boss phones when i'm off sick

TotallyBroke

tanith wrote: »

Why is it so hard to cover people for sickness once you have been informed they are sick? If someone rings in sick you ASSUME they will be SICK until they inform you they are coming BACK or supply a sick note .... its not rocket science...

It's quite hard when you have to arrange with an agency to cover that role. You can't say to an agency "I need someone today but I'll have to ring you tomorrow in case I don't need anyone" So much easier to say "I need cover for the next 2 days or until the end of the week"

glossgal

...yeah but how many jobs will get agency cover in for one or two days of staff sickness? Apart from ambulance/fire service or something similar I honestly cant think of any job being that important!

tanith

Timmne wrote: »

Problem is, most won't tell you they're coming back, resulting in two people sitting at one desk when they come back unannounced.

It's not rocket science but it's not quite as simple as people think.

Why then are people not told that they MUST book back from sickness the day before returning ? Thats not difficult is it?

Mr_Falling_Star

Sticking my own two-pennorth in if both sides are sensible and diplomatic then there should be no problems however if you have macho manager ringing up every day laying on the pressure than that not helping anyone. Lets be clear about this, no employer owns you, you enter into a contract where you give up your time and skills for a wage. If sick pay is part of the contract then its up to the employee to fulfill his duties in notifying the employer taking into account the law of the land and the terms and conditions of employment. Its probably not in the contract that you will get a whinging phone call every day hassling you to return before you are ready

Grr

GrammarGirl

glossgal wrote: »

...yeah but how many jobs will get agency cover in for one or two days of staff sickness? Apart from ambulance/fire service or something similar I honestly cant think of any job being that important!

Lots and lots of people are solely responsible for the work they do within a company, and if those people are off sick, someone needs to cover their responsibilities. One thing that springs to mind within my own work is client deadlines - if I was writing a piece that went to print on Friday, I was half way through on Wednesday and then was off ill on Thurs, who would finish the work to ensure the print deadline was met? There's no way a client would rearrange a print deadline - it costs money and there are often extremely tight schedules to adhere to. So my employer would get a freelancer in to finish the job, and if I let them know I'd be back in on Friday they wouldn't have to hire a proofreader because I'd do it myself.

GrammarGirl

liney wrote: »

I think by using the word "informal" i am maybe confusing the issue. I wouldn't call for something that could wait, however if i need to know now and its something caused by the person who has taken leave and not handed over properly, i would rather speak to them "informally" for a min to sort the issue instead of hauling them into the office for disciplinary. I don't call them just for a chat!

Ah yes, sorry I do agree with your point then. I wouldn't mind a call regarding an urgent issue, even if it wasn't an issue that had arisen due to my handover. Calling me for a chat is what I disagree with!

redz

A few years ago I was signed off sick by my doctor because I had contracted chicken pox. My employer was fully aware of the reasons for my absence and that I was under doctor's orders to keep myself isolated to prevent communication of my illness to others.
I was rather bemused to discover on my return to work that my boss had been trying to contact me whilst I was off sick(with a highly contagious illness) in the attempt to get me to return to work early!

Needless to say I soon found another employer. After this experience, I see no need to provide an employer with personal information such as my private number. I'm a responsible adult if i'm off work due to illness or accident I will keep the employer informed and if the reasons for my absence are so severe I can't inform my employer of the situation by phone then them having my home number is fairly superfluous anyway.

TotallyBroke

glossgal wrote: »

...yeah but how many jobs will get agency cover in for one or two days of staff sickness? Apart from ambulance/fire service or something similar I honestly cant think of any job being that important!

I doubt any of the emergency services would get in agency staff!!!! They are more likely to call in staff from other shifts that have put their name down on a cover list.

The company I work for would for a start. We work to a deadline and have to have work go out on time or we lose huge amounts of money. So we would get agency staff in to cover.
Councils also use agency staff for cover for the rubbish collections.

TotallyBroke

redz wrote: »

A few years ago I was signed off sick by my doctor because I had contracted chicken pox. My employer was fully aware of the reasons for my absence and that I was under doctor's orders to keep myself isolated to prevent communication of my illness to others.
I was rather bemused to discover on my return to work that my boss had been trying to contact me whilst I was off sick(with a highly contagious illness) in the attempt to get me to return to work early!

This depends on how long you were off work for. You are actually contagious 2 days before the spots show until approx. 5 days after the last spot shows. So you only needed to be off sick a week. You may have been off longer until you were no longer spotty but that is a cosmetic reason and not because you are sick.
Chicken pox is not as highly contagious as people think. If you had it as a child it is unlikely to be caught again as an adult. Not impossible but unlikely. If anyone was to have caught it from you then they would have done in the 2 days before your spots appeared. My ds caught chicken pox, he was with my niece and nephew every day for the 2 weeks before he got it and 2 weeks after. Neither of them caught it.

student88

I work at a major DIY store

So i've just phoned in work sick as well as yesterday (only work weekends)
I also phoned on friday to warn them that i was sick already and probably wouldnt be in on saturday, which i didnt have to do but though it was courteous and not leaving anyone in the lurch.

I have followed (and surpassed!) the sick procedure but I got a txt from my friend before saying that I manager thought that because I rang on fri that I was on hol or something and that it was planned!!!

Apparently I should be expecting a phone call later, obv. ringing to hear the dialing tone.

I think THAT is out of order