What do I do? Can they force me to attend?

[ShalommJackie]

I'm off sick at the moment. Partly due to a grievance I have put in against my senior leadership team and partly due to having cancer surgery this week.

Government guidance surrounding my job and the application of it in practice is about to change and therefore my job is about to be so much harder, the meeting to discuss the implications and procedures etc is on Friday. I'm having cancer surgery on Thursday and will not be staying overnight

My manager has decided I need to attend this On a teams meeting but the issue is I'd be the only person to attend via zoom and I am unsure as to how much pain I'll be in.

So aibu to say no, I will attend a catch up session if needed?

You are absolutely not being unreasonable. What sort of monster expects someone to do a teams meeting the day after a cancer-related operation? Say “cancer surgery” in every discussion you have with anyone about this, and have lots of conversations with lots of people. Shame the shitty bastard.

Absolutely not! Get yourself well. No wonder the management team get grievances against them! This sort of employer wouldn’t think twice about dropping you if they needed to, so don’t be making yourself worse for them. Remind them that you will be recovering from a cancer treatment and will not be fit for work on that day.

I would say unless the doctor has confirmed you are fit to go back to work, you shouldn't be attending the meeting. If it is the day after surgery, as well as resting to allow your body time to recover, you are probably still going to be on pain relief so won't be able to properly agree to or take in anything anyway. Hope all goes well with the surgery

YADNBU. If management insist on being stone deaf when you tell them you are having an operation on the Thursday and therefore can't attend a Teams meeting the next day, ask the hospital to if possible give you a fit note saying that you are not fit for work until a specific date. If you can't get one just phone in on Friday morning to say you are still recovering and will let them know when you are better. Then end the call.

You should very easily be able to get a letter from your cancer surgeon that you are not cleared to attend anything for work the next day, either virtually or in person.

Ah I’ve cross posted with both @Niegenug and @Talkingfrog about the fit note. So yes, should be an easy answer.

Thank you ! I'm going to ask my dr for a sick note. They'd be more than happy!

Please tell me you are in a trade union and have a rep who can support you and get directly involved to get management off your back?

Ffs! I'm sure the advice from the hospital will be to take it easy the following day or two. As well as being tired from the anaesthetic you'll potentially be on decent painkillers so will quite possibly not be in a fit state to take everything in.

I am. I'm definitely getting my moneys worth! Would you believe I work for the nhs 😳

Unbelievable. Of course you will not be fit to work. Sick note …

I certainly can believe it. When I worked for the NHS, my manager was a cow. I hadn't been well for weeks, couldn't say this that or the other was wrong, just I wasnt well. So one day I said Im going home, she said if I was ill enough to head home I was ill enough to present to A&E, so I did, and was admitted immediately to the HDU. Then she had the cheek to come visit me on the ward, with a couple of boxes of microfiche and said, well you could get these in order whilst you are lying here !!!

No teams meeting for you. Stick to your guns - and good luck xx

Are you having General Anaesthetic? If so there are rules about all kinds of things you can't do within 24hours.
Look onto that aspect aswell.

NHS are the absolute worst for sickness related issues. And yes am speaking as a staff member and not a patient.

Yes OP. I can believe that you work for the NHS. in fact when I started to read your post I thought that you may well work for the NHS. The management in that organisation is generally awful since the Cameron/Osbourne austerity cuts got rid of the best people. I hope you get better soon and that your union sorts this out.

The nhs have always treated their staff dreadfully. I had a miscarriage at 13 weeks in the early 80s. I was admitted to my own hospital, spent 2 days miscarrying on the gynae ward, then taken to theatre for ERPC, had a couple of days off to recover. Was anaemic from blood loss. Went back to work (on the labour ward) and was subjected to a rant from my manager about letting everybody down by going off sick.
I was by no means the only one treated like this.
OP, I am so sorry this is still going on. I hope your surgery goes smoothly and you should take as much time as you need to recover.

And what is your workplace policy on working with drugs in your system, whether you are home or not? You know, morphine, codeine etc.

If anything happened to you after surgery, the company you work for would not be covered for insurance purposes and you are better going off sick.

They must have left their common sense at home, what sort of an organisation forces their employees to work the day after a cancer op?

That's just mental

If you have to have a general anaesthetic then you can not rely on being able to think as clearly as you normally would.
One can not drive for 24 hours after an anaesthetic.

You could maybe only zoom in if you wish to do so. You might feel less anxious about the upcoming changes if you hear something about it. (Do you stew about new things?)

Shocking behaviour.
Get the note. Tell them to reschedule the meeting in a fortnight or however long you will need to feel recovered. Good luck with the surgery 💐

It sounds like you will not be in a fit state to take anything in on Friday or contribute. Can they not just record the meeting? I would get the GP to sign you off for it.

@ShalommJackie
Also, have a look at DDE / DDA - the discrimination act form
After my first tussle with cancer, my HR helped me fill it in to record myself as DDE- it can afford you some measure of protection in 2 ways
1 it doesn't count towards sickness records
2 when restructuring
I think your MacMillan nurse might know about it

I'm public sector too - thankfully my organisation have been amazing - and our form for DDE took about 10 minutes

www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/work-and-cancer/cancer-and-employment-rights#:~:text=we%20can%20help-,Cancer%20and%20the%20law,That%20would%20be%20discrimination.

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/practically/the-disability-discrimination-act-equality-act-and-cancer

Yes.

I left the NHS and worked in a private hospital because they were so shitty to me.

Contact HR. I had an operation a few years ago, I was given a sicknote by the hospital for 2 weeks, I asked to go back to work after one and I was told they were not allowed to have me in with a sicknote no matter how well I felt.

That is awful. You definitely should not be attending this.