Uneasy about "questioning" over my absence

johanne

I have been off for the last 5 weeks on a sicknote from the doctor (covering me from day 1 of my abscence) after i went off work with suspected rubella which then progressed over the days/weeks through to a serious throat and viral infection and now ive been diagnosed with depression and put on antidepressents - im just getting used to them as have only been on them a week and am getting lots of side effects which mean im unable to work.

I have just rang work to let them now ive been signed off a further week and the "duty manager" gave me the spanish inquistion about why i was signed off further and then when i told her she started probing as to how long id already been off... why..... what was up now..what the medication i was on.. how long id been on it.. even asked what was making me so depressed and feeling this way!!!! and she made me very uncomfortable as i hardly know her and i didnt wanna have to explain myself to her as shes not my direct manager. And as the place i work is rife for gossip (even via managers) i dont want too many people to know too many details unless they really have to.

I felt like she was questioning me because she didnt believe me - even though i can show her the sicknote and the medication and it really got to me....just to shut her up i said id come in and speak to my own manager in person tonight...she said she "thought that it would be best .." but then carried on with the questions in a suspicious of my story tone of voice.

Its really really upset me (maybe more because of how i feel) but what i want to know is does she have the right to question me this way? Other duty managers ive dealt with via calls/in person have just accepted that i have a sicknote from the doctors and havent questioned me further just left a note in the handover book to say i'll be off like happens usually. Then when i come back to work it will be discussed in my "return to work" meeting.

Maybe im overreacting but i was told by my union rep over a different situation that what happens in my private life is none of their business. Would the reason for my depression come under this? I really didnt feel comfortable being questioned and probed by an almost stranger just because she happened to be the manager with the managers phone at the time!

Also can they withhold my SSP if they think im lying? I know they tried it with a friend.

Smiley_Mum

Sounds like harrassment to me, if you felt intimidated by her questioning which I wouldn't have taken on anyway, then I would contact your Union Rep etc. Trying to intimidate someone by a personal line of questioning such as what you mention above is harrassment and given that you are not well and currently signed off then the doctors line should be sufficient for them. You needn't have said anything. I recall one time being signed off work with RSI, really bad, couldn't use my right hand at all, numbness etc and my arm/hand was useless so no way I could type a thing. Doctor signed me off and I actually had the manager from my work come to my home and harrass me about when I was coming back to work as they had urgent reports etc that needed to be typed. I just told her to leave, she had no right coming to my home address and harrassing me when I had already sent in a sick line from my doctor explaining why I had been signed off. She was not happy but I was in the right. Not long after this I left the job on medical grounds and found myself a better job with better pay too. If you get any hassle again or questioning just tell them that the doctor has signed you off and that should be sufficient, it is totally unnecessary for them to ask for highly personal details such as what you mention above. I'd have been fuming mad. It's terrible that when you people are genuinely sick and signed off that they get harrassment etc which in turn makes you feel guilty and worse about being off. I'd speak to your Union Rep or HR manager etc.

If you are signed off after this further week you have then I would just send in the certificate to work and not phone, why do you need to phone. They will know you are going to be off when they receive the line in the mail, so you do not need to phone them, thus avoiding Bodicea.

fatblokexl

if you are off all you need to say is you are signed off and have a doctors line, fair enough any manager should/will do some probing usually to see if there is anything work related that has caused it, as they have a duty of care towards you.
as SM says, asking all these questions may out you under pressure and add to your sickness. union reps do good job so don't delay any action you feel you need and certainly keep a record of conversations.

hjb123

I have sympathy, I was in a similar situation earlier this year when I was signed off due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. When I rang in with my sicknotes I was made to feel a nuiscance and it didnt help my trying to get better in any way. Eventually they let me go but I made sure that I was in contact with my Union rep all the time I was signed off and if it wasnt for him I dont know what I would have done. At one point the doctors thought it might be depression which anyone that knows me out of work knows that wasnt the case, they all laughed when I said that! I told my manager what the doctor had said and by the next day everyone I worked with knew, I hadnt even wanted anyone else to know!

Hope you feel better soon, just concentrate on getting better, this so called duty manager has no business poking their nose in, as long as you have a sick note that is all they need to know.

H

chrissiesurfergirl123

Where do you work Johanne?
Are you a Civil Servant by any chance?

johanne

No i work for tesco. Says alot really.

Going in at 10pm (i work the night shift) to hand my sick notes to my manager in person and possibly grab my union rep if hes in. Am already under pressure as im on a first written warning due to being ill "too much" - had sicknotes to cover me (was off with tonsilitus) but still got took through the discliplinary.

Know im on the verge of losing my job.. and my house (luckily im only 20, have only been living alone 3 months and can move back to my parents as soon as i need to) and also my diginity. I have never been in trouble - even went through whole school life without a telling off or detention... so being on a final written warning when i return to work is heartbreaking thought.

Plus i keep getting turned down for new jobs ive been applying to Turned down 7! Yes 7! to take this one at tesco cos it seemed the best option at the time. Guess not now though.

(Oh and hjb i can sympathise more.. i have been waiting on a refferal to the hospital to diagnose CFS for exactly a year now.. now my own GP has said its not that.. its "just" depression... )

hjb123

johanne wrote:

(Oh and hjb i can sympathise more.. i have been waiting on a refferal to the hospital to diagnose CFS for exactly a year now.. now my own GP has said its not that.. its "just" depression... )

Gosh, I think its awful how long some people have to wait just to see someone about an illness, got a letter yesterday from local health authority that the waiting list could be upto 4 years - yes, years!

ginger_nuts

I am not well up on Tesco policy on sickness but I do think they got very strict a few years ago .My brother used to work nights in my local tesco my sister in law is duty manager .From what I remember my local store wouldnt employ younger people like you ( under 30 ) on nights because of sickness .I think they also used to pay employees when they where "sick ".I think the policy has got a lot stricter now but that dosent help you .

Iona_Penny

I agree that it is not acceptable to be quizzed on the phone by your manager when you have a Drs sick note, and for this reason they cannot believe that you are lying.

From a different point of view, I worked 10 hour night shifts for the other big supermarket chain and it was really tough. It's a job that takes no prisoners and youneed to be 100% committed to do it. I had young kids and about 4 hours sleep a day if I was lucky but needed the job and so kept going. It was hideous to find so many people had rung in sick on a shift and so made life worse for the others. I now work in the NHS and had a colleauge who took off over 25 days sick in a year in 1 and 2 day lots; it really p****ed the rest of us off as we really felt she was not ill most of the time.

I think people just not feeling they want to go in is the reason so many employers have tightened up their sickness policies, and most with good reason, to deter the habitual sickies.

If you are getting lots of side effects go back to your doctor there are other choices they could prescribe.

Ask yourself if you ever intend to go back to this job and if not, speak to Tesco to see if they have something more suitable to you ie day work, fewer/shorter shifts to begin with? However , can't help but read about returning home means that in your mind a decision has already been made about work, and being so young you have less need to keep your job; but I feel that you need to get back to work,get a good work record/reference again to give yourself a good chance of getting other employment. Mild depression may be helped by having a reason to get out of the house, conversation with others instead of being at home on your own with your speculation about what is going on at work.

Noozan

I don't know about the legal side of it, but I once sent home from work when I returned before my sick note had expired. They told me it was because I wouldn't be covered by the Employers Liability Insurance if anything happened whilst I was supposed to be off sick. (It was an office job btw, nothing dangerous!)

chardonnay_2

johanne sorry to hear about the way you are being treated. i've been there myself and recently resigned on ill health grounds as my job was contributing to my illness. my doctor stated that the way my manager dealt with me while i was off actually made things much worse. try to get your doctor to sign you off for longer if you need time to get used to the antidepressants, then you will have to contact your work less. perhaps only speak to your direct manager and if not available get him /her to phone you or ask for an appointment to phone. when you speak to your direct boss point out how this duty managers questions have affected you and ask if you have to answer these questions.