Coming into work when ill?

mp260767 said:
as mentioned, company i work for has set attendance policies, whereby you can X number of sick days off before an initial warning, then after that can get a 2nd warning with a 3rd instance being a dismissal.

so it works where if people can get in they do, because they might well be that sick that can't get in and the policy stuffs them up.

but as usual the people that take the **** out of the system manage to skate by.
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The Bradford scoring method is such a blunt instrument for this kind of thing.
 
The thing is I got pretty bad flu once, but it was a shift they couldn't cover so guilt tripped me to come in so I did. Then everyone got sick because of me....

Sometimes it's more the employers fault rather than the employees.
 
If I can make it to Christmas without being ill then it will be a miracle due to the amount of jobsworths that have been coming into work over the last week :mad: one guy has literally been running the toilet to throw up every few hours and won’t go home because he wants to look like a hero to management, a few people have bad Colds and feel ill, had one woman next to me today with a sore throat and chest infection coughing all over me. Doesn’t help that they have the heating cranked up to a stupid heat just because it’s December even though it’s 11 degrees outside which will just spread and harbour the germs from everyone.
 
Unless I’m physically vomiting (or worse) I’ll go in.

I don’t get the “be a hero” nonsense. Most of the time these viral infections are most contagious before the symptoms manifest, so taking time off after you break out in something is trivial at best imo. Taking time off for man flu is comical, real flu, on the other hand is understandable as are more serious conditions but the majority of the chat in this thread is around the common cold.

Don’t get me wrong.. I’ll do my bit to stop spreading germs; hand sanitiser, washing hands and using tissues but I wouldn’t take time off.

When I worked in healthcare it was different, but then I was based in a satellite building away from the wards, so I just didn’t venture down there if I had a cold.
 
I used to consult for the UKs number 1 retailer. They were notorious for 'dealing' with absence and throughout management meetings it was celebrated from the top downwards if an employee had been issued a disciplinary etc for poor attendance.

We all know or knew someone who took the **** with absence and who played the system (usually a numbers game relating to a percentage) and all these employers are doing is pushing back with a one size fits all solution. However one size rarely does fit all and a lot of the managers I worked with had their hands tied in respect of allowable mitigation before they even spoke to an individual regarding unacceptable attendance.

In the 15 years that I worked for someone in the UK I can count on one hand the amount of sick days that I had. I never felt pressure to go into work from anyone but myself. A general feeling of responsibility.
 
Just had someone come in after having been in bed all day, looked pale and was coughing as they sat down next to me saying they felt ill and flu-like.
My first reaction was to stand up up and (jokingly) say - "Well don't come and sit next to me then!" to which they stormed off in a sulk.

Was I rude?
 
A2Z said:
That's what sick pay is for. To be off work when ill.
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Not everyone gets sick pay. My wife doesn't. I started with a new employer last month and don't get sick pay for 12 months. Unless I am actually at deaths door and unable to move, I'll be going into work. If the rest of the room get it, which is highly likely due to proximity and a/c, then such is life.
 
Rifte said:
...In the 15 years that I worked for someone in the UK I can count on one hand the amount of sick days that I had. I never felt pressure to go into work from anyone but myself. A general feeling of responsibility...
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I'm curious have none of you ever had a injury, or surgery that make you unable to work. Because sick doesn't just mean a cold or a flu.
 
HybridX said:
As much as i understand why this isn't practical. I really wish anyone with a stinking cold in an office environment stayed at home.

Section of 38 people and 4 managers... Friday 1 person has really bad cold snotting and coughing everywhere..... today about 30 people now have it and im there listening to 30 people cough and snot their guts up while trying to avoid it myself... not impressed
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Caught it on Thursday and while im not snotted up and blocked up like everyone else its gone straight to my chest and if i walk more than 50m im a wheezing coughing mess on the floor
 
You should only not turn up if you cannot work due due to illness making you less productive as usual, or resting IN BED is legitimately going to dramatically speed up recovery. If neither apply and you just don’t want to work because you feel poop, get into work you lazy ass! If you have the flu, you probably couldn’t make it into work anyway so that’s an automatic pass.

My secretary has taken many this year and appears in the next day absolutely fine - which I find dubious at face value but then I have to remember I don’t know everybody’s medical problems so I can’t be judgemental without making assumptions.

At the very least, make it into work and THEN go home if you find you’re being unproductive / too ill.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a sick day unless such illness has resulted in hospital tbh. Then again, in the sector it’s accepted that to take a day’s leave means overtime working (without pay) to do the work you would have missed... so there are huge disincentives to taking a day off ill (i.e. you’ll have to make up the time).
 
I work with ill people day in, day out. Because of this I get D+V 3 or 4 times a year.
Despite the risks of infecting vulnerable people with my D+V I am forced to attend work as our sickness policy is so brutal I have no option but to attend. The same goes for coughs and colds, and any other lurg that I receive from one of my patients.
It's something I hate doing, but am left with no choice about.

It is often remarked on within our service that we are often more ill than those we attend.
 
bowey said:
We are allowed 2 maybe 3 sick days before your out the door so I try and go even if I'm dieing.
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Where do you work? A victorian re-enactment society?

What if you broke a limb and were off for a couple of weeks?
 
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