Would you pull a sickie for a pre-booked trip?

[EsperTillus]

I’ve had a really shite time lately with some family events and my mental health.

My lovely partner today surprised me with a long weekend to my favourite city in Europe in April. It’s been booked.

he didn’t think anything of booking it as he knew I had loads of annual leave (will need to book the Friday off) and I’m over the moon. The only problem is, my department requires us to work 1 in every 4 Saturdays and my Saturday has fallen when we’re supposed to go away.

they are usually fine to book any annual leave but there’s a strict rule that you have to do your Saturdays, no exception. It was an oversight on my partner’s part and he’s very apologetic.

The trip isn’t really refundable, he got a fab deal on the hotel and that part is refundable but the flights which make up 80% of what he’s paid are non-refundable. We couldn’t really afford to re-book.

Saturday shifts at my job are also notoriously busy and stressful.

I’ve had such an awful time lately and really need this trip to look forward to. WIBU to pull a sickie on the Saturday?

If the first few days of sickness are unpaid then staff are going to be careful not to take a suspicious number of odd days off especially next to a weekend. You learn to be strategic in these matters. However employers who have such rigid rules will reap what they sow.

I think your partner needs to try to swap the booking. He messed up, he needs to change it.

You shouldn’t have to risk your employment by throwing a sickie or mess about - he needs to change it. It’s not for him to “tear his hair out” - he just made a mistake and needs to change it.

Banning swaps does sound a bad policy though, esp as you only have the shifts at such short notice. They should give you much more notice any way.

No, by evidence I think evidence at the time. Like an email or text from the doctor confirming an appointment, or from a midwife or something like that. It would all depend on the reason given. If OP
says she had a midwife appointment or had to attend hospital there would be contemporaneous evidence of this. But as you say, if it was norovirus used as an excuse but after a days leave and when the employee had asked for the day off already it may not be possible to get evidence, and so all the employer might be able to do is make a note of the suspicion and keep an eye on things. But in this situation I would not expect the manager/ company to be extending goodwill the other way and if the OP genuinely is ill a couple of times in my work this would trigger enhanced monitoring where (I think) you have to provide evidence every time you are off.

This is really shit and I don’t like the sound of your employer but unless you’re prepared to lose your job over it, and the reality is discrimination is rife so it won’t be easy to get a new one while pregnant, I wouldn’t go. It is far, far too risky.

Id start making ill noises on Thursday pm. Lay it on Friday morning and throw in a few "think ill be in bed for 9pm im not feeling right at all" in the afternoon if appropriate chatter arises. Then possibly leave a bit early on friday due to illness.

Pregnancy related of course, morning sickness etc.

No boss I have ever had would have been arsed with all the faff of a disciplinary, when it's an otherwise good (and pregnant) employee, over one day. I would do it.

Inflexible, blanket ban of anything for a kick off - we had to ban this thing because too many people were making the managers lives too difficult - type energy, like we're children. I prefer my employers to treat me like an adult, that has real life situations that can happen.

In this case the employees need to get together and petition management to change the system. Maybe you could ask for rotas more in advance, ask to be allowed to swap in exceptional circumstances or something like that together. Or just find a different job if you don’t like it.

But it you resign or get sacked bear in mind that you probably won’t qualify for enhanced maternity at the next place, even if you managed to get a job when pregnant, as you won’t have been there long enough.

I would have said go for it, it's a one off and was a mistake... Your employer wouldn't think twice about making you redundant!

But it will be absolutely obvious to your manager now that you've asked to swap. They will be hyper vigilant because it is a Saturday.
It would be a gross misconduct if they find out. If you're counting on maternity leave, I assume that now isn't the best time risking losing your job.

If you can afford to be unemployed, crack on. Because you'll be at high risk here of disciplinary action, pregnant or not. In fact it could be the perfect excuse to get you out the door.

If you can't, tell your partner to sort his mess out.

Which then makes the system unworkable! Doesn’t it!

Sorry SIL you should’ve checked which date suited me for your wedding, it’s the most important thing to do! Yes, you may have only been able to get the venue for that Saturday, but as I’m running the country that day, I can’t take it off.

Oh no, not running the country working for an inflexible employer, who doesn’t pay sick leave.

This! 👏

I agree with you. One can't even say that the OP knew the deal when she took the job because at that time you could swap Saturdays with others.

There was a big, well-known drama a couple of months ago over a Saturday swap.

Ann had requested a shift swap in the group-chat so she could have a weekend away for a milestone birthday. Julie had nothing planned that Saturday so said yes. Julie’s daughter then got invited to a major audition that day and suddenly Julie wanted to swap back to her original Saturday. This would’ve left Ann in the shit as by then Ann had booked her hotel.

It led to the manager being dragged into it and the manager ended up having to arrange a 3rd member of staff to work Ann’s shift as Julie was insisting that her offer to swap with Ann had been done as a favour and wasn’t enforceable.

After that came the blanket ban of Saturday swaps, there is no leeway. It’s a shame as everyone else is being punished, most of us regularly sorted Saturday deals between ourselves and there was no issue prior to this.

Lazy management! One issue and it’s banned.

But now they’ll have to cover sickies, shame they’re so short sighted,

Where I work 1st 3 days of sickness are unpaid

They should have just banned Julie really. Once she'd swapped it was on her to find someone else who was not Ann.

I wouldn’t. I’d feel forever like I’d be found out.

Also, how will your Saturday be covered? Will one of your colleagues be called in to do it at short notice, ruining plans they have?

Flights are generally non-refundable. But you can usually swap the date for an admin fee. I'd look into that first. If you've already asked to swap it will be obvious when you pull a sickie!

It's infuriating when everyone gets punished for one person's shitty behaviour, but that was presumably not the only incident for them to ban swaps altogether.

Regarding the AIBU, they will probably clock the leave as suspicious internally, but I'm not sure they can demand private medical information, especially if it's the first 'offence'.

People do get sick, even on days they were denied leave for. As a one-off I'd consider it sod's law, but I'd be keeping an eye on future absences.

If you do it, do not tell anyone.

Can’t you, the employees, get together and put a proposal to management together? Like agreeing to accept that if you’ve swapped then the responsibility is on the person who’s agreed to the swap to find a replacement not the original person on the rota?

In your immediate position can’t you find someone to swap with in private (not the group chat) and then email the manager together to say that you both accept that either she or you will cover the day whatever happens? But be aware that you absolutely can’t pull a sickie if they say no, this would be career suicide where I work.

In terms of why I’m being a bit risky/reckless - I’ve already decided I’m going to retrain after mat leave so not concerned about ruining my long-term prospects with this company.

They offer enhanced mat pay but you have to return for a year after which so don’t intend to do so I’ll have to pay that back anyway. Therefore we’ve only budgeted for receiving statutory pay or maternity allowance which is fine.

of course I’d still rather not get sacked as I’d use them as a reference in future. If people are continuing to warn me not to do it then I’ll listen.

I might be annoying and reach out to a manager though, as I don’t think it’s fair I’m being punished for the drama that other coworkers had when I’ve helped loads of people with Saturday swaps in my time there.

Well they will be unlikely to sack her if she's pregnant. I don't think they'd want to risk a tribunal

So you can never have a week’s holiday which straddles your Saturday? What a stupid way to run a business.