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

Eh? replace the work you were too ill to do? How does that work? Not everyone has a desk job.

I didn't say any of that.

How about you come in extra for the number of days you were off sick?

That is not how it works though. And people can't help being off sick. You are in effect punishing them for being off sick.

I was drawing comparison with retaking the days of annual leave that fell during the period of sickness. Why should the business have to replace that for the staff member but the staff member not have to replace the days lost to sickness? Surely you lose the annual leave just like you lose the opportunity to work if you're off sick.

I am not sure if it would be legal to deny accruing annual leave when someone is off sick.

Doesn't matter. I'm pointing out the imbalance.

It's NOT ABOUT YOU.

Well, that is nothing to do with the employee who is off sick. They have no say in the policies of their workplace.

Doesn't make any difference. It's still an imbalance.

I had a friend who'd had 1 x 6 months off then another 1 x 6 months

@Squirrelchops1 I keep seeing this odd way of writing and I don't know where it's suddenly come from. Why wouldn't you just say "6 months off and then another 6 months"?

Do people order "one times a flat white" these days?

It's not wrong, so I'm not being pendantic - it's just strange. It's a genuine question.

Farage, is that you?

I’ll ask again, because no one has answered my questions:

How do you differentiate me to someone who is “playing the system”?

Also, if it’s not about me then why did the OP describe my chronic health condition in the OP, where I suffer from “repeated gynae issues” and “repeated back pain”.

I feel your pain. I work for NHS and can't believe the rate of staff absence.There is nothing management ( who are often off sick themselves!) can do that isn't a long involved process with HR) Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel and walking away. There seems to be no resilience and a culture that seems to encourage turning up for work as an option. One girl I work with hasn't been in all week because her puppy keeps her up at night!

If you are unlucky enough to have struggled with endometriosis and all its related conditions then it's not about you.

If you have been making it up in order to play the system and get money for nothing then it is about you.

You're actually the one who decides whether it's about you or not.

ETA it's been repeatedly stated that the timings of people's long term sick leave shows a recognised pattern, so it's unlikely that your absences and surgeries follow those patterns. Also, if your bosses know and understand your history then your colleagues will know that it's genuine without knowing any of the details.

Your situation is not as example of thp.
I hope you have recovered and are well

Perfectly put, thank you!

Mine's a pint please

Ttp

It’s an incurable condition, so sadly not but thank you.

Although I see your point and agree, we should note the other side. There are people who are genuinely ill who also time their sickness absence to perfection. They stay below the radar because they want to keep their jobs and contribute the best they can despite their illness. This can be a real struggle and at great personal cost.

The difference can still be possible to spot; the CFs will show it in their general attitude - inflexibility, sense of entitlement etc - while the genuine ones might be conscientious and positively aligned.

In both cases though, performance is an issue. The inability to meet a standard of attendance is the same, and the procedural remedy can be the same.

Like many posters, I work in the public sector and it has never ceased to amaze me how some people play the system, with seemingly little regard for the impact on the service or their colleagues.
I have also managed people's sickness absence and have spent considerable amounts of time writing management cases for HR meetings etc.
I am appreciate of the fact that there is a generous sick pay system and have availed of this myself when I was in hospital. I was incredibly relieved that my mortgage was paid.
I am referring to those whose sickness patterns and reasons for sickness follow a clear pattern.
In some industries, if you don't work due to sickness (irrespective of reasons), you don't get paid.
Very unfair.
A good peace of advice from a very senior manager was not to let it keep you awake at night.

The OP dismissing migraines like that shows they've never had one. I feel for you teaching because I work at a computer and literally vomit and nearly pass out if I've got one.

I very rarely get migraines since my menopause, thankfully, but I get really annoyed when people dismiss them as "just a headache".

When I got one, I would vomit so frequently and violently that for days afterwards I would feel like I'd been kicked in the gut by a horse. I was unable to keep down even a few sips of water for hours on end and was twice admitted to hospital to be rehydrated via a drip. The blinding headache and visual aura that meant I couldn't see properly were actually the least of my problems.

They became less frequent when I was able to identify some of my triggers and eliminate them, but some of them were hard to avoid. I could avoid using fluorescent lighting and manage with a desk lamp in my office, but not in other buildings if I had meetings there, and it was damn near impossible to avoid some of the smells that triggered them, eg some paints and perfumes.

Anyone who thinks taking a day's sick leave for a migraine is swinging the lead deserves to get a migraine, frankly.

Seen this firsthand with NHS, surprised anything runs in there. Really lowers morale.

Why is the NHS (in particular) so soft on it? You think they would come down the hardest since they deal with people who are legitimately sick and/or dying.