Can I be fired for calling in sick on a busy day?

[KevinTheKoala]

I feel genuinley rotten and just seem to be getting worse, what started as a high temperature and severe body aches has turned into a throat so sore I can't swallow, painful ears and one perforated ear drum that is now leaking fluid, coupled with dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath and a bit of chest pain. In short ok really not in a good way and the doctors won't open till Tuesday, out of hours is too far away for me to get to I have no money and can't drive and have 2 children and nobody to look after them. I'm supposed to be in work tomorrow and I really don't see how i will magically be OK by then but obviously it is Easter Sunday - am I likely to lose my job? I can't afford to take sick days, I struggle through as much as possible but I can't remember feeling this ill before.

I suspect there is a back story with the employer

No one would ever think they’d be sacked in this scenario unless there was “history”

Well unless you mean the backstory is one of the employer culture being that people should never get ill or injured, then that's not necessarily true.

There doesn't have to be a backstory with the OP personally to mean she's worried about the concequences of taking a sick day, I've seen it happen in more than one place I've worked (in hospitality and care) that you're punished for being sick or injured by way of disciplinary action or as mentioned, loss of shifts when on a 0 hours contract.
I rarely am off sick, the last time was for a broken bone, but the culture of the workplace at the time and I'd seen enough to worry that I'd be punished for it, despite never having taken a sick day and not being paid when sick (other than SSP after 7 days so going sick wasn't something I took lightly considering the impact), and covering a lot of shifts at short notice.
And I was right, when back at work and needing follow up appointments and requesting that my appointment days were my rota'd days off (rota issued a week in advance) I was told that the needs of the business come first and if that meant I was rota'd to work a shift the day of my appointment then tough and if I took any more time off I'd be facing disciplinary action.
I also sustained the injury while on my way home from work for an extra short notice shift, on ice and when I rang in from a&e to say I had a fracture and was waiting to find out how bad and what treatment was needed, was asked if I'd still be in for my shift the next day.

I very much doubt they will sack you, there are loads of vacancies in hospitality at the moment, many places are short staffed so they would be stupid to let you go just because you are unwell. Call in sick and also do another covid test in 24 hours, I had the same symptoms earlier this week and it took 48 hours to show on a LFT.

Just say youve got stuff coming out of your ear and are falling over they wont want you in if your going to be a liability

Unfortunately there are a lot of shit employers out there and certain sectors are notorious for this kind of thing. I have worked for some of them in the past - fortunately for me not now.

Some of my disabled DS's carers have also worked for employers like this; if they had the temerity to call in sick they would be harangued and threatened until they agreed to work however ill they were. As if I wanted my DS to be looked after by sick carers. But these employers don't care about either their workers or their service users.

I work in hospitality and I personally wouldn't want to work with you, especially as our dining area is quite small so hard to social distance! It sounds very much like Covid unfortunately and you shouldn't go to work. We get a lot of CEV people in as we're close to a hospital so working while sick would be potentially disastrous.

I don't think anyone here is saying that OP should or will be sacked for just one day off sick.

The question is much more of a individual one that we can't answer.
Will the OP's employer choose to sack her if she takes this one day off?

It depends on so much which we can't answer:
How her relationship with the employer is?
Is she valued in the workplace?
How often has she "let them down" or they feel she has "tried it on".
What the culture of the workplace is?
Do they need more /fewer staff?
Does he believe her or thinks that she's trying it on because she doesn't want to work Easter Sunday?
That's going to depend on a number of things-like was the other sick day a bank holiday? Has she been moaning about working Easter Sunday?

I work with someone who seems to manage to always have holiday over difficult days. Now I take his holiday requests and I know that almost always he has booked the holiday way before the difficult day has been booked (and no they aren't predictable), so it's a bit of a joke between us. But I could imagine someone thinking he'd done it on purpose because it really is that often!

I don't think it's fair on the Op to assure her she can't possibly be sacked, because the reality is that if the employer is looking for a way, this could be the last straw.
Personally if she was my employee then I'd not want her in, and yes, I have sent people home before now (and they get full pay for the first week of sick leave so it's not a monetary issue for them) because I don't think they should be in, and I would hope that would be the case for the OP.

Having worked in hospitality, don't go in hoping to get sent home. You won't get sent home unless customers complain that you're obviously unwell.
Also, if customers notice it will reflect badly on the business.

It's crap being ill over a busy time, and there are definitely alot of managers who are really suspicious of people ringing in sick over holiday periods (when you can't take leave!) But I'd ring now and explain. If needed you can request the Dr provide a sick note to explain your absence.

I hope you feel better soon

Doctors appointment doesn’t make any difference to whether they can sack you at this stage. Generally, they can as you have only been there a year and doesn’t sound like a disability related condition (even then if it was they would have to be aware of your disability, etc).

If you have a good work record it’s not likely they will sack you but only you know that. Stick to getting better- if you are as Ill as that you can’t work anyway

I thought the most recent lateral flow tests - i.e. over the last few months - don't require tonsil swabbing, but simply need nostril swabbing. I hope you feel better soon.

@whatwasIgoingtosay

I thought the most recent lateral flow tests - i.e. over the last few months - don't require tonsil swabbing, but simply need nostril swabbing. I hope you feel better soon.

I've had both kinds. The last ones I got needed both nose and throat, but the ones before were just nose.

@MRex

Call your manager today, it gives them time to get cover for tomorrow. Explain your symptoms and offer to cover a few extra shifts next week once you're better, this may help them get cover and explaining you're worried financially will also reassure them that you're unwell.

As a hospitality GM… please don’t. The most suspicious illnesses are the ones where they call too soon. Also Bank holiday is hard to cover no matter when you call in so they will most likely be understaffed. Your manager most likely does not care about details of your illness or emotional blackmail about your financial situation.

Jesus! I think I'm going to go on tomorrow and give my bosses the biggest squeeze ever! I work in hospitality, I've only been there 4 months and I wouldn't hesitate to call in sick if I was, or wouldn't enter my mind that I'd lose my job over it.
Of course you shouldn't be at work if your have a leaking ear and cold/virus symptoms, it's Easter Sunday it will be packed!

How are you feeling OP?