To think this doctors note is ridiculous

[Bluesjies]

Okay this employer has always been a bit lazy but we’ve just had to put up with it.
She does around half the work of other colleagues but we’ve never been able to do anything about it as she does just enough to avoid her being sacked.

Anyway we allocated her a few tasks to do which include several in person meetings (can’t be virtual on this occasion for various reasons).
We knew she didn’t like attending meetings as she prefers just working from home so wondered if she’d say she was sick on the day or say she was not well enough to not work from home.
We can’t avoid attending meetings forever. She’s more than competent when she is in them. I think it’s just she lives an hour from the meeting place and she doesn’t like the commute, getting up early etc.
We do try to have teams meetings where we can but it’s not always possible.

Anyway the meeting on Monday has been arranged and she informed me she could not attend as she was having pain and struggling to walk 🙄”. I replied the meeting isn’t for four days. Will the pain be better then? She didn’t reply but then a couple days later submitted a doctors note saying she needs to work from home until her maternity leave (in 4 months) due to pelvic pain.
There’s not much we can do here really if there’s a doctors note. Or so I thought.

I happened to see her walking perfectly well down a road near her home today so I do have evidence she’s more than able to mobilise.

AIBU to think her note is just nonesense and challenge her on her perfect walking ability? I don’t know why these GP’s write these notes out when it’s not the truth.

Or am I best to silently seeth and get on with it.

Its bloody annoying when people don't pick up the slack and let the rest of the team carry them.

Yes it is. But your anger should be directed to shit managers like OP because they've allowed this performance issue to continue without managing it, and that is what affects the other members of the team. That isn't an excuse to be harassing a pregnant employee and following her about to check she's sick 'enough' in OP's completely non medical opinion.

I bet you weren't walking down the street perfectly normally!

She said walking hurts her not that she's physically incapable of walking. Would she need to be bed bound for the rest of her pregnancy for you to believe her? OP has messed up by not performance managing this woman and she's now harassing her when she's pregnant, it's absolutely deranged

🤣🤣🤣 So being pregnant means you can scam & manipulate your employer?! Thankfully when I was pregnant I worked for myself but I most certainly wouldn't have behaved like this little madam. Wow

My understanding is that a doctor’s note cannot enforce working from home. It is a suggestion that a person is fit to work if the xyz adjustments can be made (in this case wfh). The doctor does not know your business and therefore it is up to you to accept whether or not the employee can maintain their role from home. If they can’t then they are off sick. If someone is off sick from 11 weeks before their due date you can place them on maternity leave from that point. But whether that is the right thing to do or if her pain is real - no one on mums net can answer.

in terms of having seen her I do t think you can use that as evidence. My old org had a similar case where a staff member was too anxious to be in the office due to covid (after restrictions where lifted) but had a second job working as a singer in packed pubs/clubs. He posted a lot of photos on Facebook of this. We where advised by hr lawyers that we couldn’t use this as evidence his anxiety was exaggerated 🤷‍♀️.

both situations seem to stem from poor management. You’ve let her underperform and not given Clarity on expectations for attendance / performance. 90%of the time responsibility in situations like this are due to the manager not the staff member. I would request training in management /difficult conversations/ performance management/ basic HR to improve your management techniques.

She’s been on a few previously but it’s SO difficult to actually end someone’s employment in public sector that they’re really not worth your time and effort.

It really isn't. Done it a few times. You warn them, and put them on a performance plan. They miss it you give a written warning. Put them on a new plan. They mis it you fire them. Job done. Or, better yet, it gives them a boot and they get better!

This thread reminds me of the time I rang in sick for HG, and had to call a plumber to fix my leaking toilet, so my colleagues and managers tried to rat me out as taking the day off just to have a plumber out, meanwhile I'd no where to empty my 2 and a half mop buckets of puke and every time I vomited I wet myself from the force of a footling breech baby on my bladder, and when I returned to office got pulled into a meeting cos they'd clearly all been bitching about how I used my pregnancy to get away with things other people couldn't.

You, and the rest of your management team can swivel. And I hope she finds out and tells you do to do so.

"One can dream 😂" wow. You're a cunt.

You sound like an arse

You have no idea about her medical
Condition, if a doctor has signed her off or advised light duties, you follow that advice

in terms of having seen her I do t think you can use that as evidence. My old org had a similar case where a staff member was too anxious to be in the office due to covid (after restrictions where lifted) but had a second job working as a singer in packed pubs/clubs. He posted a lot of photos on Facebook of this. We where advised by hr lawyers that we couldn’t use this as evidence his anxiety was exaggerated 🤷‍♀️.

Yep, I used to be an NHS manager, on every training course we were always told if someone calls in sick even if you see them happily doing their shopping in the supermarket you can't do anything about it. It's not 'evidence'. Because they might be well enough to do urgent things like get food or even be going to the pharmacy to get a prescription for their illness, picking kids up from school that can't be avoided etc and still not be well enough to be at work. Not really difficult to understand tbh.

I'm self employed (in HR) and I cannot tell you the amount of times clients have come to me whinging that one of their employees is either pregnant or on sick leave with a condition that may qualify them as disabled but that they are lazy, don't pull their weight, are underperforming, and that these problems pre-date the sickness/pregnancy so what can they do? My question is always why the fuck haven't you already dealt with it? Underperformance needs to be dealt with immediately, not left to fester while you and the rest of the team silently resents this poor person but are too cowardly to actually do anything about it.

Fed up of people being promoted into line management when it's patently obvious they haven't got the first clue how to actually manage.

Even if she IS a serial scammer, this thread is totally off-base and unprofessional, and I hope for your sake that it doesn't get traced back to your workplace like a lot of these things do.

Yep, I used to be an NHS manager, on every training course we were always told if someone calls in sick even if you see them happily doing their shopping in the supermarket you can't do anything about it. It's not 'evidence'. Because they might be well enough to do urgent things like get food or even be going to the pharmacy to get a prescription for their illness, picking kids up from school that can't be avoided etc and still not be well enough to be at work. Not really difficult to understand tbh.

Once had a client who had an employee signed off sick with depression and one of their colleagues saw her at a restaurant on a friday night. They asked if she could be sacked for gross misconduct. My eyes rolled so far I'm surprised they didn't disappear.

Sorry but this is hilarious! Only on MN can spotting someone you know walking down a street when you happen to drive past, be considered "spying"
^
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣^

Are you my old manager? Who referred me to OH for 'period problems' after 3 miscarriages ? I was pregnant at the apt and management got a massive dressing down - she was moved to another office.

YABU - and unprofessional - I hope she reads this or the DM picks it up because you are sharing her confidential information all over the web

also in the public sector it's very easy to put people on a plan for sickness - I had 6 weeks off - 2 different times, due to covid and long covid - I was put on a plan by my manager because that was procedure - it's standard practice - she was required to do it - so this smells bullshitty to me

I hope you get sued for maternity discrimination.

It is obvious she is having a difficult pregnancy and no her pelvic pain isn’t going to get better while she is still pregnant FFS!

YABU and you know it
You are not a Dr and don't know her medical history
You are extremely unprofessional posting on a public forum, a question which has an obvious answer

How on earth is this the same thing as what your manager did? That's completely different. Yea let's put OP in the same category as every negative thing that's ever been done by any manager

You have my sympathy OP. You'll get pounced on here because she's pregnant but I have one of these in my team and it's utterly draining.

Does just enough on performance management plans to avoid getting sacked. Goes off on "sick" for long periods of time with vague symptoms etc etc. Causes other team members' stress as they have to pick up the slack, which then leads to resentment and the loss of good hard working people.

I have every sympathy with people who have long term illnesses etc, but there are a small minority of people who are just lazy and will find any excuse. If you've ever had to work with one you would understand how frustrating it is.

Walking down the street one time is very different to commuting into work and working. It can come and go and for all you know it was unbearable.

I happened to see her walking perfectly well down a road near her home today

You happened to? That was convenient.
Are you maybe a bit too invested in this?

It’s not funny. You have admitted to setting up someone whom you think is lazy despite her doing her job, knowing that she hates face to face meetings, then you question what her GP has written on her sick note. You’re a really good example of a really bad manager.

@Bluesjies WTF? You work for a public sector organisation and you’re on MN how you can sack a pregnant employee!!!
with ‘leaders’ like you it’s no wonder public organisations are so shit.
Read your company guidance, phone HR. Or better still, find a non management job.

My husband was unwell for around 9 weeks and was totally off work for 2 and then couldn't drive so had a certificate from the dr. The dr saw him on day 1 of the illness and that's it. All other certificates were provided when he filled in a form online for the GP. He genuinely needed it but made us realise quite how easy it was to get one as they didn't even speak to him, never mind assess him.

If someone is doing enough work to meet targets on their PM, then they're doing the job well. What youre saying is that you expect employees to do MORE work for the same pay because thats what others in your organisation do. Just because theyre stupid enough to push themselves for free, doesn’t mean everyone in the workforce does.