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 you’ve got a sickness record, so to speak, then sorry but it’s even more likely that this will lead to further enquiries and potentially you’ll get found out.

If you died tomorrow, they would replace you by Friday

Yabu to even debate this - go! ❤️

Are you mad? It’s like you want her to get sacked! She’s pregnant, with a sickness record and has already asked her manager to swap the day. It’s unlikely she’d be able to put forward any medical evidence if investigated. She might as well have a sign on her head saying “please sack me.”

I’m all for companies treating their staff fairly- on this occasion I think that the OP should raise the swap idea again with her manager- but this is just taking the piss. Plus putting a massive burden on the other staff.

They wouldn't really have a choice if she died... :)

Unpaid? Fuck them, take a sickie and look for a better job.

It’s a shame as I have 2 other colleagues who have also been left in the shit the blanket ban.

Colleauge A has their child’s birthday 7th March and is working.

Colleauge B has her anniversary Saturday 14th and is working.

Colleauge A and B teamed up and reached out to the manager to beg for a swap and got declined.

It’s shite because if these events had fallen on weekdays they’d be able to book annual leave no problem.

I’m wondering whether to be a pain now and get everyone involved to contest the ban!

You need to go to management en masse. It is crazy that the shifts are getting covered yet they are still refusing.

That's working for the man for you!

Who knows if its a man she works for :)

'The Man'

🙂

Her family wouldn't replace her as quickly, is what I mean. All the best, op.

That is completely irrelevant! You did have a genuine sickness with your pregnancy I understand that and it can’t be helped however you know full well you don’t need the particular time off for pregnancy illness, how could you possibly know you’d need that exact Saturday off?

I’m pregnant as well and have had a couple of short-notice days off for pregnancy related ailments I don’t know whether I could say it’s pregnancy related as it’s a bit harder to challenge then

You’re considering using your pregnancy as an excuse because ‘it’s a bit harder to challenge’.

Apologies, didn't mean to sound arsey. I think it's outrageous that they don't pay sick leave.

I know what you meant :)

Yes, I wouldn't have thought her family would replace her that quickly.... Slight difference to be fair :)

And wherever it is, flights can be cancelled. Obviously less likely in some places, but still probably more likely right now.

Many, many companies do not pay SSP for the first 3 days......

If I couldn't swap with someone I would take a sickie. MH is no joke. Take care OP.

If I were to go about officially challenging the blanket-ban on Saturday swaps, what’s the best way to go about it? I’m only an entry-level position as is every else who’s been shafted by the ban. Managers are allowed to use AL for Saturday shifts. Should I get Julie involved to support me as it was banned due to her?

Any advice appreciated as I’d much rather address the issue head-on that have to be deceitful and call in sick

I'd propose a solution to the ban.

So in order to swap shifts a form is filled in and signed by the 2 swapped and the manager. At that point it is fixed and an obligation.

It's surely totally unreasonable for you to have NO way of avoiding working a Saturday. If you ask before the rota comes out do they adjust it?

Don’t get Julie involved!

Suggest that at the next team meeting this is raised for discussion. Then get the whole team together and agree that you all have to propose one solution and stick to it. (I.e 2 way swaps allowed if agreed X weeks in advance and responsibility for re-arranging is clear). If you have a meeting where you’re all arguing this is just going to prove managers right!

If you don’t have team meetings, send an email from you all and set out the real-life consequences that the ban is causing.

Have you got an employment contract? If so what does it say about not swapping Saturdays?

Can you mark any Saturday's as dates to avoid in advance?

Have you got an HR department or a union?

Well I think you are going to need to go to the manager and explain the situation, saying you have someone that is willing to swap or you need to see if the holiday can be moved. I don't think it is a good idea to pull a sickie, it's already going to look suspicious and even if you don't want to stay at that company long term they might give you a less favourable reference (they can't be negative but they can stick to facts).
I am not sure why you don't have a shared calendar with your partner as this would then mean he could have checked more carefully beforehand (either an old fashioned wall calendar with your Saturdays marked on it, or shared on your phones).

This is where it gets unreasonable as you can book annual leave months in advance but they will book you in for 1 every 4 Saturday’s regardless of whether you’ve booked any annual leave that week. This is why they used to allow swaps but then due to Julie/Ann incident we can’t do this anymore.

For example - let’s say months ago I had booked a holiday 9th April to 16th April - then I get my rota 5 weeks ahead and my 1 in 4 Saturday shift has ended up falling on the Saturday 14th April. I’d be expected to work this shift. Used to be easily fixed by a swap but now causes people a lot of stress in rearranging holidays.

Manager has just responded to my email stating “We are very generous with annual leave in offering 35 days and we have no other restrictions on when annual leave can be booked. Therefore, we feel it is fair that we are strict about enforcing the 1 in 4 Saturday rule. Employees receive a rota 5 weeks ahead and can plan holidays accordingly. It is written into the employment contract that you will work a Saturday every 4 weeks. We have had to disallow swaps as it was causing confusion and unfairness among the team. We have had incidents where staff members have repeatedly swapped and therefore haven’t worked any of their scheduled Saturdays, so we have had to crack down.”

Deffo can’t call in sick now of course! I might continue to be awkward and write up a contract with my coworker saying we are 100% happy to swap and have no intentions of changing our minds, and we accept consequences if the other one doesn’t show up. And then present that to my manager.

Are you part of union? Can you ask them for advice?
Surely most people book holidays further off than 5 weeks so the rota system surely won't work.