can say the right thing to get a sick note, it's not worth the paper it's written on." Union were no help at all, even with clear guidance at the time saying ten days from last symptom, not ten days from start. It was dismissed as only being guidance so they could ignore it.

Dh had had a couple of other normal bouts of illness in the previous few months, so meant any other absence within a 9 month period could lead to dismissal. It led to a lot of stress and ill will towards his employer and the individual manager who made that call.

I'm guessing this is the situation you would end up in, op. And it's shit.

Another thought, OP, you mentioned that you could book a f2f apt using the online system. I'd be tempted to book one but put in the comments box please ring as......, couldn't get through on the phone.

Can you get through to 111? I think they can book you an appointment.

Can you phone during the afternoon? Or do they have an e-consult system? You can say you want a sick note as you still have symptoms after covid isolation.

I would like to point out to Lancrelady80 and others that a sick note means that you are too ill to work and if you go in to work your employer is UNINSURED against you having an injury. Remind your line manager that, and also ask him where he qualified as a doctor.
Consult your local Citizens Advice/Trade Union, as this employer making people to come in while they are off sick with a sick note happens more frequently than you realize. IT IS ILLEGAL.

@timestheyarechanging, I hope you've already found a solution, but if you haven't, it's m just wondering if you can do an online request for a sick note?
My local surgery is appalling in many aspects, but I can fill in an online form to request a sick note.