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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To take dd to town tomorrow for new shoes, despite being on the sick?

133 replies

mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 21:57

I dont think I am although I think my boss will think differently if anyone sees me.

I threw out dd's shoes before xmas, have beem ill for over a week and been off work, my boss phoned me today asking when I was 'planning' on going back despite me phoning on friday to say I wouldnt be in all weekend, anyway dd is back in school on Tuesday and has no other shoes she can wear.

So AIBU??

OP posts:
nooka · 04/01/2009 23:02

If you are not rostered to work tomorrow why are you bothering with this thread? If you are not due to be at work then you can do what you like presumably.

RipVanTwinkle · 04/01/2009 23:03

Nooka - do you not think it makes sense that someone should be capable of undertaking a short shopping trip without keeling over before they commit to going back to work? Especially in a job like the OP's?

nooka · 04/01/2009 23:04

This time of year is always tricky for hospitals though, as there is lots of sickness which affects both staff and obviously the general public too. I can quite see why your boss is trying to get everyone back into work asap.

happynewgoatlegs · 04/01/2009 23:04

you can't go to work if you have the flu in a hospital. you still have to live though don't you. Surely buying shoes for dcs is in the same league as picking them up from school a in has to be done whther you are ill or not

Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:05

nooka, I think it was unreasonable of her to phone me because I had already phoned in on friday and told the sister in charge that I would not be in all weekend and that I would phone on tuesday (as per sickness policy) to let them know if I was fit to return to work.
I have done this for every shift Ive missed since being off sick.
I dont have a doctors note because I am 7 days today, so I will go when I can get an appointment (as a sick note is not consdiered an emergency and rightly so) so I have nothing from the doctor telling me when I can return to work.

IMO the NHS sickness policy sucks, it encourages people to go into work sick, as I did with this bug before I was literally on my knees and couldnt do anymore, putting my patients and my collegues at risk.
It also encourages people to stay off longer than they might to ensure they are 100% well as if you return to work and then go off again that counts as your two episodes of sickness youre allowed per year before your warning!

OP posts:
Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:05

are you my boss nooka?

OP posts:
RipVanTwinkle · 04/01/2009 23:07

Mosschops - I sympathise with you. It sounds like a nightmare. These organisations spend so much time worrying about the minority who might be taking advantage, that they completely forget about the welfare of the majority. It really annoys me.

nooka · 04/01/2009 23:08

I think there are other ways of testing yourself. After all the OP has just had flu, not anything particularly serious. When I returned work to after I broke my arm and jaw I took it very slowly, starting off with visiting work, then taking work home, and then returning part time. It was tricky not to overdo it. Shopping IMO is something that you do on your day off. If you are off work through illness it is your responsibility to concentrate on recovery, and I'm not sure going shopping would aid that (I hate shoe shopping). I would just be very careful, as it could lay the OP open to at the very least a very difficult conversation. However given the circumstances I think it is a non issue.

Pawslikepaddington · 04/01/2009 23:09

Well Mosschops, when my mum was in hospital I would have thought you were being VERY unreasonable going to work, as she had no immunity. You poor thing-damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you worked in an office I would say go in to work, but even though mum was on what most would regard as a pretty low risk (blood) ward, you could still have killed a good few of them by giving them a flu bug. You can hardly send your dd to school in your shoes can you?

Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:11

yes maybe I could ask if I can bring home a sedated ventilated patient for a few hours and see how I get on, or ask if I can just work for 2 hours of my shift and expect them to get someone else to cover the other 10 hours if I dont feel up to it.
Do you mind me asking what you do Nooka?

OP posts:
Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:13

sorry to hear about your mum paws, hope everything ok now.
I was a patient on a haematology ward once and they wouldnt even let dd visit me as children presented a risk to the other patients, which IMHO is a good policy

OP posts:
nooka · 04/01/2009 23:13

Nope, I'm no longer in the UK. But I did have a number of staff who seriously took the piss out of the NHS regulations. Several of whom took long term sick (which is six months full pay), and others who were just very cavalier about taking sick leave at short notice. I'm probably a bit oversensitive to this issue - managing sickness is tricky to say the least.

However I don't get why you are worrying mosschops. If you are not rostered to work then in effect it is your day off anyway, so you can do what you like surely? Study on Tuesday followed by work on Wednesday sounds very sensible.

Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:14

Aaaah an NHS manager !

OP posts:
nooka · 04/01/2009 23:14

Oh, and I used to manage quality and risk (but not in an acute for a while).

Pawslikepaddington · 04/01/2009 23:14

Will people stop going on at the OP for having flu-yes it is not a big deal in offices, but in hospitals it kills people-loads of people, and is worse than a broken arm/back/loss of legs. Sorry for jumping in there mosschops but it really upsets me!

ThePregnantHedgeWitch · 04/01/2009 23:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

mousehole · 04/01/2009 23:16

This reply has been withdrawn

withdrawn at poster's request

Pawslikepaddington · 04/01/2009 23:16

X-post, will slink off now, sorry! xx

Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:19

wow mouse I wish I worked for you, then my dd could go to school barefoot.

Oh I dont need to make the effort to look it, I went to the supermarket earlier with teeth that have not been brushed for longer than I'd like, ill fitting joggers with a curry stain down the front, washed out skin with no make-up, straggly unwashed hair and old trainers ..... mmmm man I looked hot

OP posts:
RipVanTwinkle · 04/01/2009 23:20

Personally, I think that any conversations/judgments about when people do or don't go back to work should be entirely out of the hands of line managers and dealt with by a dedicated personnel officer. That way it's impartial and there are no axes to grind.

RipVanTwinkle · 04/01/2009 23:22

I'm sorry but having flu is still a big deal in an office.

  1. Because someone suffering from flu is not capable of performing effectively no matter where they work. When you have a huge and stressful caseload, that matters.

  2. More importantly, someone who struggles into work while still infectious (probably to avoid those ridiculous sanctions that are so fashionable) merely succeeds in infecting everyone else. Thus costing the organisation shedloads more money.

Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:24

RVT thats excatly how Ive ended up with it, people in work because they are already up to their sickness quota and cant have anymore without being warned/sacked.

OP posts:
RipVanTwinkle · 04/01/2009 23:24

Erm Nooka - exactly how is it possible to give notice as to when you will be requiring sick leave?!

Original poster
mosschops30 · 04/01/2009 23:26

Because RVT when you are a manager you are never sick and when you are you know when its going to be and can plan ahead, managers are magic dontcha know

OP posts:
RipVanTwinkle · 04/01/2009 23:26

Sickness quotas have to be one of the most stupid management fads I have ever heard of.

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