Just seen "sick" colleague in supermarket

[Daniellemcg]

We're part of a small team (NHS staff) and are chronically under staffed and overworked.
One team member went off sick earlier this week with what she called the most horrific back pain caused by sciatica. Submitted a sicknote yesterday for 4 weeks. Saw her in supermarket today carrying her toddler and pushing trolley full to the brim with other hand.
She led us to believe she's in agony but was laughing to her toddler and walking normally today. No signs of the pain she's been displaying at work.
She didn't see me today.
Should I say anything at work? Everyone at work has been saying "poor Emma (name change), she must be in agony.. The poor thing.".

Have just realised OP hasn't been back to the thread...

Has OP dumped and ran away.

OP how do you expect people to buy food if they can't go to a supermarket?

(I do realise online shopping exists but that might not work for her).

Also going out shopping for say an hour is very different to an 8 hour shift.

You dont know the real reason she is off. That's between her and her GP. It could be burnout, family issues etc. Either way her GP sees it necessary to give her a break from work. As an NHS employee myself, please keep out of it

Because she’s seen her at the supermarket so has 0 proof that she’s throwing a sickie. So her asking if she should report her is outrageous. And people responding saying she’s skiving, wasting our resources, suggesting OP record her is unhinged.

If the post had been my colleague has called in sick with with a broken leg but I’ve just seen her doing a park fun run then fair enough, she’s clearly skiving. But shopping with sciatica is not some impossible fete

Dob the greedy cow in. You can report her anonymously too if you like. It's not on that people are crying out for jobs, while she passes the buck to you and enjoys a full NHS salary.

And they say immigrants are the issue when the African and Asian nurses are the backbone of our great institution!

OP is busy typing the memo as we speak.

Maybe it’s a cover story and she’s just had a miscarriage? You never know what’s going on. If this is a rare occurrence and limited time off sick I would keep out

@Daniellemcg are you coming back? I absolutely understand the frustration BUT I had a heart operation and was signed off work but was advised to walk to the shops daily for recuperation. Surely you get that. Off sick does not mean bed bound?

What do you propose a manager would do with the information that someone, who was signed off for four weeks, was seen in the supermarket?

I was signed off for 3 months once. Went to the Canary Islands while off.

I had really severe pain last week, worst I have ever had. I couldn't move my head to look between screens without feeling sick and I couldn't tolerate my desk chair for more than twenty minutes, but if I timed my painkillers right I was able to do a shop because the pain wasn't particularly triggered by pushing a trolley or heavy lifting. I have no idea whether this woman is taking the piss or not but I do know that being in a supermarket, pushing a trolley, carrying her daughter and smiling at her does not even begin to prove that she is.

I agree with others who say she may have something else wrong with her for all you know. I once went off for something that I considered highly personal and private, that I didn’t want the whole team to know about. I just said it was back pain and the only person who knew different was my line manager 🤷‍♀️

You nor OP have any idea what is really going on!

Dob her in for what?

Shopping?

Don't be a busy and leave her alone.

The country is on its knees because the mega reach have been scalping the workers for the last. 50 years. Maybe educate yourself

It's interesting how nobody seems to view this as part of a much bigger issue. We can't afford as a country to be having working age people not working. Four weeks is a really substantial time off sick, which costs us all a lot. Who knows that the details are here, but people sure are quick to jump at the whole "none of your business" line. It's all of our business how the economy performs and if we are working age, then we should be economic units, the vast majority of the time.

Wow you sound quite bitter. You don’t know the full situation so best to keep quiet. Plus haven’t you heard of karma?

And she has been signed off for a reason. If people work like machines ignoring illness, and don’t rest or recover if they need, their bodies will break down even more. Leading to more of the work force out of action. We don’t know that this trip to the shop was her colleague swinging the lead or in fact a brief outing to stretch her legs (you are encouraged to move with sciatica you know). People can be ill and still need to move around and care for their families.

She hasn’t obtained a sick note and then buggered off to Disneyland. She was at the fucking supermarket. I don’t really even want to go to the supermarket when I’m not ill. OO saw her doing a very ordinary, necessary job - that’s all. She’d not only be a cow to report it, but would also make herself look like an idiot.

Carrying a toddler and pushing a trolley would be agony if she really does have sciatica. I have never found painkillers that effective!

Unfortunately there is probably not much you can do about it.

She has been signed off sick from her job for a short while, not from life.

What would you hope to achieve by reporting her?

I dont know why im asking as you've posted and vanished but have you actually seen the sicknote as thats the sort of thing id tell my colleagues if I was off for something I didn't want everyone to know about. Especially if I worked as a nurse as they are some of the nastiest, bitchiest people you could work with and no way would I be sharing anything personal with them.

The NHS needs to stop giving it's workers full sick pay, they should get SSP. I am sure many of the workers who are currently regularly too sick to work will magically be better again.

I was off for a few weeks with a bulging disc in my back, it was agony, but one of the things the physio really encouraged was walking - so I’d walk to the shops. I’d be drugged up to the tits to time it right but it kept me going. Stay out of this one, OP.

People can be off sick and still have to go out? Especially as you mentioned she was with her toddler.. she still has a family to feed, as for picking her toddler up.. that's just apart of mum life? There's been times where I've been poorly or in pain and my 2 year old wants to be picked up.. I'll always pick her up cos she wouldn't understand. I'd say on this occasion keep your nose out of it, she has a sick note so that is that.