People calling in with stress

[m0therofdragons]

I'm finding it fascinating how different people cope with the current situation. Some seem so self absorbed with their own situation that they forget that others around them also have families and their own stresses. Calling in sick with stress right now feels wrong to me. I'm in an acute hospital - we're all stressed and going above and beyond, working 7 days, trying to ensure dc feel loved while battling guilt of leaving them to fulfill our duty. It's been interesting to see how some people have no sense of duty at all and are happy to save themselves at the expense of their colleagues.

I want to scream, we all love our dc and yours are not more important than mine!

I'm sure I'll get slammed for not being more understanding but I've heard so much crap today and need to rant. It's just as well we don't all give up when times are hard.

NHS Trusts have a very strict sickness absence procedure

That's laughable. I'm an NHS employee and have in the past been a line manager. It's virtually impossible to get rid of someone who is taking the piss with sick leave. People know this and string out the leave as much as they can, come back for a few weeks then go off again. They'll turn off their phones and not reply to emails so it takes longer to escalate past a level 1 capability hearing. Then want an OH review, specialist referral, want a union rep at their hearing who also magically takes weeks to reply to emails... Anything to string it out

There are several employees in my service alone that have barely done a months work in the last two years

Oh, forgot to add the inevitable accusations of bullying and harassment against the line manager who dares to suggest that they might actually consider coming to work some time - which then has to be investigated independently, no matter how unfounded, adding a few months to the process

Then apply for a transfer to another team, and start the process all over again

That's pretty unusual pocketem. Sounds like your trust is poorly managed

I've worked in several trusts, across the country. It's a common and well known problem. If you can't acknowledge that, you are probably one of the piss-takers yourself.

Calm down Pocketem I haven't had a day off sick in six years!!!

I work in employment law and on Employment Tribunals. It's a common and well known problem in the Ministry of Justice that NHS Trusts are poorly managed and have draconian sickness absence policies.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I appreciate you are working exceptionally hard in an unenviable job.

@manicsomiac well you are lucky then. Amongst my staff, 90% are brilliant but there is definite minority who regularly take the piss.
You may think me harsh - I'm actually not. I have a very loyal and hardworking staff who know they are appreciated and who know I will advocate for them and support them. People who are genuinely ill are looked after and cared for.
It's the persistent malingerers who play the system that bring the morale of the rest down. And as other posters have said, it's very hard to get rid of them.

There are piss-takers and there are those with genuine MH problems that are really difficult to cope with.

However, there is a third large group of people who are simply, just as others have said, lacking resilience.

I was off sick about 10 years ago. I really was depressed. But there's no doubt I was wallowing. Sympathy and "understanding" made my self-pity worse. In the end it was people not wanting to be around me (I was bringing them down) that shook me out of it. Tough love. The need to get on with it and not having the luxury of feeling sorry for myself.

There is no shortage of people with genuine MH problems who need resources and understanding, but some people do just need to toughen up and stop being self indulgent. I'm sure most of us know people in both categories in addition to those that just like to skive.