Work colleague off sick but on holiday

[Toomanyfecks]

We have a work colleague in our small team that goes of sick (fully paid) with mental health or physical health prior to going on annual leave to lovely places.Its happened 4 times now at least. When they are in work they are mostly great, if a little intense but the pattern of absence has been noticed by all our colleagues but not management it seems. Am I being unreasonable to be at my wits end with what appears to be someone taking the mick??

If you’re not their manager raise your concerns with their line manager or drop it. Having colleagues gossiping about their sickness probably isn’t helping them.

You're not their manager and you shouldn't be involved in how their sickness is managed. If they're being gossipped about management should put a stop to it.

Sometimes, people need a holiday for their mental health. But they also need money for that holiday for their mental health. I see nothing wrong with this tbh

Do you mean they go off sick a few days before their booked annual leave essentially extending their leave period? Or do they go off sick and then go on holiday while on sick leave?

Are they actually on holiday / abroad when they are off sick?
Or is it in the child up / few weeks before they go on holiday?

If the first, then not ok.
If the second then nothing you can do really, but yes very annoying as they're probably holiday packing or buying!

It’s very hard to manage this type of absence if the worker keeps their absences below the ‘trigger points’. And even if they have high levels of absence but get fit notes it’s also nearly impossible.
If people have no shame they can just do it. There is nothing you can do about it. Except a cathartic winge on Mumsnet.

Its not uncommon, it happens in lots of work places. Nothing you can do OP, their own manager will be monitoring and likely not really able to do anything

How can you prove the persons isnt unwell. If they're signed off sick by the GP and that covers the time they're on holiday, well then they're on sick leave and just happen to be on holiday as well

OH or HR wouldnt touch it with a barge pole because there'll be all sorts of claims of discrimination or bullying or such like.

That would really piss me off. I'm guessing management are aware but I think you should say something discreetly. At least then you've done what you can. You might have to accept nothing can be done though.

Keep your beak out.

Got sod all to do with you.

Once might be coincidental, anything more than that, they are likely playing the system.

Don't they have a 'return to work' interview after the absence?

Of course it's annoying when people appear to be taking the piss.

There's not a lot you can do about it really. Management will undoubtedly have noticed but equally there's not a lot they can do if she's got a sick/fit note.

Piss takers gonna piss take. I had a colleague who was 'sick' remarkably often in the school holidays. Thankfully she left.

She was with us about 10 years and must have spent more than half that amount of time on maternity leave (3 x 1 years) plus multiple periods of long term sickness absence.

Everyone knows who's at it but a lot of employers just won't tackle it and everyone else ends up doing their work for them.

Of course management have noticed
They probably just have more context than you do.

Either bring it up with your manager if it's causing the team concern or extra work, or keep your noses out.

There are instances where a holiday can be permitted for wellbeing on sick leave and people can have chronic illnesses.

However, people can abuse sickness leave to get extra annual leave / time off.

It is a HR matter to explore- it can be difficult to manage to establish which it is. HR can review patterns of behaviours- especially if leave is pre booked and sickness is before hand.

Just keep your observations to yourself as there is nothing you can do about it and you can be vulnerable yourself if you are seen to cause division in a team.

I have worked in teams with colleagues who have sick leave for a long term condition and staff have been very empathetic to them. Whereas the piss takers soon lost respect from their team members and which affected their job and some left.

People in this thread saying management can't do anything if that person has a fit note - they absolutely can. You can be sacked for repeated sickness absence, even with fit notes and medical evidence, even with genuine health conditions considered a disability, and it's not considered disability discrimination.

Employers are legally allowed to sack employees who cannot be at their jobs often enough because of their health.

If the employee is not being sacked, it's not because they cannot be. It's because management don't want to, for whatever reason. Maybe that person is better at their job than the rest of the team and would be difficult to replace? Maybe each instance of sickness did have a very good reason, and management decided that on balance is worth keeping that employee on? Maybe OP is over blowing how often this happens in their head? Who knows.

Their manager may well have noticed. For all you know they could have had a warning. They aren't going to tell you.

I got rid of an employee partly because they kept doing this.

Disagree with you that the first isn’t ok.

I have staff who have been off on sick leave and have still gone on their pre-booked holiday - I have no problem with this at all, being on sick leave doesn’t mean you have to be house bound! If I’ve got a staff member off for their mental health, how does restricting their world to be as small and miserable as possible help them get better?!

This type of post happens every few weeks I swear.

I was told on here that while I was off sick I needed to be in bed the whole time or I’d be “taking the piss”

So the colleague has prebooked leave and goes off sick in the lead up time? (For how long?)
But whatever I agree with those who say that manager has likely already noticed, as how could they not, and I wouldn’t say or do anything.

3 rounds of 1 year maternity leaves quite clearly isn’t half of 10 years…

It’s a hard one. I had a colleague years ago. She absolutely hated her job and to be fair she was well suited to it. She would go on holiday and then have at least a weeks sick leave afterwards. I think she just struggled coming back to work. It made things harder on everyone else though. Especially in peak holiday time

Oh my good I used to work with someone like this, she had so much time off work and would then pop on on social media in some wonderful corner of the world having a fine old time whilst the rest of us covered her job.
We got together as a team and raised a formal complaint about the situation( which had gone on for years)
We continued to put pressure on management and refused to do her work until in the end she was ‘moved on’ but management were quite happy to bury their head in the sand about it.
She tried to carry out the same trick in subsequent jobs and needless to say she been ‘ moved on ‘ a fair fee times now.
Don't put up with it OP

I assume management know but it's very hard to get rid of someone.
I work with someone who is frequently off and gets signed off for the absence. However on social media posts plenty of things they are doing with their children including trips away. It does feel very unfair when everyone else has to pick up their workload, but really isn't much that can be done.

I think you have to be so careful making assumptions like this. I have had an extended period off work and with flexible working due to serious health issues. You would never know to look at me quite how serious it is. Luckily for me my colleagues are all lovely but from the outside it is confusing and questionable

It is if she's having to cover her work.