Disciplined for Covid absences

[Nahhh]

Hi there,

I’m just looking for some advice. We’re in Wales we’re the rules are a little stricter but basically I’ve been put on an attendance plan for having too many absences.

In the last 6 months I’ve had 2 days off due to a miscarriage and then 5 stints of 2 days due to Covid tests. I appreciate this is a lot of absence but I’m not sure what to do. I’ve 3 kids and they bring all sorts of germs home and unfortunately on 5 occasions I’ve had a fever and a cough so have had a PCR test and stayed home until I had the results. I’ve been told to make more of an effort to stay healthy. I assume if I’m ill again I’ll have to forego the test and just go to work regardless? Morally I’m not sure what’s best.

Ask them if they would prefer you ignored covid and just not take any tests?

I don't get paid if I'm off but covid is one of those shit things employers should be sucking up.

5 fevers and coughs is a lot! I'm not surprised they are concerned. If you said 5 absences because of the children etc maybe but 5 just for you?!

5 stints of 2 days each is a lot and would trigger absence review in most workplaces.

I could understand if it was leave/unpaid leave to manage DC illness and tests but it would be unusual to catch 5 separate bugs with the same symptoms in such a short space of time.

I'd suggest they potentially don't believe they were all genuinely covid-related.
Have you asked them what you need to do if you get covid symptoms.

It's still illegal to go to work with covid symptoms isn't it?

'Make more of an effort to stay healthy.' What does that even mean? Have you asked them what specifically they are expecting you to do?

@girlmom21

I'd suggest they potentially don't believe they were all genuinely covid-related. Have you asked them what you need to do if you get covid symptoms.

It's still illegal to go to work with covid symptoms isn't it?

This.

I think though we all have a devils responsibility to reduce our contacts.
This is hard with school going children. However, your post suggests the tests are for YOU not the children. I would find it concerning if somebody had to have repeat antigen tests. Your employer is obviously skeptical and/or annoyed and it’s damaging your reputation if you are one of the few employees being pulled up about it?
If you are one of many, your employer may think people are taking the puss in the workplace.

• social responsibility!

It is a lot. Unfortunately we’ve been hit hard with various bugs. I don’t think they can doubt the illness because I’ve obviously still had the continuous coughs when I’ve gone back to work 2 days later. That being said, in normal times I’d have gone to work with some lemsip or whatever.

I have asked for clarity about possible future illnesses but they just reiterated that I should make sure I wash my hands frequently, avoid busy places, etc.

I thought I was doing the responsible thing by being tested but now I’ve just embarrassed myself at work and I feel pretty rubbish about it.

• piss not puss - I give up 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Get boxes of LFTs and do those - no time off, and even if you have symptoms you can use them. Then you only need to get a PCR if you have a positive LFT.

Do they have a covid policy?

I imagine that must be what others have been doing WoodenFoot. Silly old me was following the rules and doing a PCR

LFTs are not accurate if you have symptoms so ignore PP.

Maybe you need to send your employer proof of your PCR results so they know you weren't just having a day off for a cough?

Would they prefer you came in and potentially spread covid around?

Tbh with 3 kids (presumably young-ish) and a pandemic I don't think that's much time off. I was permanently ill when mine were young.

LFTs are not accurate if you have symptoms so ignore PP.

Lateral flow tests (LFT) are 95 per cent effective at detecting Covid-19 if used at the onset of infection and soon after symptoms start

Link here:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lateral-flow-covid-tests-symptoms-b1883817.html

I've had a positive LFT every day that I've had symptoms, right through to yesterday which was day 9.

If you've only been off for 2 days at a time, I assume you haven't had covid. So what are these monthly fevers that you get? If I were a manager, I too would be suspicious that you were swinging the lead.

'Make more of an effort to stay healthy.' - that's hysterical! What idiots!

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot stop wasting tests

Does everyone commenting about the amount of illness not have/remember having young kids? We're currently on our fourth cold-type virus since the start September, and this one is the only one where they haven't had a fever or a bad cough. Plus I've now picked up a stomach bug as well so I'd have to be off again. It's not that strange.

Also - good thread on using LFTs to check symptoms:

twitter.com/BristOliver/status/1456282333066186755

In schools there are so many bugs flying about - school staff aren't PCR-ing for every cough or sniff because no one would ever be in. We LFT and go by those. They've been 100% accurate since the beginning of the year out of my sample of 100. Two adult cases of covid picked up and followed on LFT.

[quote girlmom21]@RuleWithAWoodenFoot stop wasting tests [/quote]
Can do what I like with them, but thanks for your concern about erm... not sure what.

@newrubylane

Does everyone commenting about the amount of illness not have/remember having young kids? We're currently on our fourth cold-type virus since the start September, and this one is the only one where they haven't had a fever or a bad cough. Plus I've now picked up a stomach bug as well so I'd have to be off again. It's not that strange.

It's not that I don't remember but it is unusual for a patent to be sick for two days every month, like I said time to manage ill children is understandable but it's pretty unusual for the illnesses to be so bad that parents are getting that ill every single month.

It’s not a two day Illness once a month. It’s a new cold bug which lasts a couple of weeks with a couple of weeks rest before the next one. My body must be sensitive because I always end up with a fever with a cold/ cough but as I said, in usual times I take some lemsip and get on with it.

I think I’ve been naive in assuming everyone is following the rules to the letter and obviously I need to ignore these bugs and get on with it.

I don't think it's that unusual either. DD has brought home about four bugs in the last three months, all of which I have picked up and had worse than her! And I was never ill pre child. Pre-Covid I would have just got on with it, but life is bit different now, isn't it? How many people would genuinely be happy with a colleague coming in coughing and spluttering with no idea whether it's Covid or not?

Our household has been terrible with colds and bugs since school started back, there me, husband, two kids and MIL and one of is has something every week, it's just constantly going round and round.

Our school sent guidance out in August to say covid can present as a cold in children so any symptoms of cold including runny nose, headache, tiredness and sore throat alongside the main symptoms of covid would mean isolating until negative PCR.

At work we need to isolate if someone at home is covid positive until we have a negative PCR then we can return as long as we do daily LFTs. If we have a close contact without symptoms we need to do daily LFTs for 10 days.

I can well imagine having so many absences OP, hopefully at the meeting when they see what's been happening (do you still have proof of your negative covid tests?) They'll understand.