HR investigations

[Mamof2g]

Hello
so I’m currently signed off sick with a throat infection and work have seen me outside of my home taking my son to his rugby match, they have now launched an investigation and could end up in dismissal. A colleague videoed me and has since shared this where I work. Work have also announced to everyone that I’m under investigation. Are they allowed to do this? Many thanks

HR Here.
I'd recommend doing the following.
A. Ask the company for a copy of the sickness policy to clarify if it states you can't continue to parent your children or leave the house
B. Ask for a copy of the grievance procedure, explain its in order to raise a grievance about a. Your disciplinary being shared with staff who don't need to know and b. To report harassment/ bullying about a staff member filming you outside of work and sending it to colleagues.

You may find they swiftly diffuse the issue.

It was a gross invasion of your privacy OP, that someone should bother to film you like that and share it at work. Also having the wider team knowing everything about it is very unprofessional. I would be absolutely furious.

I have been off work with a horrific stomach bug but still had to drag myself out on the school run twice a day, what choice is there?! There's so much wrong here.

@slobro I’d like to know how they get signed off from being a parent,
it’s all just so wrong on there part.

@Bearpawk
thank you so much, I’m just about to email them now, your help is very much appreciated.

https://www.davidsonmorris.com/going-on-holiday-while-on-sick-leave/

I know of one case where an individual claimed to have a muscular-skeletal condition and was off long term sick. He met with a manager about how best to support him back to work by making reasonable adjustments / light duties. However, the individual maintained that they were in constant pain and couldn't walk further than 10 metres without needing to sit down.

Unfortunately for him, this individual was a children's football coach in his spare time which the company knew nothing about. That very night, there was a football tournament and this individual was filmed running up and down the pitch, heading the ball, doing keepy-ups, the works. The person who filmed him was the manager's line manager from that morning, he was there with his son playing in an opposing team.

In the end, the "sick" person was dismissed, lost the ET etc.

The difference in the case I suppose is the conversation that you had with your line manager regarding your capability for work. If you made out that your throat was terrible and you could barely leave your bed then suddenly you're filmed standing outside watching a rugby match, then it doesn't look good.
It's not like this was a mandatory caring requirement for your child. They could have missed the match if you weren't fit to take them.

Your colleague blabbing all around is pretty crappy, if you're in a union, get your rep involved. If not, I'm hoping you have a decent colleague who is sharp and can attend any investigation meeting with you.

Utter piffle

We had a lady at our work off sick receiving cancer treatment. Colleague saw her in the pub one day having lunch. Colleague told manager about seeing her. Colleague was promptly told that he was being very unreasonable, and the lady should absolutely be doing whatever she feel up to doing whilst going through a very difficult time. Good manager in that case

@HoraceTheLlama
oh my goodness that is awful, why would someone do that, well done to that manager tho .

@Sunnydale1999 this is rubbish, I sat the whole time and yes my child did have to go, it’s myself who is ill not him, and I’m signed off work not parental responsibilities, doctors advise was to get out in the fresh air, like Iv said previously, someone carried my chair, I sat for the duration was constantly drinking and using a throat spray, throat infections has lots of symptoms but this was never discussed when I handed my sick note in, infact I only got a call from work to see if I’d be in when my first note ran out so they could sort staffing out. The rugby match was not during work hours and the colleague who videoed myself zoomed right in on me, and has since passed it round at work, I am not in the wrong for this at all,

Your colleague passed it around? How unprofessional! They are so, so totally in the wrong, not you. I would be formally complaining.

Was the rugby match outside of your working hours?

They still don't seem to have followed procedure but wondering if they see it as taking time off sick to attend something else, bit like people who get caught at Wimbledon when the camera goes to the crowd, rather than you not being 'sick enough ' (which is pretty impossible to prove).

Have you seen a doctor? Having evidence will help with your case.

@ChristopherTalken I will be putting in a formal complaint, it’s disgusting behaviour from them, especially the management.

But that is nonsense. There are many types of illness and being able to leave the house does not mean someone is necessarily well enough to go to work.

OP how horrific, both the colleague filming you and management not telling them to keep their beak out.

Being fit enough to sit down outside is hardly comparable to a full days work is it!

Hope you feel better soon and this gets resolved - you’re owed several apologies.

You’ve done nothing wrong

the colleague who videoed myself zoomed right in on me, and has since passed it round at work, I am not in the wrong for this at all

Ignore my earlier suggestion to not complain about this colleague - I hadn’t realised that s/he had been passing the video around as gossip.

Feel for you and your colleague sounds like a massive twat. Can you think of anyone who had a problem with you before, or do you remember seeing anyone you recognised at the rugby match?

I think unless you had told work you were physically unable to get out of bed, then you're within your rights to be out and about whilst on sick, particularly as this was outside of working hours too.

I'd be interested to hear of any responses you get from work or ACAS.

Someone previously commented that you can go on holiday whilst on sick - not the case for our workplace, as per the policy. If you were on sickness leave (but felt well enough yo go on holiday still) you'd be expected to have those days as A/L.

Wow OP that sounds outrageous in so many ways.

Interested to hear the outcomes.

I'm mot in UK so possibly different. If I call in sick my work are not allowed to ask why.

I once took time off for my mental health. I felt sick with anxiety and went to the spa for the day, got told off but i put my boss right, that i had taken the day off because mentally i wanted to kill myself. Instead of moping at home eating 2 tubs of ben and jerrys and letting the feelings linger i went to the spa and relaxed and had some therapy.

Being sick in whatever way doesnt mean you have to be bed bound!!! Plus yes familys still have to do the usual family shit when ill.

This is exactly why a company will open an “investigation” because when there is some allegation, as you say just because you’re able to do one thing doesn’t mean you’re able to work, HOWEVER there are going to be instances where that is the case. As a PP has said, not working due to back pain but then running around on a football pitch as one example.

So companies will open an “investigation” especially if there has been a complaint from a colleague. If HR upon looking into it decide that there’s no issue, then that’s the end of it. The real issue here is that this has been passed around the office as gossip. There would be no issue if the company had received a complaint from another staff member and then privately looked into it, discussed it with OP upon return to work etc if they felt that was needed.

what colleagues actually do that? so strange. you can argue that you were off sick and had to take your child to the game because no childcare otherwise and what could your son do. you werent on your death bed. can you see the gp and tell them? they may examine signs of a recovering sore throat for evidence later. defo make a complaint about the colleague and you want to know who it is, the video is deleted in front of you and you find this to be an example of bullying.

Also OP, if you have a union, I would strongly advise taking a union rep with you when you return to work for your meeting.

It's not unreasonable to investigate an allegation - even if it's just to have something on record to show that the allegation was investigated and there was no cause for further action.

Life still has to go on even if you are sick! You may be too ill to go to work but not so ill you children are left uncared for! Often employees are encouraged to try and do things if they are off sick - often going for a walk is recommended. The only time doing something while off sick is a problem is when it is not consistent with your reason for absence. In this case OP was too ill to work but not too ill to sit somewhere waiting for her child to finish a game. Had OP been playing the rugby game, I might question it.

I once had received an allegation that someone had completed a half marathon while off sick. We did a quick investigation (Company policy was that all allegations were investigated even if it was clear that no further action would be taken so that records could show people being treated fairly). No further action in this case - the employee was off with stress and running provided a release. Occupational Health had recommended setting a target (the half marathon).

What is wrong is if the Company have told people that you are being investigated or whether it as the other employee. If it was the Company, make a formal complaint. If it was the individual, make a formal complaint. The sharing of this video etc. would be treated as a serious disciplinary offence.