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Original poster

Work Trouble - advice needed

21 replies

happinessis · 20/05/2014 16:10

Had a day booked off on Friday as holiday as was going away for the weekend. Ended up not well yesterday and phoned in sick. Went back today and my (female) boss made my whole day a misery. She is clearly not happy that I was off yesterday and resorted to picking holes in everything I did today and talking over my head. Should I a) ask for a meeting with her or b) go above her head or c) just leave? I find it totally pathetic and childish, she clearly does not believe it was a genuine sick day and is determined to make me pay for daring to take a day off. Advise please?

OP posts:
Timeandtune · 20/05/2014 16:51

I think you should ask for a meeting with her, raise your concerns and ask her for feedback.
Maybe your unplanned absence has resulted in extra pressures for her and she is a bit over anxious?

Humansatnav · 20/05/2014 16:55

I have a boss like this, and I went above her head , but in that case her bullying comments were recorded on the phone line, and she was found to have breached company hr guidelines ( especially as my sick leave record was virtually non existent)

handcream · 20/05/2014 16:58

Steady on! Leave just because of this... Have you got anywhere else to go to? Please do take a deep breath before you do anything rash

Humansatnav · 20/05/2014 17:25

Do you have access to your companies sickness policy ?

Unexpected · 20/05/2014 18:37

Sorry - you are thinking about leaving work just because you have one bad day with your boss? Is there some whole back story to this which you haven't yet told us?

Original poster
happinessis · 20/05/2014 21:37

i am a single parent with 2 kids. I cannot afford to leave my j
ob but I do not want to be in a situation like this - I may need time off for my kids at short notice and I will not be made to suffer for it. i had a bitch of a boss in my last job which I stuck out for 16 months and became depressed and I do not want to go through that again.

OP posts:
Original poster
happinessis · 20/05/2014 21:46

I have the sickness policy and I followed it. Reported my absence before the right time etc. I think it's because I was away for the weekend she doesn't believe it was genuine - I did have to see my GP but I can't prove that

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Unexpected · 20/05/2014 22:05

How long have you been in this job? It seems unfair that she would automatically think you were extending your weekend rather than ill, unless you are very new in the role and she doesn't know you well. Even then, her first thought should not be that you were skiving.

Do not go over her head or leave your job. Tomorrow, I would speak to her, ask if there was some problem today as she seemed unhappy with you and reiterate that you were genuinely ill, that you are committed to the job and rarely absent (assuming that is true) and you are sorry if your absence caused problems. Only if she still seems to treat you unfairly would I consider taking it any further.

Timeandtune · 20/05/2014 22:23

I agree with unexpected !

Unexpected · 20/05/2014 22:38

Timeandtune actually on rereading the thread, it seems like I agree with you!

Timeandtune · 20/05/2014 22:45

But you said it so much better Unexpected!

Original poster
happinessis · 21/05/2014 06:36

I have been in the job for 8 months. I have had 1 day off sick prior to this with a migraine and she behaved the same way. Didn't even ask how I was the next day just bombarded me with loads of work. Thanks for the advice will see what today brings.

OP posts:
BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure · 21/05/2014 06:41

I don't know what your job is but there are a lot of jobs where no-one gets the work done when you are off. It's annoying she's being grumpy with you but getting you to catch up is not unusual.

PowderMum · 21/05/2014 06:58

To be fair to your boss I'm quite suspicious of people who call in sick on a Monday after being away for the weekend too, you may have been genuinely ill but in my long work life in general most of these calls are from people who fancy an extra day off especially if the weather is good or have over indulged and need to recover. This then puts pressure on the team often if someone is away for just 1 day work they would normally do is left for their return by day 2 it may need to be done by someone else.

Having said this I wouldn't act like your boss, I would pull you to one side (hold a return to work meeting) to question your absence but if you have followed the sickness policy then that would be the end of it, I would then just go through everything that needed to be done and expect you to catch up.

Only if it was a regular thing or you were often absent on Mondays would it trigger an investigation. However in one company I worked with/for it was so frequent that sickness immediately before/after a booked holiday was automatically unpaid unless a GP certificate was obtained.

Original poster
happinessis · 21/05/2014 08:11

I don't have a problem with catching up, I'm a hard worker and do more than my fair share of the workload as I like to be busy. What I do have a problem with is being made to look stupid and corrected on things which have always been done a certain way and made to do them differently. It's very petty and un-necessary. I would prefer if she took me aside and cleared the air from her obvious annoyance at me being off than acting this way.

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handcream · 21/05/2014 09:50

It is difficult when someone isnt there. IMHO your work is not done by someone else, its waits for you to get back. Only the very urgent parts are done by someone else.

Perhaps it would be benefical to think of it from your boss's point of view for a moment, you call in sick, she then has to find someone very quickly to cover the work you were meant to do. That person has their own work to do as opposed to yours, they arent happy, she isnt happy beause she had to ask in the first place.

I think you need to accept that your boss is a little miffied when someone is away because it puts pressure on the rest of the team.

I work with someone who is constantly having to miss meetings and take leave at no notice because her child is getting all sorts of illnesses. It puts immense pressure on the rest of the team to cover for her again and again. I know it is largely out of her control but her work does need to be picked up by someone because she is off so often.

Why dont you just move on.

Original poster
happinessis · 21/05/2014 22:48

Just move on? As in leave? is it fair to be forced out of a job because of 1 day off? Is it fair to be treated like the sh** off someones shoe for being ill and causing a bit of extra work to a couple of colleagues? So today it continued. highly unprofessional however 'miffed' she may be it's worse than bloody playground behaviour. And to be honest none of my work was picked up it was all waiting for me and in 2 days I have caught up completely. Think I deserve better. Today i could not even be there to take my son to the doctors because there was no point in even asking to leave 10 minutes early, despite being there half an hour early this morning. It's crap

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Auntimatter · 22/05/2014 06:50

Is she like this with everyone else too when they are off sick?

Humansatnav · 22/05/2014 06:56

Hi op, I do think that you need to speak to hr, this sounds like its crossing the line into bullying by your boss, seen it many times Sad

Humansatnav · 22/05/2014 07:14

Also, try to get a copy of the sickness policy, I know you followed the procedure, but in this situation the policy is your friend, as it spells out the triggers, and what your boses \ comapany response should be. If she is not following that ( her nasty comments, etc ) then she will be breaking hr procedure.

Original poster
happinessis · 22/05/2014 17:54

it's only a small company, 20 staff, so don't have an HR dept - unfortunately my boss, office manager, deals with all the hr stuff. there's only 1 other person in our office and I have heard the boss tell her she is entitled to time off for appointments etc but she works full time and i am part-time so don't know if that makes a difference?? I havent seen her being like this with anyone else over sickness but that doesnt mean it doesnt happen. Same again today :'(

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