To schedule booster after annual leave

[Meatandseventeenveg]

So the disclaimer is that I know a lot of people just have to have the booster whenever it's available, and some people do have significant side effects.

My colleague just took an extended Christmas break (though not away on holiday), and was due to return to work today. She scheduled some quite important client meetings for today, but then she didn't come in as she had the booster yesterday and was feeling unwell. She didn't reschedule the meetings either; rather, she palmed them off on us and even obliged one colleague to run a meeting on an account he didn't know at all.

We're all feeling very indignant and believe she should have arranged her booster during the holidays or at least on a day where she wasn't working the following day (p/t worker).

Are we being unreasonable to be annoyed with her?

She did have a choice in the date of booking.
For those who think IABU, so you think it would have been acceptable to hope she might reschedule her meetings?

@Meatandseventeenveg

Does it make any difference that I now have to spend my evening working to catch up with the stuff I couldn't do today because of covering her? I suppose that means I should be annoyed with my company, rather than the individual, for ending up in this position.

Correct.

It's not her fault she got the booster and had side effects that meant she couldn't work!

@Meatandseventeenveg

She did have a choice in the date of booking. For those who think IABU, so you think it would have been acceptable to hope she might reschedule her meetings?

Yes - and she chose to get it done a day off and you're still moaning.

If she's off sick, isn't it your/her managers' responsibility to reschedule the meetings?

It all depends. When I was able to book my booster I took the first available slot, I had no idea that I would spent a day in bed after it.

She may had the meetings scheduled afterwards and thought she would be fine. She may had the meetings scheduled before she booked the booster and forgot about it.

In my opinion you don't schedule meetings on the first day back in the office unless unavoidable anyway.

She may have thought that she was entitled not to have her holiday disrupted as well. I booked my flu jab after my holiday as I had plans I didn't want to cancel. And I didn't feel I need to tell my colleagues what I did during my holiday. Just because someone is not away doesn't mean there are no plans.

Unless you know the exact circumstances you don't know why she booked it on the last day of her leave.

@Meatandseventeenveg

Of course everyone is entitled to sick leave when they need it. An very interested to hear that we are unreasonable - I thought it was pretty standard to schedule medical stuff on days off to avoid disruption

She did have her medical appointment on a day off.

Have you rescheduled all your meetings for when you get your booster jab?

Okay I shall accept that I was being unreasonable. I shall try to reframe it and be happy that I could help her in her hour of need. I shall also take all future medical appointments during office hours in order to preserve my own leave.

Was she ill after the first two doses? If not, she’s done nothing wrong at all.
If she was, I still think she was fine to have it when she had it, but agree that maybe she could have considered it when booking the meetings.
Although, if she booked the jab while on holiday, with the meetings already scheduled, I wouldn’t necessarily expect her to log in and rearrange everything, I mainly mean if she knew about the jab while arranging the meetings and had reacted badly to the first two doses. I wouldn’t schedule a meeting for a day that I could be pretty sure I was going to be off for unless I really couldn’t schedule it any other time.

I got my booster on a Friday after work.

@Svara

I would avoid a Friday myself, you could lose your whole weekend to illness and then have to work another week without a proper break in between. I don't think that's fair as it's not like other self inflicted illness like drinking too much on a Friday night. You should be able to take sick leave.

I scheduled mine for a Friday so as not to disrupt work.

@Meatandseventeenveg

I got my booster on a Friday after work.

I got mine for late in the day Friday, missed about an hour of work.

Totally get where you ate coming from op. Not on what she did

If staff can't manage when a colleague is off sick then that's a management issue and you should direct your annoyance at them. It suits them to play divide and conquer though, can't see this ever changing.

@Offmyfence that's up to you though isn't it?

Sounds like she had the jab in her own time anyway. She just took time off sick because she's sick.

She didn't have her appointment during office hours according to your OP?
You all sound delightful to work with

I thought it was pretty standard to schedule medical stuff on days off to avoid disruption

Absolutely, the absolute key thing to do as a human in this live is maximise the profits of your employer, inconveniencing yourself as much possible in this pursuit. Completely unreasonable to disrupt the business when you could've got boosted on christmas eve, what an absolutely entitled git.

@Meatandseventeenveg

She did have a choice in the date of booking. For those who think IABU, so you think it would have been acceptable to hope she might reschedule her meetings?

Presumably she was feeling too unwell to deal with all that.

I had no side effects from my vaccines.
DH was sweating and shivering in bed for 2 of his and practically only semi conscious.

Sorry OP but I have done just this. Back from leave this week and having my booster on Wed. I don't expect to have any side effects beyond the ones I had before which was swelling of the lymph nodes, but if I do no way was I ruining my Christmas leave with them.

She chose to have her appointment on a Sunday, having previously been off sick after the initial jabs. She cheerily emailed the team this morning announcing that she couldn't come in, and stating the specific reason why, but that she had decided not to cancel her meetings as she was sure we could stand in for her.

But like i said, I am attempting to modify my attitude. I do not wish to be the spiteful, immature and unpleasant coworker that I so obviously am, so I am going to see the situation differently. She did her best, and it's the company's fault.

Thanks for everyone's feedback

How do you know she cheerily emailed? Did she put LOL on the end?

@sirfredfredgeorge

I thought it was pretty standard to schedule medical stuff on days off to avoid disruption

Absolutely, the absolute key thing to do as a human in this live is maximise the profits of your employer, inconveniencing yourself as much possible in this pursuit. Completely unreasonable to disrupt the business when you could've got boosted on christmas eve, what an absolutely entitled git.

Lmao

I think she is being unreasonable. I certainly wouldn’t book my booster jab the day before important meetings and when I have been on extended holiday for Christmas! She should do it on a Friday or after work before one of her non working days like I have (also work PT)

Sorry, she emailed. I cannot be sure of the tone. My earlier post was biased and misleading.