Self certification - who decides what has been wrong with you?

HurdyGurdy

The Tuesday of the week before Christmas was our Team Lunch and we all went to a local pub/restaurant.

I was the only person who ate calamares, and within 15 minutes of getting back to the office, I was violently ill. I had felt perfectly well before going for lunch, and fine during lunch. I started feeling a bit dodgy in the car on the way back to the office.

I went home that day and was off the following two days, still being ill, although the second and third days were nowhere near as bad as the lunch day.

I completed my part of the Return to Work form, stating that I had had food poisoning. However, when my manager completed her part, she just wrore that "HurdyGurdy felt unwell on the Monday and was off for a couple of days with an upset stomach".

I don't suppose it really matters, does it? But I am convinced that what I had was way more than an "upset stomach". It is just the speed with which it hit me that makes me think food poisoning.

My manager, when I was keeping in telephone contact whilst I was off, was adamant that it wasn't food poisoning, because "no one else was ill after the lunch". But no one else had the calamares, and I must admit, I wasn't entirely convinced it was properly cooked while I was eating it.

So - does it matter what gets put down on a RTW form, and if so - who should decide the reason for the absence, when a GP hasn't been consulted?

miduck

Food poisoning rarely happens that quickly, it normally hits a day or so after.

It is up to you what you put on the form, you are certifying yourself unwell, however you are not qualified to diagnose food poisoning, so in future I would stick to "upset stomach" or the like.

skintsaver_2

You might have had that virus that's all about because i had it a few years ago and it hits you all of a sudden and knocks you for six

Russe11

miduck wrote: »

Food poisoning rarely happens that quickly, it normally hits a day or so after.

often is the case, but can occur from a short a time as a hour or so after right up to a couple on months after the contaminated food was eaten, depends on the type of bacteria.

With out knowing the OP medical history its hard to say but if they have cancer or a virus such as HIV or another problem then they could well feel the effects of food poisoning quicker and to a more serious degree.

Illness can last a few days right up to long prolonged periods depending also on the type and strain of bacteria.

In any case of food poisoning the source should be contacted to establish if there has been a break out, identify the source and sometime the h+s executive gets involved.

miduck

Russe11 wrote: »

often is the case, but can occur from a short a time as a hour or so after right up to a couple on months after the contaminated food was eaten, depends on the type of bacteria.

With out knowing the OP medical history its hard to say but if they have cancer or a virus such as HIV or another problem then they could well feel the effects of food poisoning quicker and to a more serious degree.

Illness can last a few days right up to long prolonged periods depending also on the type and strain of bacteria.

In any case of food poisoning the source should be contacted to establish if there has been a break out, identify the source and sometime the h+s executive gets involved.

So the OP has no evidence that they had food poisoning, yes?

Evilm

It matters only if it has a further impact - such as being claimed as self inflicted (Manager writing "OP drank to much". Unlikely I know) or it is part of a pattern that is reflected in your absence history (for example "stomach bug" instead of "IBS". If you have a long term condition it often has to be counted/recorded differently and possibly offered *some* extra protection so you'd want the second to make sure its tracked correctly.)

In your case the manager is doing this for three potential reasons I can think of:

1) The manager just doesn't want to put food poisoning as it isn't proved and they don't necessarily believe it was.

2) The manager doesn't want to implicate the company in a potential claim (unlikely but possible) since the potential 'food poisoning' was contracted at a work related event.

3) They don't want you to be able to claim they shouldn't count this absence in any disclipinarly for excessive illness as it was *caused* by work. By not writing food poisoning it doesn't allow you to claim that it was caused by work so easily.

In this case I'd let it be and not push anything. It most likely wouldn't help you if you got disciplined for excessive absense anyway.

StephenM_2

On our form it just asks for symptoms rather than a medical diagnosis. It is filled in by the employee. The manager doesn't put anything other than a signature.

HurdyGurdy

I don't have any of those kinds of conditions, but the medication I use for Rheumatoid Arthritis has a side effect of (I thinkt his is the phrase the consultant used!) compromising the immune system, so I do have to be very careful about infections etc.

It seems as though it doesn't really matter what is written down, and I've no intention of making an issue out of it. But I will know better for any future illness absence I may have.

I didn't speak to anyone (pub/restaurant or H&S Executive) because I couldn't be 100% sure that it was what I had eaten that had caused the problem. If two or three of the party had eaten the same as me, and all had the same problems, then I would have, but I didn't even think to speak to the pub about it.

Thank you all for replying.

Russe11 wrote: »

often is the case, but can occur from a short a time as a hour or so after right up to a couple on months after the contaminated food was eaten, depends on the type of bacteria.

With out knowing the OP medical history its hard to say but if they have cancer or a virus such as HIV or another problem then they could well feel the effects of food poisoning quicker and to a more serious degree.

Illness can last a few days right up to long prolonged periods depending also on the type and strain of bacteria.

In any case of food poisoning the source should be contacted to establish if there has been a break out, identify the source and sometime the h+s executive gets involved.

anamenottaken

HurdyGurdy wrote: »

The Tuesday of the week before Christmas was our Team Lunch and we all went to a local pub/restaurant.

I was the only person who ate calamares, and within 15 minutes of getting back to the office, I was violently ill. I had felt perfectly well before going for lunch, and fine during lunch. I started feeling a bit dodgy in the car on the way back to the office.

I went home that day and was off the following two days, still being ill, although the second and third days were nowhere near as bad as the lunch day.

I completed my part of the Return to Work form, stating that I had had food poisoning. However, when my manager completed her part, she just wrore that "HurdyGurdy felt unwell on the Monday and was off for a couple of days with an upset stomach".

I don't suppose it really matters, does it? But I am convinced that what I had was way more than an "upset stomach". It is just the speed with which it hit me that makes me think food poisoning.

My manager, when I was keeping in telephone contact whilst I was off, was adamant that it wasn't food poisoning, because "no one else was ill after the lunch". But no one else had the calamares, and I must admit, I wasn't entirely convinced it was properly cooked while I was eating it.

So - does it matter what gets put down on a RTW form, and if so - who should decide the reason for the absence, when a GP hasn't been consulted?

Your self-certification form appears to be combined with a return to work form when most companies, I'm guessing, would have separate forms. Or perhaps the self-certification has a manager's acknowledgement section at the end.

You can put whatever you want on the self-certification part. The manager can write their understanding - perhaps after clarifying with the member of staff. So actually, in your organisation, it is both the employee and manager (company) who decide what to put on the form

maninthestreet

Russe11 wrote: »

often is the case, but can occur from a short a time as a hour or so after right up to a couple on months after the contaminated food was eaten, depends on the type of bacteria.

With out knowing the OP medical history its hard to say but if they have cancer or a virus such as HIV or another problem then they could well feel the effects of food poisoning quicker and to a more serious degree.

Illness can last a few days right up to long prolonged periods depending also on the type and strain of bacteria.

In any case of food poisoning the source should be contacted to establish if there has been a break out, identify the source and sometime the h+s executive gets involved.

A couple of months??

eamon

I would suspect norovirus and not food poisoning. I had norovirus at the start of December. From feeling fine to not feeling fine (and the vomiting) took about 15mins. Many thousands of people have been struck down this winter. During the week I caught a snippet on R4 and in the USA in excess of 34million people have had it as well. The news bulletins here believe that the UK figure tops 1 million already.