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.

YANBU to expect to be paid. YANBU to be angry. However YABU to still be working in a job where you have had several periods signed off for stress. It's either a shit hole employer or you can't cope with the work and either way you should leave rather than keep getting signed off with stress.

YWBVU to tell them about the holiday! For goodness sake.

Even if it's 4hrs OT that hasn't been paid I'd be pissed and not agreeing to working extra again, I work my contracted hours anymore and I want paying!!!! If I don't get paid I don't work.

Make sure you keep your messages from your boss and when you're ready to go back ask for a meeting with HR present and a union rep, show them the messages and say whilst been off your boss has caused further stress for saying you will be receiving a warning cos you've gone off sick.

So have you managed to get 6 weeks off straight odd the bat? I've never had that. If you feel able to go back after two weeks you won't be able to as their insurance won't cover it.

I am amazed you didn’t clarify before doing any extra hours how you would be remunerated. In my team it’s always agreed beforehand if it will OT or time in lieu. So you worked 40 hours without that clarification in which case more fool you. I also think your manager is ridiculous to expect you to work all those hours for the good of the company and presumably him and yes a dick.
I agree with whoever said earlier you aren’t stressed you are fed up (understandable) and getting a sick note for 6 weeks and being open you will be taking a holiday is pretty shocking to me. As you were you were so stressed at not getting paid OT as you had expected a more sensible move would have been to start looking for a new job in earnest .

But if you have a fit note saying you can't work then you can't work and your boss has to accept it and go through the usual standard procedure. They can't just go round saying you're taking the piss. Keep all emails.

So, I am probably going to get a bit slammed here but in my opinion
a/ Your boss is a dick, you should have been paid for those hours and you should not have had to clarify prior to doing the hours that you would be paid, 99% of people would reasonably assume they would be paid. If your boss and internal complaint systems aren't acknowledging you should be paid then I think you need to take it further.

b/ Sorry to say this but you sound like you need to toughen up a bit - 6 weeks of stress leave because you did an extra 40 hours that you weren't paid for plus you've 'been off with stress before' make you sound like someone who needs to learn better life coping skills. Life can be tough, you can't take off of work every time something upsets you. I think your doctor is a bit of a numpty to have given you a 6 week notice, a two week notice with a view to review at the end of that would have been more appropriate.

Who gives a shit what people say about this - work culture in the UK leaves most of us with burnout and no time for out families or personal life.
Exactly, the absolutely absurd attitude posted several times on here “40 hours a week EXTRA overtime isn’t a lot” … just another example of the idiotic competitive MN attitude(under eating, over working, over cleaning, over or
under spending depending what the thread is about, it’s pathetic). Not forgetting the demographic of MN, posted by people who probably have worked very little in their own lives or haven’t worked very hard physically demanding jobs.

Of course working the equivalent of 2 full time jobs is a lot! What is fucking wrong with you?!

OP, I’d speak to ACAS get some proper advice, and look for a new job. Any employer who uses tactics like this aren’t a good employer. No matter what the handmaidens say.

no it’s not compulsory warning, could get a discretion. I don’t work in a school, and all government depts have different policies. It’s pretty easy to get a warning though

Did you sign anything about the working time directive? Is that still a thing?

Slow news day?

Enjoy your holiday and take out a grievance about the unpaid overtime. It’s outrageous!

YABU. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Your boss is clearly a dick and should have paid you for the overtime.

However, he is right that you’re doing this out of spite. Yes, it must be stressful being told you aren’t getting paid, but that’s a stressful incident. It isn’t six weeks off on sick leave.

Also in our dept it doesn’t matter if you have a doctors note or not, it’s not a question of whether the sickness is genuine or not, but how much sickness the dept can tolerate. It’s government money after all.

You were willing to do the overtime when you thought you'd be paid for it

I get that it's frustrating not to be paid. However, I fail to see how not being paid results in a previously acceptable situation changing to "I'm so stressed I need time off to recover"

You're taking the pXXX

👏👏👏 well done OP, yiur manager was a dick to not pay uou, and to wait until you had done 40 hours!

Take that full sick pay and enjoy your holiday!

If he tries to give you a warning report for paying under minimum wage, as he 'asked' ou to stay late, you didnt offer then i think he is on shakey ground!

This workplace sounds awful! I’m not surprised it’s making you ill. when you get back can you “quiet quit” while looking for a new job?

This is good advice.

Surely, you can see that being deceived and robbed is stressful. It’s completely humiliating.

Really?? Not that much?? Would you work for a full month yet be happy with only 3/4 pay?? NO thought not 🙄 What a stupid comment to make.

Agree with all of this. My worry now would be that the won't give a good reference if OP decides to change job (which she prob should as boss sounds like a dick). Dunno why the holiday needed to be mentioned. If I was off for 6 weeks sick, I wouldn't be telling work about what I'm doing to get better?

Still baffled how a doct decided 6 weeks sick leave was good in this situation! Given it was the not getting paid that caused the stress, not the doing of the hours, dunno how they thought that warranted 6 weeks off (in my zero medical experience opinion)

Did he delete the overtime on your timesheets? Or change it to unpaid leave? Or is it still there but unapproved?
What he’s done is at best unethical. How did he keep you in the dark about what was happening to the hours?

OP says she was expecting SSP, which 6 weeks of may well have been roughly equal to 40hrs OT. She said she feels nervous now she realises she’ll get full pay.
But it’s done now and can’t be undone. Will the boss ask her to “help” for free again, I doubt it. So in that respect, good. I don’t see anything in her posts that suggests this is a well paid salaried role, where OT is to be expected and rewarded in other ways. She was used.

I agree with others though, use this 6 weeks to look for another job. You won’t be treated well on your return and it sounds like it was pretty toxic to begin with.

oh god what a mess.

Boss and HR are engaged in criminal behaviour by not paying minimum wage although they may perhaps be ignorant and genuinely unaware that it's criminal (the boss because he doesn't know the law and HR because they haven't thought to do the sums).

I agree with pp that this may suggest that the company is on the edge financially.

OPs communication with boss might reasonably lead him to suspect that she's taken the sick leave as a tit-for-tat revenge. Even if he can't prove it the relationship will be irretrievably broken.

In your position OP I'd take the whole six weeks and spend it job-hunting.

As long as you've followed the sickness absence process to the letter, they can't do anything about you being off sick. And yes, you are allowed to go on holiday when off sick though why on earth you told them is beyond me.

But I would never trust you again. Whether that's important or not given your work sounds shit, is up to you. You're not stressed, you're tired and pissed off. Money doesn't make stress go away, you say you'd be fine if you got paid, ergo you're not stressed.

On the upside, I wouldn't give someone a bad reference if they had cast iron evidence of my criminal behaviour on their phone. Keep all the emails OP.