AIBU to be fed up with colleagues repeatedly off sick?

[IngridsLittleToe]

I'm going to get my arse handed to me and I don't care. Sick staff....I'm so over feeling sympathetic. I'm not talking really sick staff...I'm talking repeated back ache/gynae problems/migraine/back ache/sore throat/cold/depression/back ache/sinusitis/cold/sore big toe....

They have been on repeated sickness absence management and pull it back from the brink each time. Only to start all over again. Years and years of this. The rest of the team have to pick up the pieces, cancel their jobs to cover someone else's and the sickie doesn't have any loyalty at all.

The whole time they are sick they manage to socialise and do a voluntary role. Any attempt to manage the sickness is met with claims of bullying and then they go sick with anxiety.

All on full pay.

AIBU to think they are shamelessly playing the system and should be sacked

Just do your job. Don't cancel work to pick up someone else's. Tell management you are at capacity and then mind your own business about other people's level of illness.

As always this is a management problem.

It's not down to staff to work out who's really sick and who isn't, even if you had access to their medical records.

And I say that as someone who hasn't had a day off sick in over 9 years.

It's no fun as a manager either, especially when HR are so risk averse.

You must work in the public sector . Totally get that you are fed up and I agree with others just say you are at capacity. Management will have to pay for temp staff.

Not always management but rather hr policy. Our policy is stupid and allows people to go off sick full pay 6 months. Return on phased return (on full pay) then not cope and go off sick again. Because they returned they reset the clock. Two years before we finally got rid of someone who did this over and over again to our department. And previously other departments until he moved to another department under performance capability to different roles. Incredibly frustrating and rest of team mojo decrease to saying why should I go above and beyond when I could do bare minimum or be off sick for 6 months full pay.

It's very much not just a public sector problem. I work in a private sector management role, and it's a widespread problem. There are a lot of people massively playing the system, and we have a very risk-averse HR department so takes months to years to manage out anyone who is either under-performing and/or taking the piss with sick leave.

And yes, anyone who senses performance management coming immediately signs off sick with stress for several months.

I don't know what the solution is really as I believe generous sick pay is really important for people who are properly sick.

Definitely public sector… 6 months full pay, 6 half pay…. Comes back at. 5.5 months of half pay, then takes all they are “owed”.
comes back, does a half arsed job while whinges about having to do anything.. then goes off sick again as soon as can get paid sick pay… management won’t do anything as the shrieks of bullying resound!

Public sector
I am party to medical notes....all of which are self claimed illnesses...neither proven or unproven.
I am in management.
She follows the policy exactly ...as do we
HR chaotic, inconsistent and timid.
Years and years.
It would be easier to pay her to stay at home rather than waste meeting after meeting, letter after letter, documenting, chasing etc etc.

I have successfully managed and supported really poorly staff to stay in work. I've managed incompetent staff to other jobs. It's always been fair, transparent and not devious....unlike this.

Fuckers aren't they

You mean HR won’t let you bully people you manage.

It's exhausting for the team
I worked with one, she worked about a year then would be off 6 months. The last time she came back within days was asking about pay rises! Unbelievable.
Yet no one considers the team well being, it's always just focused on the individual.

Are you in the public sector OP? If so, I feel your pain and absolutely agree with you.

Only going to get worse from next month when SSP is paid from first day of sickness. Certain employees will definitely abuse this. Small businesses won't cope.

Expecting colleagues to come into work and not take sick leave whilst capable of working isn't bullying.

If you can socialise with your backache, gynae issues, sore foot, cold, flu, migraine....you can work. It's miraculous the recovery for any day not due to be at work

Some people think even being asked to do anything work is getting bullied!

I'm kind of with you. I've become really quite exhausted from my job over the past few years. It's quite demanding physically and mentally and I've had lots of co-workers taking time off for a variety of reasons from nothing to something. In the meantime time I have had to make do without cover or, sometimes, had cover from random agency people. It has definitely had an impact on me. I really struggle with taking time off for illness or whatever to the point that I never do it (plus we are always told just how awful our deficit budget is). It's all a bit too much.

The person I encountered would even pre plan they'd need 6 months off
Ie they had a planned op and would state they'd be off 6 months!
How do you know? Surely recovery is so variable?!

The thing is you can predict her illness. Anything tricky coming up....go sick. Performing badly and about to be asked about it...go sick. HR involvement....off with stress and anxiety. Gentle gentle management because of the poor diddums and they return on phased with special duties they hand pick...

Performance, time keeping and absences all dire. Challenged in a gentle and supportive way. Off sick.

They need to accept its not the job for them, stop taking pay for something they can't do and leave.

Well this is my exact point tbh. The sickie is impacting her colleagues. Because they are so motivated to deliver a good service they go above and beyond. To let the service fail (at capacity...cannot do anymore) would really upset them. Sickie doesn't care. Totally focused on her own well being. Sickness reasons are like a bingo card

Lol yep...

Typical public sector, well overdue a shakeup

I feel your pain
I work for the nhs and our sick pay is good and for the genuine people who need it then it’s excellent HOWEVER a good sick pay package is also open to abuse.
We have a couple of people on our team who absolutely “play the system” and it’s just infuriating as the rest of us are expected to absorb their work then we get (when they come back) “don’t give too much work to sick note we don’t want to stress her out” and it’s like “what about the rest of us here”!

im one of these i go to work unless im dying, I hate letting people down.

Oh god I feel your pain. I managed one like this (NHS) and it was a nightmare. The whole team were frustrated by her, and her attitude and them regularly having to cover her work just lowered morale. Not going into specifics but there were several episodes of blatant piss taking, she was so brazen about it. HR were useless as she knew exactly how to play the system

I'm with you OP and it also does a real disservice to those who are genuinely sick.

It also annoys me when people say it's a management issue. I mean I get why they say that. But as someone who is both a manager and a "doer", I can't stop the person going off sick, and nor can I magic up any more staff to do the work (there is no budget as we are still paying the off-sick person).

Mind your own. I had someone target me after I had been off with gyne issues. "Oh all women have periods, get over it, have some paracetamol" or "you dont look ill" etc. Hmmm, had 14 tumours, adenomyosis and a twisted ovary. I was fighting with Dr's for YEaRS to get treatment. I dont need advice from Susan in HR who doesn't have a clue. Just like you dont. Yes SOME people maybe playing the system but you can't judge everyone.