NHS Sick leave policy puts you in a no-win situation

nicechap

NWOIHTS wrote: »

.........

My original point was basically how can it be that if you are off say 2 days in Jan with a really bad cold, say June with a sick bug, 5 days in October with a severely sprained ankle, like I had, and 1 day in the next Jan again with a bad cold, then you are triggered as a concern, it's utter madness.

No its not. Maybe think of it like car insurance, those that have an accident are more likely to have another so their premiums are increased. Except in this case instead of a single absence triggering higher premiums, its 4. The analogy breaks down though as you still get paid the same amount as before, so no higher premiums.


When I worked in other places the manager knew if someone was taking the !!!!, they got on it and the guy either straightened himself out, got a warning, and if didn't improve the manager sacked him.

So just one period of sick triggered the other firm's processes. As you work in the NHS, you know you they don't employ psychic managers who can tell when someone is taking the !!!! - they have to have evidence.

........ I tried to go back before I had fully healed and the result was I had to take more time off as it flared up again. So tell me wouldn't you rather someone got better properly or they rushed back a few days earlier than they really should only to have them off again?

Unless you've agreed a phased return to work, you shouldn't your fit note would not run out until you were properly better. Its YOUR mistake to return early.

.................

I'm firmly in the real World but I think these people aren't with their silly policies. I'd actually heard that they were going to be reviewing it, probably because so many people has complained it was targeting people who were genuinely ill through no fault of their own.

Its a national policy, unlikely to be changed because of some office gossip

If you don't like working there, or the conditions, maybe you need to find somewhere else to work.

hyubh

NWOIHTS wrote: »

There was also a comment about me being off with Severe Stress, and that this just doesn't happen and you recover in one day. Well no it doesn't but I was just coping with it, our manager is a total gestapo

Denying hyperbole with a statement even more hyperbolic than the original is... unorthodox.

TELLIT01

NWOIHTS. Bottom line is that it doesn't matter whether you think the absence management process is utter madness or not. It is a system used by the vast majority of companies in the UK now.
How the system is used, rather than the system itself, is where the problems can come in. If no consideration is taken of the type of absence the system doesn't work properly. For example if somebody breaks a leg and is off for a number of weeks I would expect that to be accepted by management as a one off and treated accordingly. If somebody is off 8 times on a Monday, or 8 times for one day to avoid some work which always falls on the day they are absent, I would expect it to be dealt with differently. Some manager do use their judgement whereas other either won't or aren't permitted to.

sangie595

The OP lost me at Gestapo. If they actually think that properly acting on employment policy in the NHS is comparable to the people who, along with the SS, were responsible for the production of a regime that annihilated millions of people, then they've lost the plot.

TELLIT01

sangie595 wrote: »

The OP lost me at Gestapo. If they actually think that properly acting on employment policy in the NHS is comparable to the people who, along with the SS, were responsible for the production of a regime that annihilated millions of people, then they've lost the plot.

As you well know, the term is used for people who unthinkingly follow rules and apply them to the letter irrespective of circumstances, and not just referring to WW2.

Comms69

The term is incorrectly used...

hyubh

TELLIT01 wrote: »

As you well know, the term is used for people who unthinkingly follow rules and apply them to the letter irrespective of circumstances, and not just referring to WW2.

Really? Calling someone a 'fascist', yes. But 'gestapo'? Not familiar with that. And not very helpful when trying to disclaim the idea that a previous statement was well OTT. Frankly, it was borderline offensive ('when it comes to the relationship with my line manager, I'm like a Jewish person in Nazi-occupied Poland, ha ha!').

NWOIHTS

TELLIT01 wrote: »

NWOIHTS. Bottom line is that it doesn't matter whether you think the absence management process is utter madness or not. It is a system used by the vast majority of companies in the UK now.
How the system is used, rather than the system itself, is where the problems can come in. If no consideration is taken of the type of absence the system doesn't work properly. For example if somebody breaks a leg and is off for a number of weeks I would expect that to be accepted by management as a one off and treated accordingly. If somebody is off 8 times on a Monday, or 8 times for one day to avoid some work which always falls on the day they are absent, I would expect it to be dealt with differently. Some manager do use their judgement whereas other either won't or aren't permitted to.

No you are right it doesn't matter what I, or anyone else thinks, no matter how absurd it is.

Exactly my point, it doesn't work properly.

NWOIHTS

hyubh wrote: »

Really? Calling someone a 'fascist', yes. But 'gestapo'? Not familiar with that. And not very helpful when trying to disclaim the idea that a previous statement was well OTT. Frankly, it was borderline offensive ('when it comes to the relationship with my line manager, I'm like a Jewish person in Nazi-occupied Poland, ha ha!').

!!!!!! are you on about? Where have you been, no idea what gestapo means, are you of the snowflake generation perhaps?

NWOIHTS

sangie595 wrote: »

The OP lost me at Gestapo. If they actually think that properly acting on employment policy in the NHS is comparable to the people who, along with the SS, were responsible for the production of a regime that annihilated millions of people, then they've lost the plot.

I think you are being a bit too matter of fact with that there. If I said oh my bin smells like !!!!, it doesn't actually smell specifically of !!!!, but it smells bad, like !!!!, it's just a saying, it isn't meant to be taken as factual as that. Do you need anymore help?