For telling my neighbour he should stay home

[queensonia]

My next door neighbours both tested positive for COVID on the weekend. Today I saw the husband getting in his car to go to work. He works for a medium sized public company with a lot of staff. He said he was told that he’s not legally obliged to isolate and that if he felt well enough he should still go into work. I told him he was morally obliged to isolate because he could infect colleagues who may suffer far worse than he is currently and pass it on to their relatives who may also get very ill or die. Is this what everyone is doing now.? In my industry we are pcr tested twice a week and not allowed on site until the test is negative.

@queensonia where did I say I was addressing you?

It's got nothing to do with you, you don't know what his workplace policy is.

‘Just so I could pick up a days pay’ is such a gross thing to say OP.

I wonder how many of these posters would be happy to know that the guy opposite them at work has Covid and prioritised his mortgage

Do you understand how frankly fucking ridiculous you sound?

WHO in their right mind WOULDN'T prioritise their mortgage? Literally who?????

I'm not an entitled fuck who expects my colleagues to prioritise me over housing their family.

If you honestly think most people wouldn't choose to prioritise their family (and housing) you're deluded.

And I'd not be mad at all! It's totally reasonable and normal.

But Norovirus isn't something that you can generally have and still go to work anyway because it, you know, makes you ill... I'm talking a minor cold - perhaps a slight sore throat or a blocked up nose. Still has the potential to make others seriously ill - so would you have stayed off work for those symptoms? Or would you 'picking up a days pay' be more important to you then?

@Giveaschitt

But Norovirus isn't something that you can generally have and still go to work anyway because it, you know, makes you ill... I'm talking a minor cold - perhaps a slight sore throat or a blocked up nose. Still has the potential to make others seriously ill - so would you have stayed off work for those symptoms? Or would you 'picking up a days pay' be more important to you then?

Before 2020 most workplaces would have been pissed at you not coming in because of cold symptoms and plenty on here agreed that it was a rubbish reason not to be in work!

[quote MichelleScarn]@queensonia where did I say I was addressing you?[/quote]
?

@Hidingin

‘Just so I could pick up a days pay’ is such a gross thing to say OP.

Is it? Why?

@Mickarooni. Some people live with fragile finances and would suffer serious consequences if they couldn’t go to work. Why can’t you see that too?

I can completely see that. I'm a freelancer so if I don't go into work I don't get paid at all. But the responsibility in law is with employers to protect the health and safety of their workforce. Staff who are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay should still get it if they need to stay home to protect the health of others, even if they feel well themselves.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3833138-To-think-it-s-grim-to-come-into-work-when-you-have-a-cold

Take a look at the replies on this thread from literally JUST before Covid hit us.

Most agreed taking time off work for every cold would be unreasonable.

I know Covid is not a cold but I suspect a lot of people will no longer know the difference anymore once free testing stops and it just goes to show what attitudes were like before when someone had a cough/cold symtpoms. No one was too bothered about passing a potential virus / mild flu on to anyone's granny then.

[quote queensonia]@Mickarooni. Some people live with fragile finances and would suffer serious consequences if they couldn’t go to work. Why can’t you see that too?

I can completely see that. I'm a freelancer so if I don't go into work I don't get paid at all. But the responsibility in law is with employers to protect the health and safety of their workforce. Staff who are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay should still get it if they need to stay home to protect the health of others, even if they feel well themselves.[/quote]
SSP isn't always enough to cover bills.

@Waxonwaxoff0

To be honest, it’s such a pittance that I can see how easily this would tip people over the edge if they were close to it anyway. :(

[quote queensonia]@Giveaschitt How often did you worry about the welfare of these people pre-COVID? Did you stay at home whenever you showed the slightest sign of any sort of illness?

As a freelancer I have no entitlement to any sick pay whatsoever. Long before Covid was even heard of I stayed off work with Norovirus because it seemed obvious that it would be completely irresponsible of me to make 100 other people sick just so I could pick up a day's pay. But hey, you do you.[/quote]
But you are obviously in a position to be able to afford it or at least justify it. MANY people are not in the same position and losing a day or a few days pay is just too much, particularly in the current economic climate.

You probably assume that your neighbour's job is 'safe' even if he was to take time off or be adamant he was going to work from home. Firstly that may not even be true and secondly, again that is not the case for many people.

It wont be consolation that I cannot put food in my children's bellies if I was to stay home and not get paid when government guidance told me I am able to attend work.

[quote Mickarooni]@Waxonwaxoff0

To be honest, it’s such a pittance that I can see how easily this would tip people over the edge if they were close to it anyway. :([/quote]
Especially if you get Covid multiple times. Some people have had it twice already this year. That's 20 days off work - who wants to take 20 days off scraping by on SSP if they feel well enough to work? Then there are other illnesses as well - what if you get a sickness bug or something that knocks you off your feet making you genuinely too ill to work and you have to have even more time off. Of course people will go in with Covid if they feel OK, they need to save their sick days for if they're really sick!

And norovirus is such a shit comparison.

Typically with noro you're throwing or shitting your guts up and so no obviously you wouldn't be going anywhere. I felt terrible when I had noro last year. If I'd had a mild case (not that I'd know) where I just felt a bit nauseous for a day or had one bout of the runs during the night but was then fine then I'd just go about my business as usual. I wouldn't stay in for 48hrs every time I felt slightly sick just in case it was mild norovirus.

Same with Covid, if I'm too sick to go anywhere then I'll stay in. If I just have a runny nose (and wouldn't know it was Covid anyway as won't be testing especially once they aren't free), then I won't just assume it's Covid every time and stay in for 10 days with mild cold symtpoms.

And with DC in nursery, mild cold symtpoms are a weekly thing in our house!

@HonestTest

And norovirus is such a shit comparison.

Typically with noro you're throwing or shitting your guts up and so no obviously you wouldn't be going anywhere. I felt terrible when I had noro last year. If I'd had a mild case (not that I'd know) where I just felt a bit nauseous for a day or had one bout of the runs during the night but was then fine then I'd just go about my business as usual. I wouldn't stay in for 48hrs every time I felt slightly sick just in case it was mild norovirus.

Same with Covid, if I'm too sick to go anywhere then I'll stay in. If I just have a runny nose (and wouldn't know it was Covid anyway as won't be testing especially once they aren't free), then I won't just assume it's Covid every time and stay in for 10 days with mild cold symtpoms.

Bang on.

I wouldn’t say anything, it’s

"Especially if you get Covid multiple times. Some people have had it twice already this year. That's 20 days off work - who wants to take 20 days off scraping by on SSP if they feel well enough to work? Then there are other illnesses as well - what if you get a sickness bug or something that knocks you off your feet making you genuinely too ill to work and you have to have even more time off. Of course people will go in with Covid if they feel OK, they need to save their sick days for if they're really sick!"

Totally agree. Add in kids having it at different times to their parents and parents then having to take time off to look after their kids, who are often bouncing around feeling great after a day or two.

It was only a few months ago where people were horrified at the thought of someone who was testing negative but had someone at home positive going to work. That does seem to have lessened as time has gone on. I suspect that once free tests go people will just go back to if they are ill they stay home and if they are feeling ok they will just crack on.

@tigger1001

"Especially if you get Covid multiple times. Some people have had it twice already this year. That's 20 days off work - who wants to take 20 days off scraping by on SSP if they feel well enough to work? Then there are other illnesses as well - what if you get a sickness bug or something that knocks you off your feet making you genuinely too ill to work and you have to have even more time off. Of course people will go in with Covid if they feel OK, they need to save their sick days for if they're really sick!"

Totally agree. Add in kids having it at different times to their parents and parents then having to take time off to look after their kids, who are often bouncing around feeling great after a day or two.

It was only a few months ago where people were horrified at the thought of someone who was testing negative but had someone at home positive going to work. That does seem to have lessened as time has gone on. I suspect that once free tests go people will just go back to if they are ill they stay home and if they are feeling ok they will just crack on.

Yes. DS and I both had Covid last year, he got a positive 6 days after me so in total I had 16 days off work. That's half a month's wages. No way am I doing that again, if I'm well enough to be at work. I'm doing what's best for me and mine now, I really don't care who takes issue with that. At least I'm not being a hypocrite and pretending I'm such a good person who cares about others before myself at all times. If you only care about people who are vulnerable to Covid and not people who are vulnerable to poverty, you're a hypocrite.

@Waxonwaxoff0 that was exactly my point - the majority of people can stay home, their employers let them. Those who can’t can’t, I get it. I have plenty of empathy. What’s wrong with this the country is the me me me attitude of oh I fancy going out with Covid so I will. If you can’t eat if you don’t, crack on. If you can, don’t be a dick. The end

[quote Carla2601]@Waxonwaxoff0 that was exactly my point - the majority of people can stay home, their employers let them. Those who can’t can’t, I get it. I have plenty of empathy. What’s wrong with this the country is the me me me attitude of oh I fancy going out with Covid so I will. If you can’t eat if you don’t, crack on. If you can, don’t be a dick. The end[/quote]
I'm not sure I agree with "majority of employers let you stay home" that maybe was the case when isolation was mandatory but I don't see employers like that now. Not everyone can work from home and it has an impact on employers too.

After all that's exactly what this thread is about - the employer expecting their employer in work unless ill.

Many employers have policies in place that multiple sickness absences trigger disciplinary proceedings. Staff are not going to want to trigger that if they are not actually ill.

@ArcheryAnnie people aren't 'choosing' to 'mingle' at work. It's not a lovely party they don't want to miss. If people have no choice but to work, either because their employer insists they come in or because they can't afford not to - or indeed both - there's not much anyone can do about it, is there?

Also please stop using CEV people as a stick to beat others with (particularly those who have absolutely no choice whether or not to go to work).

I'm CEV, I'm recovering from my fifth Covid infection. I fully understand that it's a virus, I'm more susceptible to it because I'm immunocompromised, and just like myriad other infections, I'm likely to keep catching it and it's not going to be very nice.

I also fully understand that life cannot be put on hold forever, that untold sacrifices have been made over the past two years so to buy time to develop vaccines and treatments, and that I need to take the precautions I've always taken in the face of infectious diseases.

Many (most?) CEV are as anxious for things to get back to normal as anyone else, and we don't need people attacking others for their actions in our name.

Hope he told you to fuck off. Mind your own business