Working from home counted as sick?

[Chloeneedshelp]

Last week I got a UTI and so Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I worked from home because it was easier than running to the loo at work! My manager agreed. Cut a long story short, I was given wrong antibiotics etc so by Friday I was very poorly and called in sick and today, Monday. Would I need a sick note for tomorrow? Are the days I worked from home counted as sick? Or do I not need a note until Friday?

If you we're working, they weren't sick days Imo. Ping your manager as they sound helpful and then you are covered

Do you usually have the option to work from home during a normal working week?

Thanks for reply. I agree, I still did full day's work but then they don't have me as attending work so not sure where that leaves me.

A few reasons as to why I work from home, my little boy when he gets poorly and I have to leave saves me taking the day off and leaving my work to others. And because sometimes I don't get all my work done in my 30hours! I am the only part timer and mother so no one else works from home. So normally no, I'd be expected to go in.

So when it comes to working from home, you're allowed to as an exception, rather than it being part of your normal working week, and nobody else you work with is granted this.

I'd say in that case you were off sick.

At our organisation the days you worked from home would be counted as such and only the days for which you were unable to work would be counted as sick.

We always try to accommodate employees who wish to work from home rather than take a day's sick in cases of UTI, upset stomach etc.

Yes that is correct. It's never been anything official, just an agreement so that when my son is poorly, I'm not wasting time sat at home when people at work are struggling with my work load. I can carry on as normal at home.

Ask your manager!
By the way one of my team stayed away from work for a few days. Her fit note from her gp said suspected chicken pox & her gp said she shouldn't attend the office. She did a full days work from home and I/HR didn't mark her as on sick leave. (She actually just had a rash....)

In your circumstances our boss would have said you were working from home the days you were WFH, and sick Friday/Monday. if your boss agreed and you were working, no reason for it to be classed as off sick.

ZoFlo - but she did full days of work????

You were only sick the time you couldn't work - regardless of where you were working. As long as this was agreed with your manager, he or she can make sure whatever needs to be done to mark you in is done (do you have timesheets or something that would "have you as attending?")

Whether you're classed as sick or not surely depends on whether you get paid for the hours?

If you do then you don't need to claim sick pay. If you don't, get a sick note so you can claim for sick pay.

I would say you were not off sick if you were working from home and your manager agreed to this, particularly as you say you did a full days' work. I don't think whether it was an established "exception" or not comes into it.

If you are in large organisation, I would speak to line manager or HR and make sure you are covered.

I do recall when I was off with maternity related issues (unable to move much, but mentally able to deal with issues) I had HR jumping up and down as technically I was sick and shouldn't be working. If you were working with your bosses' agreement from home, then I'd say you are working just, by agreement, in a different location.

Here's my take on it.

Staff at my workplace are allowed to work from home, and they truly do work from home, with access to online office files and systems, their desk phone diverted to their mobile, etc, etc. They are 100% working.

In places that I've worked that don't 'officially' allow working from home, then on the rare occasion that someone is allowed (when their child is ill for example), it's on the unspoken and unwritten understanding that they're not really doing a full and proper day's work, but this is rare, so it's ok, we'll let it go.

So in that case I might let a member of staff off with a day of working from home if they're ill, but if that then turns into 5 days off I'd say, no, they are, and were off sick.

But I don't know the OP's workplace, so like I say, just my take on it.

I have never heard of a workplace agree to a day WFH, then change their mind (after the employee worked all day, albeit at home!) and called it a sick day.

Immensely unfair.

The key is whether, on any given day, you did a full day's work? If yes then you were not sick. If no, then you were sick for all of part of the day.

You wrote: I still did full day's work - so there's your answer. Unless your boss is rewriting history??

I have WFH on the odd occasion I've been ill enough to not want to be in the office but not quite sick enough to not be able to do nothing. When that's happened, I've been clear with my manager that I'm WFH instead. When I've been sick enough to not even log in, I've made it clear I'm taking a sick day.

I think you need to tell your manager the circumstances and say it's WFH rather than sick.

I definitely did my full days work those days. And by the Friday and Monday I did say I wasn't able to work those days.

Surely if you are working from home, you are still working. It's pretty common in my line if work (law) that if you are feeling a bit rubbish or are contagious you work from home if possible. I did just that today. I have a heavy cold and had a mild fever, so I worked from home. The rainy commute would have done me in and I would have spread germs to my team. I wasn't off sick - I did a full day at my laptop.

for a wellbeing perspective they might ask you for a sick note/fit note. In Return to work interviews I have done for employees I have had to ask:
Date of when illness began
Date of absence
Date of return
Date of illness end
Are you fit to work
In the really strict places I have worked, if the illness was more than 7 days we would request a fit note, even if the absence wasn't, just to make sure the person was indeed well enough to be working.

It does depend on your manager. I've had times where I've worked all day, I just couldn't cope with the 2hour commute when suffering the effects of a disgusting cold. If you previously cleared it with your manager and it was for your own comfort and you worked, I'd say you wfh.

Down to the line manager. In this instance they approved you to wfh so those were working days. In future they might not approve, in which case it's go in or take sick leave.

It's "the norm" to have to use annual leave for any time taken off to care for unwell DC. Unless the (nice!) employer allows additional paid leave for this - most don't.

Have they said you need a note?

Have they said they are calling those days sick days?

Otherwise don't worry.

Hope you are feeling better now!

I am feeling better now thank you and I've been back today. No mention of a sick note being required as yet but no back to work interview yet either.