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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Got covid - Bit annoyed with co-worker

78 replies

notthecarebears · 01/10/2022 17:38

Hello all. I want to start out by saying I'm not a Mum, I was just curious about this site and honestly I decided to try my luck. I need someone with a sound mind to help me out here because I'm very angry about this

Last Saturday (24th) my co-worker lied about having Covid and said they had a cold. Co-worker said she'd be fine in a few days and how it was just a little sniffle, nothing some vicks vapo rub couldnt cure etc. I've caught it from her despite being almost military like with washing my hands and keeping myself safe. Wednesday night and early Thursday morning my fever spiked from normal to 40 and I think at some point it got higher. I've been suffering on and off for a couple days with fever, its been miserable.

I took a covid test a few hours ago, it was positive. I'm living with my parents right now because of reasons and my Dad is on two different type of Medication for Arthritis that suppress his immune system. My parents are on holiday and are set to come back Monday, Im dreading them coming home only to catch covid from me. They've done so well the last few years to not catch anything

AIBU in wanting to tell my boss? I dont think she knows my coworker lied, she's very big on people staying home if they're too unwell to work. Also how should I tell my parents about this?

Thanks in advance and sorry for this rambling mess of words

OP posts:
Harridan1981 · 01/10/2022 17:41

Don't see your parents. Do you know she knew?

What would you have done differently had you known?

Harridan1981 · 01/10/2022 17:43

And it doesn't sound like she was too ill to work to be fair.

ReeseWitherfork · 01/10/2022 17:44

Yanbu to be upset, but honestly I don’t think your coworker has really done anything wrong. She may have lied about it being Covid because she knows what effect that word has, she may not even have known. The bigger question is probably whether she should be been working with the lurgy. In an ideal world people stay home when they’re snotty and contagious, but we don’t live in that world, we live in one where society would come to a standstill over winter if people did.

typicalmner · 01/10/2022 17:45

Yeah that’s slack… I’d tell the boss and anyone else.

emmaliz · 01/10/2022 17:45

Do you know she knew she had covid and it is also possible you've caught it elsewhere as people are just going about their business now?
I really do get your frustration, can you isolate from parents?
Hope you feel better soon

emmathedilemma · 01/10/2022 17:46

I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do but there’s no requirement to test or isolate for covid any more and unless she’d tested and come in work knowing it was positive, then she probably did just think she had a cold. I’ve definitely had far worse colds than I had when I had covid and wouldn’t have taken time of work for it.

WagathaChristieMystery · 01/10/2022 17:46

Please tell your parents so they’re aware. Can you self-isolate whilst you’re with them, or can you stay with someone else for a few days? Sorry you caught it off your colleague and that you’re feeling so unwell though :( hope you get back on the mend soon!

hulahooper2 · 01/10/2022 17:46

Do you proof your colleague had covid ? You could’ve picked it up anywhere , no offence , but your VM parents can’t be too worried if they went on holiday .

Bacibaci · 01/10/2022 17:47

Harridan1981 · 01/10/2022 17:43

And it doesn't sound like she was too ill to work to be fair.

I appreciate the financial difficulties of not working plus other difficulties but I think if you know you have covid it is still irresponsible to go to work.

CheezePleeze · 01/10/2022 17:48

AIBU in wanting to tell my boss? I dont think she knows my coworker lied, she's very big on people staying home if they're too unwell to work.

Your coworker wasn't too unwell to work Confused

Aprilx · 01/10/2022 17:48

This is not 2020, if she felt up to coming to work it is up to her. We share this planet with other human beings and we have always past things on from human to human. Have you hunted down the source of every cold or stomach bug you have ever had.

lljkk · 01/10/2022 17:48

How do you know your coworker lied?
Why can't you isolate from your elderly family in same home? My elderly dad has been isolating from his elderly wife for last week in a small open-plan 2 bed flat. They made it work.

Hearthnhome · 01/10/2022 17:49

Your parents have gone on holiday and actually mixed with people in the last 2.5 years. It’s unavoidable. You also may not even be contagious. They can only avoid it by completely isolating themselves, which they aren’t doing.

However, you have no proof your colleague has covid.

You don’t need to isolate if you have covid anymore AND she wasn’t too ill to work

dementedpixie · 01/10/2022 17:49

Did your coworker test for covid or are you assuming she had it?

There is no legal requirement to isolate even if you do have it.

Snowdropsarelovely · 01/10/2022 17:49

I totally get your frustration but what is your work policy on covid? I'm a teacher, we have been told not to test and to go to work if positive so I will potentially infect my team of staff, and the clinically vulnerable children I teach !! (Special school)
In your situation now I would clean the house and open windows then can you stay in your room when your parents come home? Ask them to put food outside your room and mask up / disinfect the bathroom when you use that? My mum is on chemotherapy and is immunosuppressed so I understand how worried you must feel about passing it on.

CheezePleeze · 01/10/2022 17:49

And also, your parents are far more likely to catch Covid on holiday than they are from you.

Hbh17 · 01/10/2022 17:52

There is no requirement to isolate, or even test, because Covid is not a serious illness. You also have no idea where you caught it. You'll be fine in a couple of days, so absolutely no need to make a fuss or even mention.

JudithHarper · 01/10/2022 17:53

You don't know where you were infected, never mind who infected you.

2bazookas · 01/10/2022 17:55

Last Saturday (24th) my co-worker lied about having Covid and said they had a cold.

Why assume she lied? She may have done an LFT, got a negative result, and thought she just had a cold.

Exactly that happened to me and DH a fortnight ago. Days later we did our ONS-survey monthly PCR swab test and the lab results were both positive for covid. The LFT test result was wrong, and our "colds" were covid.

Original poster
notthecarebears · 01/10/2022 17:57

@Hearthnhome Umm... My Mum had cancer. So no they didn't
@everyone my parents went to derbyshire to celebrate my Mum being in remission

Thank you for your kind "help"

And to @WagathaChristieMystery - Im dreading telling my parents. But thank you, this has given me some courage

OP posts:
MotherOfWhippets · 01/10/2022 17:57

She most probably didn't know.

I had covid a couple of weeks ago - I only tested because my MIL had it and she had been to see me - if she hadn't I would have thought it was just a bad cold. There's no requirement to test or isolate and it's not that easy to get hold of tests now.

If your parents have gone away on holiday - sorry but they can't be that vulnerable (I say that as someone who is) or they must be willing to risk it (MIL caught it off a plane).

Honestly you can't go round finger pointing at everyone and it's a bit shitty to go and tell your boss. I've had it twice - the first time there was a clear culprit and I ended up on a antiviral drip in hospital on Christmas Eve 🤷🏻‍♀️ just one of those things.

I would just get on with it - my husband managed not to catch it this time I would just clean the house and stay away from your parents until you're clear.

EmilyGilmoresSass · 01/10/2022 17:57

hulahooper2 · 01/10/2022 17:46

Do you proof your colleague had covid ? You could’ve picked it up anywhere , no offence , but your VM parents can’t be too worried if they went on holiday .

This

GroggyLegs · 01/10/2022 17:57

I've had a cough & sore throat, did 3 tests all negative for covid.

You'd be telling my boss I was a liar. YABU.

balalake · 01/10/2022 17:59

Health and safety is everyone's responsibility. Hiding a transmissible illness is in my view something that you should notify your manager about.

100% you should talk to your manager.

Hoardasurass · 01/10/2022 18:00

@notthecarebears
If you do report your colleague it will backfire on you.
You have zero evidence that your colleague has/had covid.
Even if they do you have zero evidence that you caught it from them.
Making a complaint against a colleague with zero evidence to back it up especially when colleague has done nothing wrong (even if they knowingly came in with covid) is a form of bullying and will put a black mark against your name with hr/boss

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