To think your work should leave you alone when you're ill?

[Thatsnotmynameee]

I was off sick last week. Rare for me to be off, last time before last week it was 4 months ago and then 6 months before that one. I told them why I was off (standard illness) and when I would be back (few days) my manager rings me at lunchtime that day to "discuss my absence" what is the need for this?? I missed the call because I was asleep (because I was ill and been up most of the night being ill) it just seems like complete overkill. Let people rest ffs.

I'll echo others, 3 times in any rolling 12 month period triggers a meeting in my workplace.
For reference, the last time I was off sick I had hyperemesis and was signed off for months.
I have been back at work for 2 years post maternity leave and am yet to take a sick day for myself, although I have taken leave last minute a couple of times due to my children being ill. Prior to that it was probably a year prior that I was ill.
I have had colds in that time, but not enough to warrant a day off.
The majority of people in my work would have one instance of sickness a year so regardless of whether your absences were justified, I don't think it's 'normal' to be off that often.
It sounds like your manager was just following policy to check in, a common practice and nothing to get worked up about.

I'm intrigued to know how much time off sick your colleagues have if being off sick 3 times in less than a year is considered good. You'd have the worst sickness record of anyone in our office!

This. I maybe get 3 colds a year but no way would anything be bad enough to be off sick more than once every 3 yrs or so. I think my last sick day was after 1st Covid jab in 2021.

Ill enough to be off work? That's quite a lot. I think I was last off work ,ill, in 2017. Proper, can't get out of bed, can't even read a book flu. Definitely not in this place and I've been here 7 years. Couple of funerals.

That is a lot of time off. I've been ill once in 4 years. And I took that one day off reluctantly.

You should be in regular contact with your line manager. Does your work not have an absence policy? For long-term sick, at my work, weekly contact is required.

3 times off within a year would trigger a phase1 absence in my place of work.

we are expected to phone in sick day 1 day4 and day 7 after that we need a sickline from doctor and should phone in once a month to “check in”.

our workplace should not phone us as that could be seen as harassment.

3 times in one year is frequent! I've only been off 3 times in the last decade. (Obviously different if you have an underlying condition or serious illness)

Blimey, some of these replies.

OP says she followed her workplace's policy, why are people ignoring that? Not everybody has to ring up every morning they're ill. If she followed it, then she's right, her manager shouldn't be harassing her when she's ill.

And if some of you think 3 episodes of illness in a year is excessive, all I can say is that some of us have no choice in the matter. And if employers are kicking off about 3 sickness absences a year, they're shit employers. (Including yours by the sounds of it @PeachBlossom1234 - it's appalling you had to work through chemo.)

At this rate employers will be pushing people into higher rates of sickness absence, making people sicker than they already are, and eventually forcing them out of jobs altogether if they don't wake up and realise they are employing people not robots. At which point they'll be labelled scroungers for not working. Not that a bad employer would care, of course - they'd just replace them and proceed to treat the new lot just as badly, potentially impairing their health as well.

This being Mumsnet, I'm quite sure this post is going to be laughed at and I couldn't care less. Some people on here really do inhabit very narrow little worlds.

Have a halo. I'm guessing you're the one everyone else catches their colds from.

Totally agree, think people are getting hung up on the wrong thing.

Yes 3 times in 12 months at my work would be considered a lot and would warrant an informal chat before triggering any formal procedures.

But no manager would ever ring you in the middle of the day whilst you were off sick, as long as you had called in each morning then they'd leave you alone until you came back. Then do a return to work chat.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!

on the call back thing we have to ring reception in the morning each day of absence who pass on to manager. We may get a call back depending on what the illness to check on any outstanding work and see how we are. That does depend on the illness. If D&V likely to be left alone as long as have said there is no work to be picked up.

What job do you do OP?
3 periods in 12 months would be a trigger in my work place too. I work in a school and so is lots of bugs around all the time.
Also think 3 periods of sickness in 12 months is a lot more than average and definitely not rare.

Sickness monitoring can be useful in large organisations. I’ve worked on a centralised contract with unrealistic targets. Managers reporting levels of sickness leave or for others high stress and people leaving but just about managing meant the target was (eventually) lowered.

Just check your absence policy and procedures. We must ring in and speak to line manager preferably before 8am, exceptions being if in hospital or at doctors. If line manager is in a mater shift try will call you when they get in. Absence on Monday , a weekend or before or after a Bank Holiday is weighted heavier (Bradford Factor) and three absences us a 13 month period would be a disciplinary heating, a fourth could be dismissal. Depending on factors and reasons for absence. Any protected characteristics are excluded.

I am not sure whether being ill three times is that rare or not - it seems a bit high, but not necessarily excessive, but I do think it's a bit odd to regularly go off for days at a time. Admittedly, I don't know what you do and if you work as a waitress in a cafe or something which I'm sure that's different to if you're an office worker, but I think most employers would usually expect people to call in planning to take just 1 day off with no immediate assmption of multiple days off without a very specific reason? I was not well last week but it never occurred to me that I would definitely be off for days on end.

3 times in a year is not rare!
That would be a trigger point for my job,

Yes you should be left alone when sick depending on the illness. I was hospitalised for severe anaemia requiring blood transfusions, work left me alone. When I was off with a chest infection I stayed in touch, that's been over a 5 year period though. I get unwell but I still mange to get myself into work.

Some of the replies here make me very sad. People get sick. Stop drinking the company kool aid and ensure you are treated like a human being and not a robot. The competitive wellness’ is alarming! I presume those who haven’t had a day off in the last 40years have never experienced a significant dose of flu, covid or norovirus.

Completely agree, when you've lived in other countries where they actually want you to stay home so you don't infect everyone, this culture of not being allowed to be sick is so frustrating.
Especially post covid when so many people have weakened immune systems.

Back in the 80s a colleague in a different department phoned in sick on the Monday morning. Things were different then, no-one really chased these things up. The following Monday she didn't come in, her boss tried calling her but got no answer so he and another colleague went round to her house. He ended up breaking in and she was dead. It was thought she had probably died about 3 or 4 days earlier.

That company did change it's policy at that point and you couldn't just phone in on day one then drop off the radar.

Same where I worked, I had a lady frequently ringing in sick, so me and a colleague did a home visit ( I. The contract that we could) she was a DV victim and was locked in whilst her oh was at work. We called the police and got her to a refuge.

Oh come on. Nobody should be going into work with a stomach bug, no matter what their job is (unless they work alone or from home). A few days off is completely normal in this case. Who wants to catch V and D from their colleague?

Three times in a year is a lot. I've been in my job seven years and have had one sick day in that time. Is work making you ill?

I worked in a workplace of the same 6 people for about 10 years.i could count on one hand the days off sick 3 of us had, one person was never ill but once had time off for a broken bone and the other 2 had probably 3-4 times off sick a year (one of them had health anxiety)

But a lot is luck (like with attendance records at school!) My son is generally healthy, one year he had 100% attendance but had been ill at least twice in the school holidays that year.

He is actually currently off school with D and V. The school dont have a 48 hours policy , but I usually keep my kids at home at least 1 day after anyway.