I got a sick note to go on holiday

[Marleymerm]

Last month I worked at least 40hrs of overtime when my boss kept asking me to "stay late" or "just come in a few hours at the weekend" as we had a deadline approaching. I worked it and wrote it all in my time sheet, I work in an office so we don't have clock ins or anything.

Anyway, I got paid last week and got nothing for my OT, I asked my boss who said he only asked me to stay to help, he never actually agreed to pay me for it and he was asking me to "help the company" like we all should be doing.

I thought about fighting it but people in my office are petty and those above me would probably make things difficult for me. So instead I got a sick note from my doctor for 6 weeks for stress and booked a holiday. I've been honest with my work that I've booked the holiday and said it's to help with my stress, now my boss is saying this is clearly out of spite and he'll be giving me a written warning. However if he does that he'd have to formally admit to not paying me OT. I do feel nervous after realising I actually get full pay when I thought I'd only get SSP and now I'm worried my boss is going to take it further.

I certainly don’t think what you did was wrong - what goes around comes around really - BUT I can’t fathom why on earth you would tell your boss you were going on vacay. Wouldn’t you have just said, I’m off sick with stress, here’s my note, see you in 6 weeks. Why say I’m off on hols, here’s my sick note🤯?

I think if you'd made your title "I got signed off for stress AND I'm going away" people would be a bit more understanding.
Anyway, why did you post?

I wouldnt blame you if you did do it out of spite boss deserves it. They have been awful.

As you are actually stressed then you don't even have anything to worry about. Enjoy your holiday and I would be looking for a new job as that company are treating you badly.

That's not a disciplinary though, it's absence management. They are different.

No one is going to give anything but a basic factual reference stating name, job title and dates of employment these days (unless perhaps you work in education/public employer).

A stage 1 means you’re on reduced sickness days for 12 months, can’t apply for other jobs. Less days in first 3 months then it goes back up. I think you get 2 days sickness when on a stage 1 and you hit that you could get a stage 2, then towards dismissal. So you don’t get many days until you’re on a warning. If you’ve got a health condition you can get extra days before you hit a warning.

I’d be tempted to use those 6 weeks to look for another job tbh.
It certainly doesn’t sound as if you are happy there, and I suspect that this will not help. Life is too short to not be happy anywhere that you spent such a significant amount of time. Find something that you enjoy, and where you will have less stress.
Your boss is a dick.

Like some others I am surprised at the doctor signing you off for six weeks. I am reminded of when I managed a team. The lazy ones who would have a fortnight off where others would only be off for three days for the same ailment all went to the same doctor.

I imagine doing all that extra work and then being benied pay for it is stressful and if doctor has signed OP off she is sick. Going on holiday is positive action to help herself.

Your relationship with the company is clearly broken and you'll have to move on, but the only "action" they can take is to manage you through the sickness absence policy.

That said, people think they're protected when signed off, but actually the sickness policy is one of the easiest ways to manage people out.

This is exactly the situation in our office for November. We are going to be really busy and I will probably do close to 40 extra hours. This is really unusual though, most months I might do an extra 10. Same for my colleagues, there isn't an overtime expectation. I can't gey my head around thinking working an extra week for free per month, as standard, is fine and acceptable

Let’s be honest, getting signed off with stress is the ultimate way to take the piss, and is the reason why so many don’t take it seriously.

if the op has admitted it of course she could be up for a disciplinary. It’s not as if they just suspect, she’s come out and said it.

You're not "stressed" because of the work though are you? If you were you'd have gone sick during the month. You're "stressed" because you didn't get paid. Yes your boss is a dick, but so are you for going sick out of spite, now your colleagues are doing your work aswell as working more than they should for the dick boss

I'm a very contentious person, only ever been signed off once in a 35 year career. If I'd worked an extra 40 hours in the expectation that I'd be paid and it was denied, I'd be stressed.

OP will already be tired and lacking the recharge time she should get, then to not get the reward she was expecting would absolutely add to the stress. She's not pretending to be stressed, she is stressed (the doctor said so). It's perfectly reasonable that she may have been coping with her stress before finding out about the pay, but isn't now.

Going on holiday whilst on sick leave is a perfectly reasonable and positive thing to do to help herself.

The sick policy is an easy way to manage someone out when it becomes repeated or protracted, but there's nothing here that they could discipline her for. And if they try, she just needs to mention NMW.

so what if you get a written warning. there will have to be an investigation for that to happen...... that will be interesting reading. I say all of this as an employer. and moving forward refuse all extra hours. certainly 10 mins to finish something but certainly not coming in on days off and look for another job!

Good for you OP. I’d have done the same.

let him take it further if he wants too, what are they gonna do? Cause more stress? 🤔 he wont anyway because he’d be getting himself in bother by not paying you for your work.

also, you can do what you like to help yourself when you’re off with stress or anxiety! Have a fab holiday

Why couldn't you have just taken your OT dispute to HR?

What would be the point of that? All HR will do is speak to the boss and then take his side and put pressure on her to make her feel that she is totally in the wrong and is a very bad employee. Then she'll have two people on her back. HR aren't going to support the employee! Speaking from experience.

Taking any time off sick when you're not sick is lying, even if it's a day off.

Yeah, but when you're being made to work without being paid, who cares? You know there's a word for forcing someone to work without paying them?

Good for you I think it's a great idea.

I'd do the same.

40 hours unpaid work.... nah.

I'd stay off until you have recovered the time you lost. So 40 hours.

If the GP has signed you off with stress, and this stress has been caused by work then, as HR, I would be talking to your boss to find out what he was playing at to be honest. Unless you are at management level and paid a salary accordingly you shouldn't have to work unpaid overtime and 40 hours is excessive in my experience, unless you were sent to offsite (and compensation for this would be detailed in your contract).
Hope you feel better soon OP and enjoy your holiday. I'd also be using the time to job hunt, lifes too short to be miserable.

So you're stressed but only went off sick because you didn't get paid.

By linking the two you are definitely being unreasonable.

You really can't see that not getting paid when you expected to would add a whole other level of stress?

Well firstly I’d never behave like your line manager, that’s s shady dick move - you might not have got every minute back, nor been paid but I would have made sure you were showered with TOIL or some other gesture allowing to spend time with your family.

However, no matter how hard you’ve back peddled through this thread, you clearly imply you ‘became so stressed you couldn’t work for a month and a half over the $$’ - that alone is a shit reason vs those with actual stress (the implication you’ve given having been if you were paid you would not be stressed).

Out of interest, is 6 weeks of SSP similar to your 40 hours?

I’d say you might want to consider spending the 6 weeks job hunting. How long have you been working here?

@Allsnotwell and @CountZacular - exactly what they both said.
it also sounds like your HR and management don’t have a fair or consistent approach about how additional time is given back or paid. Worth pointing out when you raise OT with HR. Do they have a policy?
In future I would be asking on what basis any additional hours when asked to “help out”and considering my availability above core hours dependent upon this ie if it gives me something in return as an employee to show I’m valued. Work life balance approach.

As you've already raised it to HR and you've been paid OT for the same in the past, I'd strongly recommend you go to ACAS. If you're in a union get them involved.

I'd usually take a dim view of anyone going on the sick out of spite and an equally dim view of going on holiday whilst 'sick' but if this is as you say it is, good on you!

Not necessarily true (maybe it is different in different workplaces I don't know). Where I work in a school, if you have more than 3 occastions of sick leave in 12 months, you are interviewed by your line manager about it but the length of time you are off is immaterial. So people who want to play the system would know it's counted the same whether you are self certifying for a day or a week.

However, even if you are off more than 3 times it doesn't necessarily end in a sickness warning and wouldn't if you had a doctors note for example. People with known health conditions in my department have multiple episodes of sick leave in a year without a "sickness warning". A doctor's note will protect OP no matter how many periods of sick leave she has already built up.