To call in sick for my first day of work?

[SicklyWorker]

Starting a new job tomorrow but I have an awful cold. It's not Covid.

Nose streaming, sore throat, sinuses hurting, headache, feel dizzy and sick.

I'm meant to be going to the office for 9am tomorrow.

I do already have my laptop here as it was couriered to me.

Options are:

1. Dose up on Lemsip and hope for the best

1. Call in sick

1. See if I can can WFH on my first day and try and do the inductions over Teams

None of these options seem like a great first impression.

WWYD?

I feel for you OP I had this same scenario last year when I started a new job with the cold from hell.

Get yourself some day nurse and night nurse that will help you get through the day and make sure you’re as rested as you can be.

Honestly day and night nurse was the only thing that helped me survive that first week in a new job.

Nah.

In these times I think she'd be judged more harshly if half the workforce came down with the bug!

OP can work from home so should do that.

Do you feel better now? Like a big person?

Catch yourself on!!

The message looks good. I’m a line manager and have had people sick on their first day. Just be totally honest and get their opinion.

As the manager I would say take the day off and see how you are on Tuesday or later in the week. There’s no point trying to train someone who has brain fog.

Oh and I’d be pretty peeved if you turned up sick and spread it to the team. Do not do that.

Why would I feel good or a big person? The OP is clearly taking the piss.
If you had been following this, read her history, you would see that.

I think your draft message is just right,

really feel for you - this is very bad luck. Hope you feel better soon.

Absolutely ask your line manager what they would like you to do. If you can't get through to them beforehand, dose up and turn up but let them know asap in case they want to send you home

I'd definitely message your manager and ask. If they're flexible about people wfh then they might prefer you not coming in and infecting everyone else. Certainly where I work nobody would think badly of you for staying away.

To be honest I’d leave it until very first thing in the morning and ring the official absence line and explain the situation to them.

if you aren’t well enough to work then don’t go in, it is unfortunate that it has happened on your first day but that’s life sometimes.

If you are feeling fit enough to go in and will be ok, ask if they will be fine with you coming in. Then you’ll know what they prefer.

I had covid last month. The LFT tests that were nasal only didn't pick it up. The LFT tests where you swab your throat did pick it up. Might be worth testing again with a different test.

You might feel a bit better tomorrow so don't message til then at least.

If you genuinely feel too sick to work tomorrow then say so in the morning. Don't pretend it's covid, if you don't have a positive test I think that's asking for trouble. Just be completely honest. Your message is good though! If I got that I'd appreciate that you were thinking about the impact of spreading germs.

I also think it's responsible to check the policy with your manager - a lot of workplaces now have a 'if you feel unwell work from home' policy - not specific to actually having covid as tests can be unreliable in the early stages.

What’s her history, out of interest?

op I’d be really unimpressed if you called in sick with a cold. Paracetamol, Sudafed and a strong coffee. Make a good first impression.

In a previous thread OP asked for advice about (what she subsequently discovered to be) a h pylori infection. She was unsure whether she should discuss the symptoms with her work as they were interested in promoting her to a senior on-site position (where she it might be noticed she was needing to pop to the loo a lot). While WFH OP had been able to manage the symptoms (well enough to be offered a promotion).

A damning revelation uncovered by Mumsnet’s answer to Bernstein and Woodford 🥴

I think your draft email is perfect (apart from is it grammatically correct to say 'apologies to message'? Maybe 'apologies for messaging'?). It puts the ball in their court and means you can follow their lead.

option 1 for me all the way!

@pixie5121 its not possible covid, she’s tested negative. It’s a cold ffs. The dramatics 🙄

Option 1 of course, I've never heard of anyone throwing a sickie on day 1. Make a good impression, you haven't got the pla

Lots of people are testing negative when they first have symptoms then positive two or three days later. I started feeling unwell on the Mon, tested negative on the evening, then tested positive on the Tue morning.

Option 3 for me.

I started in a new workplace nearly 5 weeks ago - was meant to be in trio of three new starters - two actually ended up remote for our first days, due to scorching record temps at time, being impossible to travel from a distance in the heat.
Though I did learn if you are off sick during probation then my current work place extends your probation so I'd try to get in whether remote or in person.

Hi op. Lots of bugs going round as people’s immune systems are out of kilter. Your message was absolutely fine and if I was your boss I would rather you stayed home than spread the bugs. Anyway it’s his call as you’ve offered. Good luck with your new job

I had to call in sick for 1st day of brand new job back in 2017. It was one of the worst phone calls I've ever had to make. I had caught campylobacter a couple of weeks before and it still hadn't settled down completely.

One of the team told me 6 months later they were utterly appalled that I had called in sick but she was laughing as she said it of course as it couldn't be helped. I ended up working in that office for two years before moving to a more senior role at another hospital, ultimately it didn't do me any harm.

This happened to me a few years ago. Go for option 1 and go in, they'll notice if you're really sick and it shows willing, then if you're really bad you can go home and they will know why.

Dose up and once you're there you'll be distracted with all the intros and work