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.".

Quite. All I meant was there's a big difference between having a desk job and something that is constantly physically demanding.

Sciatica is infamously easy to fake to get sick now sign off (so I've been told by serial sick-skiver).
Not sure what i would do, but I sympathise with how you feel, it's crap when you work your arse off and watch people lie and take an easy ride

If she gets paid SSP rates, then I'd keep quiet. If she's on full pay, I'd feed back to someone in the team at work. For every genuine person off sick there are a dozen malingerers who don't give a shit about those left behind carrying their workload.

That is…impressively nasty

Same here. I almost don’t want to read this thread in case I jinx myself because the pain would come and go. And then one day it went and didn’t come back.

I know of someone who ended up committing suicide after being accused of malingering at work. So be careful and make sure you have all the facts before you blow a whistle.

Do you know she's definitely off with sciatica? When i was signed off for MH reasons I didn't want my colleagues knowing. In fact, the Dr even said they didn't have to put that on the fit note if I didn't want my manager to know.
Then my cunt of a manager decided it was absolutely fine to tell my colleagues, (who had access to my phone number via a work WhatsApp group I hadn't consented to being in,) and I got a ton of messages basically having a go at me, "were all stressed and you've made it worse by being off" blah blah.

Oddly enough I never went back.

Yanbu because if she’s really not sick then it’s misuse of desperately needed public funds and unfair pressure on the rest of the team. Have a word and mention you saw her in the supermarket and ask if that means her back is better now.

You will already know if she is the sort of person who is always off sick. You get them in every type of public sector. I know someone in the NHS who was always being pinged by the NHS app in covid and managed to build an extension.. Meanwhile we in our school turned it off so we could keep schools open. Otherwise we would have all been off all the time. She already knows she is putting the rest of you under greater stress. And if she had a brain cell she would do her shopping online. Rather than report her I would have gone up to her and asked her how she was doing. And how sorry I was to hear she was in agony with back pain.

I’m currently off with sciatica and have about 3 hours a day where I can function. I try to get out but rarely manage it. I’m on week 4 so far with absolutely no sign of it abating.

think what you want but say nothing. It can be seriously debilitating.

I love the way everyone on MN rushes to defend the woman who is off sick like nobody ever takes the piss with sick notes 🙄
If people didn't take the piss there could be better care and more funds available for people who genuinely ARE sick.
People abuse it all the time (as seen played out on here) but everyone acts like every employee is golden and don't take the piss...and for those saying it's nothing to do with OP actually it is, she is the one, alongside her colleagues, who are taking up the slack because this woman is off, so if she's just wangled four weeks off for no reason, it's impacting directly on OP.

I have pushed a trolley, not a child but a heavy bag, on the outside I look fine, on the inside I am practically screaming in pain. I now have prescribed painkillers rather than over the counter. They help enormously but they just mask the pain for a few hours. I can no longer work and have taken early retirement but you wouldn't guess I had a problem to look at me going about my day.

She didn't see you, this isn't going to come back on you. I'd mind my business.

Honestly mind your own business. You have no idea her circumstances, you do know that sick people especially those with children still need food don’t you? She may be coping with strong painkillers which help her manage day to day jobs but not to work. There’s a massive difference between a trip to the supermarket and doing a full days work especially if in a clinical role where she may be on her feet a lot. I also work in a chronically under staffed NHS area and if my colleagues say they aren’t fit to work then they aren’t fit to work!

I was walking around Tesco doing a food shop 2 days after my emergency c section with a newborn and toddler in tow. I was in agony but needs must. I couldn’t wait for an online food shop.

I would stay out of it. No one likes a snitch.

Then she can report it. Report it OP if that’s what you want to do.

I’d grass her up!

I definitely wouldn’t say anything at work!

She may have been having a slightly better day pain-wise.

There is no benefit to you trying to ‘drop her in it’.
Your colleagues will also realise you are not to be trusted and enjoy getting people in trouble.

I’d report you for approaching me when I’m on sick leave to try and threaten me back to work because you’d seen me shopping

“Oh I saw you in the supermarket, is your back better now then?” - I fail to see anything threatening there.

Are you the sort of person to misuse public money by any chance?

You see I think sometimes employers that have woefully understaffed areas do actually sort or “encourage” the other staff members to guilt trip sick employees back early.

They breed the culture to do it and then staff that are “seen” out feel obliged to return.

Dreadful

And regardless they will say no. No because they are not lying about it and no because they are lying about it.

This is bad of me probably…but due to the context of you being a small team under pressure (which we all know isn’t fun) and the fact everyone is saying “poor Emma” I know I wouldn’t be able to bite my tongue and would spill (even if just to close friend) and say “I saw her bold as brass in the supermarket so back pain story is a lie and she must just want the time off - it won’t make any difference as most just do what they want” but I genuinely would blab as that’s just me in these circumstances.

As I say I doubt there is anything anyone can do anyhow but it would annoy me and make me feel resentful.

The office gossip are you?

But if they’re lying it might make them realise they’ve been rumbled and not want to risk any official action, so they‘ll get themselves back to work.

She might have been using painkillers , for all you know it might be the first time she is out all week . Wiped still have kids and still need shopping while being poorly