Taking work calls whilst off sick

Cheeky_Monkey

gwen80 wrote: »

Maybe I wasn't clear. I believe she is trying to tell me I have to self cert so that I will have to call in every day. Then she can say I have to talk to someone rather than leave a message and I'll spend all day every day on the phone instead of resting and recovering. I gonna be really blunt - I think she's trying to make my life difficult and I just need to know where I stand.

No, that's not how it works. Self certification does not mean that you have to be available every day at all. You are going to be off sick and therefore not working for the time you are recovering. You are not required to take phone calls from work during the period of self certification.

Detroit

gwen80 wrote: »

I also found the wording of that response very odd! But maybe it was just phrased badly.

I think it's a reasonable question. Patients are usually given an estimated recovery time for a particular operation and I would certainly ask this as an employer to enable arrangements to be made for cover.

With regards to contact, this should depend entirely on whether the OP is well enough. To refuse on principle as some replies seem to suggest, because they are off sick, so 'leave me alone' would be inconsiderate to both employer and colleagues.

While unavoidable at times, sickness puts a significant burden on other staff, and not all sectors have funds to hire cover, particularly those who try to be good employers and pay generous sick pay.

I would think it highly unlikely the OP would go from complete incapacity to full recovery on the day their sick note expires, so there will be a transition when they will be well enough to take occasional calls. I genuinely can't see why they would refuse, particularly given they seem so invested in their project.

Practically OP, as others have said, you don't have to take the calls, and they would have a hard time doing anything about it if you refused on the grounds of being too ill. However, given sickness is not considered the most sought after trait in an employee, and this may be the third time they have accommodated this (assuming from 3 operationss, but aware they may not all be in this job), I think I would be seeking to demonstrate I was doing anything reasonable to minimise the impact of my illness on my colleagues.

(There will be those who disagree and feel this is not your responsibility, but I'm talking about being a good and considerate team member here. I'm not talking about dragging yourself from your sick bed either, but at the point in your convalesence when it is possible.)

Imagine yourself in the covering managers position. How would you feel to be one full staff member down and have to take on new and unfamiliar work on top of your existing workload?

You may feel that planning and prioritizing are all that would be needed, but this is highly unlikely unless staff are currently working inefficiently or underemployed.

I don't think a willingness to help her if you can without detriment to your recovery is too much to ask. It could also be helpful to be considered so indispensable they can't manage without you!

vegasvisitor

elsien wrote: »

No, that's worse. As an employer, getting someone else to ring in instead of the employee always made me wonder what they were hiding, unless they were in hospital or otherwise unable to call themselves.

The first day of sick they will be in hospital. I'm not sure if they've said if they'll be home same day or not, or have to even phone that day.

When my husband was in hospital I phoned in sick for him. They were more concerned than suspicious, and didn't expect me to call them every day. After a week he had a sick line from the hospital.

I think it's unreasonable for an employer to want to speak to someone every day unless their return to work is imminent.

andygb

custardy wrote: »

Have you ever managed staff?

Yes, for about twenty years.
I have never expected someone who is signed off sick, to phone in each day. As a manager, you get to know the people who are off sick regularly, and you are also aware of genuine certificated sickness.
Have you considered, that asking someone to phone in every day when they are sick, may in fact put them under more stress, which will in fact delay their return to work.

custardy

andygb wrote: »

Yes, for about twenty years.
I have never expected someone who is signed off sick, to phone in each day. As a manager, you get to know the people who are off sick regularly, and you are also aware of genuine certificated sickness.
Have you considered, that asking someone to phone in every day when they are sick, may in fact put them under more stress, which will in fact delay their return to work.

The post you replied to said no such thing?

Undervalued

One point those taking the indignant "how dare they" line might like to consider....

It is very unusual these days for company sick pay (if any) to be a hard and fast contractual entitlement. It is nearly always discretionary.

Obviously there is a balance to be struck but, where reasonably possible, showing willing by taking the occasional call may encourage the employer to use their discretion more favourably.

greenbee

I've recently had time off for surgery. Based on previous experiences of this, and a discussion with my consultant I informed my manager that I expected to be off for 2 weeks. When I got back from hospital (outpatient procedure) I photographed my fit note and emailed it to my boss and HR. If you have a note, you don't have to self-cert, although you can.

When I was having a lot of these procedures and not taking enough time off it became very clear that anaesthetic and recovery from surgery take a toll on your mental capacity. I made mistakes (thankfully none of them serious, and they were all caught by other people who knew I wasn't 100%)

(A previous manager once asked what 'worst case scenario' for time off would be... he won't ask again after I replied 'well I might not wake up after the anaesthetic'...)

There were minor complications from the surgery that led to my GP signing me off for another 2 weeks. As this was unexpected, I did email my boss and arrange a call with her (she's in a different timezone) so we could discuss and plan for my workload to be covered. I also changed my out of office and made arrangements for planned meetings to be rescheduled. I then switched off my phone and email for the next couple of weeks.

However much we like to think we are indispensable, we're not. However, having a manager who understands that it is their responsibility to help with your recovery by ensuring that there is a plan in place for dealing with your workload is important. Until recently I've been a single point of failure in the organisation - my surgery is now a regular event every couple of years and my manager had been warned about the timeframes and assured me that she'd sort out some help/backup for me but didn't do much about it. In the event I only had 4 days notice, so very little time to hand over. By the time I got back, I had backup... and there are more plans in place to avoid anyone being a single point of failure.

paddedjohn

Undervalued wrote: »

One point those taking the indignant "how dare they" line might like to consider....

It is very unusual these days for company sick pay (if any) to be a hard and fast contractual entitlement. It is nearly always discretionary.

Obviously there is a balance to be struck but, where reasonably possible, showing willing by taking the occasional call may encourage the employer to use their discretion more favourably.

Beat me to it but I agree with this.

gwen80

Undervalued wrote: »

One point those taking the indignant "how dare they" line might like to consider....

It is very unusual these days for company sick pay (if any) to be a hard and fast contractual entitlement. It is nearly always discretionary.

Obviously there is a balance to be struck but, where reasonably possible, showing willing by taking the occasional call may encourage the employer to use their discretion more favourably.

Actually, according to my contract I will be paid. Having said that I also get paid for annual leave.

Undervalued

gwen80 wrote: »

Actually, according to my contract I will be paid. Having said that I also get paid for annual leave.

As I said, very unusual these days but if your contract goes back a good few years then the chances if it being a contractual entitlement are certainly higher.

I would still suggest you read the contract very carefully along with a current version of the employee handbook or similar. It is quite easy for contractual terms to have been changed without actually needing a new signed "contract".

Even then, within reason, retaining goodwill can sometimes be more beneficial than standing on your rights.