Colleague always coming in sick

[doingmaheadin]

We work in a small office. 6 of us with a desk each. She acts like she's an absolute martyr because she always comes in poorly.
She's come in with covid twice in the past year which everyone ended up getting. A sick bug once which spread through the office and she's been in all week this week with the worst cough. She's literally sat a metre away from me while coughing every 60 seconds. I'm not exaggerating when I say she's been coughing at least once a minute for 8 hours a day.
I've woken up this morning with the worst cough and painful chest.
I get that you can't have time off work for every cough and cold, but surely if she's that poorly she should stay home and not spread it?

Can you speak to the line manager about it? Is there sick pay?

Her manager needs to speak to her
does she get sick pay?
no one should be coming in with any sort of infectious illness

Definitely should stay at home, but do your workplace's rules allow that much time off/at home?

Yes our job is fine about sick pay. Never an issue if people are off poorly. But in the past year she's refused to have a day off for sickness. I feel so rough today.

You say there's never an issue if people are off poorly but she seems to get sick quite a lot.

I'm not sure there wouldn't be an issue if she took so much time off in a year.

Your manager should be sending her home if that’s the case. It’s unfair on you and others in the office.

Have you spoken to your manager about it? What was the general response? If you haven't addressed it with your manager then you're quite literally suffering in silence. If your workplace is generally okay with time off for sickness then she's basically being a martyr by coming in 'against all odds'.

Bit of an awkward situation with the boss. They're both seeing each other secretly when they have partners at home. So feel like I can't complain to him about it.

I can go higher up if needed. I get on well with the bosses boss. But don't think that would go down well.

You need to speak up. I had a colleague like this, pissed me off as she never stayed home, always coming in when she was ill, coughing and sneezing and infecting us all. No sick pay issues.

Woah what?

if that’s the case, I’d ask her if the boss would let her work from home

This is the upshot of some businesses attitude to sick leave. Having a family member currently on a level one disciplinary for having a cataract removed, then several months later needed to have 4 teeth removed, and then Covid.....another sickness episode would outnthem on a level 2 warning......so why would you risk your job and not come in sick. It's the stupid policies that need to change age so that people aren't too worried about their job that they have to attend work whilst unwell

We can't work from home. Work doesn't provide laptops etc and we need specific software. I'm just sick of getting sick 😫

That must be incredibly annoying- particularly with the constant coughing. Not sure you can do much about that but doesn't your workplace have a policy about D&V? We have to stay off 48 hours after last sick. Also, you could try boosting your own immune system. I started taking immune boost vitamins and extra vit c and d during covid, and don't know if it's just working as a placebo but I've not had any of the illnesses going round at work at all so far this winter. May just have been lucky so far I don't know...

This doesn't preclude you from speaking to him about it. Remember you're not 'complaining' you're discussing the fact that colleague seems to come to work poorly which is naturally affecting others in the office such as yourself. If you think you might get push back because it's currently cough season then wait out this bout of illness and keep track of her illnesses and how they affect you. I'm surprised he's not constantly coughing and spluttering all over the place if they're together, so to speak.

To be fair to your colleague, I've been working with the hacking cough too. I'm not ill, I haven't been ill at all with it, I just have a cough that sounds dreadful. And everyone is calling it the '100 day cough' - well, I couldn't take 100 days off just for a cough, words would be had.

The 5 of of you need to ring in sick the week after she has been in sick and make it clear you caught from her. Repeat as often as possible. Management should realise the sick person needs stay home in first place. What’s the air flow like? If you have cold, covid or flu you should considering wearing a mask first week when you are more highly contagious. Working right next to other people sick and coughing all day of course you all are going to get it.

You don't need to make it a complaint. Just say you are concerned for them and that they are ill, and need to be sent home sick.

The reason employers have these "stupid policies" is called the law. One upon a time ( and not that long ago) if someone was swinging the lead or off too much, the employer could simply say that they were dismissing them - too much time off sick or whatever. The thing is that someone who had, say a three week illness (genuinely) was getting sacked when the co-worker was off every other week at the drop of a hat but the boss liked them more. Etc. Etc.

After a number of employers quite rightly got trashed at tribunals employers realised that if they wanted to avoid appearing in one they needed consistent and fair policies that treated everyone the same; or, where they didn't, they could show a good reason for the difference (such as a reasonable adjustment for disability).

The issue here is not "stupid policies" - it is about the employer making a decision about whether sick people should be in the office.

Well if I feel like this on Monday then I'll definitely be having time off.

I think if the boss is having a secret relationship, he has a choice. He deals with the matter such as providing a laptop, or his partner will find out. Though it must be a 100% promise that you are willing to keep.

Bloody hell.

Is it known around the office about the two of them? If you aren't supposed to know then you tell the manager, as that's what you'd do if they weren't involved.

Yeah it's known from work nights out and them sharing hotel rooms/air bnbs afterwards.

Secret or not, do not do this. Blackmail is definitely on the "gross misconduct" list.

OP, if you want to do something about this then you do it properly. Put in a grievance. If it is turned down, you appeal to his boss. If neither of them care about the impact, then there's only two choices - suck it up or leave. Whilst I don't like "presenteeism" unless there is a serious risk that can be identified, then there is no legislation that would support your position. I get that is unpleasant, but these are minor ailments and no law says that someone can't attend work with them.

If everyone feels the same way, I'd make it a collective grievance.