Feeling ill, dragging myself to work as don't want disciplinary

Nicki · 15 October 2016 at 1:54PM

I think you've lost your normal perspective sangie. All the posters before me including you said to the OP effectively "if you're sick with a cold, you're sick. Take the time off". I was the only one to query whether the cold was affecting their asthma. I said if you read again "if it's just a cold, then that's not a good enough reason, but if it's impacted on your asthma then this may be"

In that context letting the OP know that others do work through colds whilst feeling grotty or take AL in such circumstances is relevant because it's relating to having a cold, not having asthma.

Unless your case is that all colds affect all people with asthma to the extent they are unfit for work, but another poster on the thread who does suffer from asthma disagrees with you on that.

theoretica · 15 October 2016 at 2:06PM

What hasn't been discussed here is the level of the consequences of going over the limit: 'A disciplinary with warnings'. Is that really the policy? In my work it is a disciplinary which may lead to warnings - ie a meeting, a manager a bit annoyed at having to do more paperwork. It is the employer's policy making sure to take a close look at the situation and sort out the unlucky and less healthy from malingerers or people who aren't taking reasonable care of themselves.

asajj · 15 October 2016 at 3:46PM

ScarletMarble wrote: »

It doesn't help working in an environment where customers are not covering their mouths and noses when they cough and sneeze. Noticed this has increased over the years too. Some colleagues think colds should be excluded. I'm not one of them.

Are you able to use a face mask at work? I do use it from time to time and it helps.

System · 15 October 2016 at 4:00PM

I'm currently at work on my break.

Concentrating on the task in hand at work, my cold is in the background.

It's busy at work as it's the start of half term here. I'm not as bad as when I started. My head and nose feels heavy so going to Doc's on Tuesday - normally do Monday but a colleague has a family friend funeral to attend so starting early at her hours. Cough started three weeks ago when on holiday and had two lots of colds in over 2 weeks

Nicki · 15 October 2016 at 4:15PM

Glad you're feeling a bit better.

Out of interest why do you feel you need to see the doctor in 4 days time? Do you think this is something other than a cold?

Andypandyboy · 15 October 2016 at 4:19PM

I often think these policies are counter productive. No one seems to have a day off now, it is always a full week.

Obviously, there are those who do take the mick, but I think overall the number of sickness days would go down if certain workplaces reverted back to treating people like adults and trusting that if they were well enough to be in work they would be there. I am sure that would happen where I work.

Grumpygit · 15 October 2016 at 6:02PM

Nicki wrote: »

Sorry but a heavy head cold is not in itself a sufficiently serious illness to need time off work. If it has exacerbated your asthma to the extent that you need treatment for that - then yes, or if it has developed into a serious chest infection needing antibiotics, again yes. But we all get 2 or 3 colds a year causing headaches, mild breathlessness, sore throats, headaches and the rest and if we all took time off business would be losing another 10 or so days a year per employee!

You don't catch a cold just because someone has sneezed in your vicinity, unless the droplets actually hit your face! You catch it when you touch a surface which has been sneezed on, and then touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands. So one of the best ways to reduce your risk is by keeping a small jar of hand sanitiser on your desk and to use this regularly and always before you eat anything.

I've just finished a week at work whilst suffering from a cold which I caught from a colleague. It didn't even cross my mind to take time off and if I'd felt I needed to, I'd have asked for a day AL not self certified sick.

And I agree with Sangie about you whining to customers about your company's sick policy!

To pick on you - but I know that there are others who feel the same as you do but....

People like you just really annoy me. There is nothing noble about being in work with a cold when you're spreading your germs around to others - you may not think that you're doing any harm but you are.

At my place of work there is a 6 day limit in a 12 month rolling period for uncertified sickness. Any more than that and they deduct it from your pay.

It doesn't work - it means that the sickie club just need to be careful about how many days they take and when; The people who are genuinely ill but maybe need one or two days to get over a cold either come in and spread their germs or they go to the dr and get signed off for a week.

In January/February this year we had flu go around our department and it wasn't helped because someone was under notice and wouldn't be paid if they were off ill - even if they did have a doctors note. Because of their selfish actions one after another went down with it. They shouldn't have been at work as it affected the rest of us and we had to work even more to cover for them (but I do understand why they did it - but it doesn't make it right and the principal is still the same).

Bottom line is, the company is at fault for bringing in these unworkable policies.

Sorry for rambling on about this, but this is one thing that does annoy me

Nicki · 15 October 2016 at 6:39PM

Sufferer needs to catch it, bin it, kill it. Colleagues need to practise good hand hygiene.

It's unreasonable to expect workers who are well enough to attend work to stay off and risk disciplinary action or loss of pay for something as trivial as the common cold. People who whinge about this are the ones who really annoy me.

If your employer has a policy of encouraging staff to take time off or work from home with minor illnesses to avoid passing them on, that's a different matter but most don't.

System · 15 October 2016 at 7:54PM

Colds affect people in different ways and each cold you get is different. As one cold, you have a constant runny nose, ear ache and shivering. Your next cold could entail runny nose, then severely congested, sore throat and sweats.

Customers handle money in their mouths. It's a disgusting thing

I have rung in sick when I cannot do anything else but blowing my nose. Unable to talk in between.

daytona0 · 15 October 2016 at 8:36PM

sangie595 wrote: »

Yes, to be fair, asthma which is mild would not affect someone enough to necessarily count as a disability for employment adjustments ( although, given US attitudes to employment and just about everything else, I don't give a fig what they think). But it is not about "playing a card" and I am surprised that any regular here would think that I would suggest that!

I was just a bit concerned at how you honed in on the word asthma, when it was pretty much a footnote, and suggested that OP has a disability because of that.

Fair enough if the UK considers it as such, but if they don't (and evidence would be amazing; I could only find US ones which are interesting but not applicable) then you could be seen as encouraging someone to exaggerate their asthma condition (ie playing the card) to gain favour in work.

That's all I was saying!

As a "genuinely disabled person" myself, I don't ASSUME that someone's asthma is mild (the OP did not say this), and nor am I slightly offended by the idea. The law does not mention "requiring substantial support" at all, and that isn't a criteria. Diabetes, which can be controlled solely by diet in some cases, is a disability. As is asthma. It is a lifelong condition ("has lasted, or will last, at least a year") which impacts on someone's ability to function normally on a day to day basis (quite normal situations can trigger asthma even in mild cases, as I am sure you know). So it is a disability. Whether or not it warrants a reasonable adjustment is another matter.

No, you ASSUME that someone's asthma makes them disabled.

I genuinely don't know what the truth is, but you need to back up that claim with evidence I'm afraid

What does the UK law say on asthma and disability?

And I actually am offended that some people here think they have the ability to judge what a "genuinely disabled person" is. Nobody here can say who is genuine or not, and people with disabilities do not have to give toy a quick medical history to prove they have a disability. It's beginning to sound like an ATOS staff meeting around here!

I knew I would rile you

I know what you've been through so I know why you've taken my post to heart a bit.

My point is basically;

You (genuinely disabled people, maybe even OP included) would not be happy with anyone not legally classed as disabled who exaggerates their situation to gain favour (maybe OP, if they take your advice and find that mild asthma is not counted under UK law), be that benefits/more sick days/interviews etc.

Again, we need to see what UK law says on it. Not even for my benefit per se, but for OP's benefit! They've got people asserting that IT IS a disability but nothing concrete to follow up on.

Feeling ill, dragging myself to work as don't want disciplinary

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