Holiday photos on Facebook whilst off sick

[TeaAndBrie]

Really interested to hear opinions on this one.
Staff member off long term sick (fully paid as local gov) due to mental health issues, signed off by GP for 4 months so far.
staff member is friends with manager on Facebook.
staff member has been uploading photos of holiday abroad on Facebook.
i would not expect someone who is on LTS for mental health reasons to never leave the house etc
Holiday photos seem a bit much though - especially when manager and other colleagues who can see these pics are having to pick up all of the work whilst he is away.
YABU - let them have their holiday, it’s good for them!
YANBU - let them have the holiday but would be better to have have pics on SM

I went on hols 3 times when i was off for 12 months. Posted pics on SM. Dont need to explain to anyone. If they know me, they know my illness, If you dotn know me well enough to know that, you dont know me well enough to comment.

If I found out my Manager was questioning it or on Mumsnet asking about it, Id report her to HR. You really shouldnt be on FB with them, its very bad practice for a manager. You are in the wrong here. Not the person on Hols.

And , no, if you are "well enough to cope with that", you are not necessarily well enough to "get your arse to work"
The ignorance is astounding.

just unfriend them
of course they are entitled to post what they like, to a certain extent.
if you dont want to see their posts, hide them or unfriend them

If you have MH problem you don't spend your time posting pics holiday on SM. This person is taking the piss and I would report them.

This.

Friend of mine tried to commit suicide over a year ago is still not well enough to work. They went on holiday.

They're clearly taking the piss, but there's not much you can do legally.

I would be extremely firm and strict when they come back. They're on a jolly on full pay, I wouldn't cut them an inch of slack when they're back.

Do everything by the book, but they wouldn't last long in most businesses.

This would mightily piss me off.
Whilst they are away having a lovely time, improving their mental health, mine is being compromised by having to pick up their work load.

Oh really 🙄 and I suppose people who are ill with mental health issues would never smile or laugh or appear happy in anyway to appease others.

presumably they are signed off
their posts are not your business

Sounds like the OP has no issue with the actual holiday, and is a supportive manager who understands that people CAN take holidays to address stress and mental health related issues.

Seems like the social media posts of ‘here’s me having a great time while off sick’ are the issue - two very different elements, the second being ill advised and unnecessary l.

Whilst there might not be anything wrong with it, I don't think it's good from a team point of view to post on SM. It's not always easy to just get cover so of course colleagues are left to pick up the slack. And it gets even harder picking up the slack if colleague A is off sick and colleague B happens to have annual leave booked which means C and D are now doing 2 peoples work. When colleague A is better they are then entitled to their annual leave so colleagues are still having to cover. To see pics of them enjoying holidays whilst you are struggling knowing they can come back and then take annual leave is going to be pretty galling for a lot of people.

I don’t think you should be a manager. Some really disgusting views on this thread.

I've been on holiday twice whilst on sick leave!
Both holidays were booked before I went off sick. The first one (2021) was when my son died, I went away 5 months later.

The 2nd one was last month, I already had a 5 day break booked when my mum died a few weeka earlier, I still went on holiday.

What a ridiculous statement, @arcticpandas! I have a mental illness, and have had since my mid teens, and yet I manage to post on social media, even when I am on holiday!

And it is perfectly possible to be too mentally unwell to work, but still to benefit from a holiday.

I would be very judgmental if you recover from physical health problem on full pay and posted photos of you on a trecking holiday or doing an ultra-marathon.

If someone I knew was having mental health issues I’d be fucking glad and relieved to see their ‘here’s me having a good time posts’ but then I’m not a judgemental twat.

I think the tone matters. If it was lots of photos “wayhay!!!!! Party time! Cocktails and sun! Livin it large” vibe then yes, it’s tone deaf and rude to colleagues.
But a few pics with a “it’s been good to get away” that wouldn’t bother me.

SM posts are irrelevant. While I agree they might be a bit distasteful, being distasteful isn't breaking policy presumably.

As the manager, all you need to do is make sure you know what is policy.

Posting holiday photos from abroad for your work colleagues to see, when you are on full pay, interesting choice?

YANBU. Fine to go on holiday but I wouldn’t be posting on social media for my work colleagues to see. Aside to that, your manager should be putting resource in place to cover the work, not just pass it onto everyone else. If you are assigned more than your full FTE then I would raise it as an issue. The manager needs to do their job.

If someone is off on long term sick leave management should organise cover. The increase in your workload is because of them, not the ill person.

I think if your MH is bad enough to not work then it shouldn’t be okay to be going on holiday! What MH would qualify you for being of work for 4 months!?

You did nothing wrong.

The voting on this thread is ridiculous, but thankfully some posts are very reasonable.

The OP shouldn't be a manager.

Hope you're doing well ❤️

Trigger Warning

I was off for mental health issues that led to a suicide attempt. Part of my recovery was that I tried to continue with a hobby, I was also advised that ‘a change of scenery’ - i.e. a holiday- would be a good idea. I couldn’t face organising one, so hubby did. It did help.

I had to inform my employer & if I recall properly the MH team had to confirm it was a recommendation.

I finished work for a different reason but then had an MH relapse, and again, a change of scenery / hobby that took me out of the house was advised by my care team.

So - unless the staff handbook says they need permission & evidence from their care team & this hasn’t been followed, then it’s perfectly possible that the ‘holiday’ is part of their recovery. Maybe that’s the first point of call instead of MN?

i do understand how stressful it will be for you and the team to be short staffed while they’re off, but unless you know their care plan or they’ve broken a rule as above then they are perfectly in their rights to do this.

If someone is on sick leave (or holiday, or absent for any other reason) then workplace has no business dictating what one can or cannot do during that time. I might be off due to respiratory issues and by the sea/in mountains as per doctor's recommendation - trying to rest and recover is entirely appropriate for sick leave.
Yes it may be they are taking the piss, you can find plenty of threads on MN where OP is advised to "just go off sick", but you can't decide they are taking the piss just because they're on holiday.

Recovering from a suicide attempt, recovering from psychosis the list is actually quite long but I doubt it’d make a difference with your lack of comprehension.