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??

For those who think their employer is too soft with this colleague: how would you feel if, after years of giving good service, you were summarily sacked without due process after contracting a genuine health condition?

Yes it is possible to dismiss an employee; but it should be at the end of a very long road of trying to work with the employee, consider reasonable adjustments, occupational health referrals etc. Dismissal should be the last, rather than the first, resort.

As has been pointed out, employers who don't proceed with care and caution are likely to find themselves in breach of the EA2010 and facing unfair dismissal claims. The legislation is there to protect all employees (ie the op as well as her colleague) so imo it is good that it is there. Google 'Phossy Jaw' to find out what things were like when employers were free to do what they liked with their sick employees.

I know that there are piss taking colleagues but overall would rather tolerate the odd piss taker than do without the legal protections for all of us.

"At your wits end", are you, aye😂

I've 'ploughed through' many times as well, but not always. And you still accrue annual leave when you're off sick anyway still needs to be taken. For for many people holidays, or decompression, are vital in them trying to manage their manage health. Ploughing through forever seems to give many people a compassion bypass.

It's just another case of those I've worked with who would be regularly "ill" on a Monday or a Friday or couldn't possibly stay behind to do the closing down of the business etc etc
Some people just cba and its annoying for the rest of us who have to pick up the slack.
We took it to management and she left.

Unless it's your company and the person is costing you money personally, you should be congratulating them on an excellent gambit.

You need to up your game and play the system to your own benefit as well. Private employers take the best years of your life for their own profit, it's all of our moral duty to take back every little bit we can.

The only way you can approach it is to refuse to pick up her slack (if that is what the problem is),

People are legally allowed to go on holiday while they are on sick leave so there is not much you, or your employer, can do about it, which is probably why nothing is being done by management, they have to tread very careful around sick leave.

It does sound like she is playing the system, especially if she is also taking regular annual leave and using sick leave to have her holidays, but there really isn't anything you can do about it, it is not your place to intervene, but you should not be expected to pick up her workload either, they need to put provisions in place.

It’s up to management to put in a control to flag the pattern. Focus your attention on their failings and butt out of your colleagues medical issues.

The manager can’t really do anything about it though. You can’t prove someone doesn’t have MH. If the company provides sickness pay and they are within the limits of it then there’s sod all anyone can do. Would be different if they were off with leg injury and where posting skiing pics but very hard to prove someone isn’t suffering with stress etc

I was recently off sick with stress and anxiety (mostly work related), the first time I have ever been off work for an extended period. I was completely burnt out, however people at work had no idea. I had a planned holiday during this period that had been booked and paid for 6 months earlier. The holiday helped massively with my mental health - but I was so worried about what people might think, I didn't put anything on social media.
Just because someone appears well at work, it doesn't mean they are ok. My colleagues said they had no idea I was struggling, I always seem so organised and put together. I wasn't - I was having heart palpitations, not sleeping, and I felt like I was going to have a stroke.

So I would say, please don't presume your colleague is faking it on the basis they appear fine at work.

I was, however, quite surprised at how easy it is to get your fit note extended - I didn't even have to speak to a GP, I had to request it on an email. I think if this is a pattern and it's happening each time the person is planning a holiday, then that does need to be highlighted. Where I work, you do get your annual leave back if you have a doctor's note for being off sick during your leave. I imagine some people do take the piss, but I would say unless you know the full circumstances you need to presume your colleague is off for genuine reasons and leave it with managers to deal with.

I agree - unless it impacts on OP’s workload. For example, if she is picking the slack when colleague is off sick.

It’s for HR/Management to deal with within the terms of the sickness policy. Some people do take the piss and manage to not breach the policy but the flip side is, everyone else gets to take sick days when they are sick without having to worry about losing their job. Where I work we had a guy ”managed out” because he was taking sick leave and working agency shifts somewhere else - not on the same day, but using his sick leave a rest days and working his days off. He was an idiot and said he was doing it in a whattsapp message. We have another who is on the radar for asking for shift swaps, not getting them, then phoning in sick on the day she wanted off. 2 people (including shift swapper) have got married in the last year and taken a full week of sick before the weddings (which they fully recovered for). It looks shady but you can’t prove they aren’t unwell and maybe they were.

Not your team member, not your business.
I presume you have access to the same sickness absence benefits as this person, and if you needed time away for your mental health you could take it under the same terms.
You’re therefore free to take the leave as and when you feel you require it.

Even if OP isn't, it can be incredibly annoying when you have someone in a (small!) team taking the piss like this. Morale sapping.

However, threads like this tend to attract the 'keep your beak out' posters; not your circus, not your monkeys; are you her manager; and, oh, but you don't know what's really gong on

We had a similar case. Colleague off sick posting multiple social media posts in far flung destinations. While her colleagues picked up her work. Off for 6 months in the end. HR said it was important for her mental wellbeing.

If it's a mental illness, you CAN go on holiday while on sick leave if recommended by your doctor.

Christ, the pull-a-sicky susans are out in force for this one arent they?

Its galling when people overtly take the piss OP, particularly when its left to everyone else to pick up the slack while colleague is on a mental health break in Marbella with a nice week off afterwards to recover. Ugh.

I once got signed off by the company doctor for stress and I had a holiday of a lifetime booked during that time, and she sanctioned it and said that it would be good for my recovery - and that advice and action was paid for by my employer.

I don't think any posters have claimed that pulling a sickie is fine. Just that proving someone is fraudulently taking sick leave is very difficult for employers to prove without direct evidence, and if they get it wrong and wrongly discipline or dismiss they have to face being sued. Also if colleagues decide to speculate and gossip about it they risk being accused of bullying or even harassment against the employee.

Nobody doubts that there are a few people who take advantage of these legal protections and 'pull sickies' and I don't condone that. I know it is annoying and have experienced it myself with colleagues, but I do accept it as the downside of the employee protections I enjoy. It means that the next time I have to call in sick I will be believed and supported. So overall it is worth the annoyance; the alternative is for us to go back to the 'good old days' when employers could treat their staff as badly as they liked with impunity.

Hopefully your manager is dealing with this - and if they are doing things right you should not be aware that they are.

Next time your colleague has leave booked, I think it would be reasonable to speak to your manager and express concern that things are often left undone as a result of your colleague being off sooner than expected, and ask what mitigations can be put in place.

Maybe your colleague was burnt out from carrying colleagues who don't know simple maths.

Say what..im jealous such and such has mental health problems and always has time off around this time but still gets to go on lovely holidays..do you hear yourself..

I had a bout where looking back I was in a bad way with burn out, and a medical condition that worsened due to stress. I would come home and lie down literally from 7pm to 7am just to summon the energy to keep going to work. Weekends were spent in bed. I couldn't afford to lose anything monthly, I did take a week off on 2 occasions but the work load was so intense it wasn't worth it as i had to work late every day for weeks to level out. Looking back I should have prioritised my health, however during this difficult period the work load was insane partly because a colleague had a miscarriage and went on sick leave, then never came back. Weeks turned into months and apparently she kept supplying sick notes. When she returned she was in her second trimester on the next pg, she very openly told us that her GP (possibly a friend) just asked for what dates she wanted, no questions asked. Work never asked her to see another Dr. Basically she decided she'd enjoy life more if not working when ttc. She had no cause for concern re her pg, as in no medical condition and one healthy child already and a straightforward birth. She just didn't like working while pg. I went through 2 mcs so I'm not lacking sympathy but this woman absolutely took the piss and our employers failure to take action caused extreme distress for me over a long period of time. Ultimately I left the job, feeling utterly worn out and depressed.

Mind your business. You don't own the company and mental health problems are complicated.

Be thankful you aren't going through what they are

I remember years ago I was signed off work for two weeks from the doctor for MH. In that time my friend offered me to visit her in a different city. When I returned to work I was shunned (literally very few staff spoke to me or even say hello). Everyone thought I had been on holiday and was taking the mick. I was going through a really tough time and I thought going to see my friend for a couple days would help.
Your colleague does seem to be doing it repeatedly but you don't really know what they're going through.

Maybe they are booked in advance and the stress of holidays could actually be setting off their mental health . You do not know anything about this person and what they could be going through so I would tread lightly.i was sick with mental health and went on my already booked UK mini break .a colleague told my manager and well she no longer works there