?? sick leave??

beccaboom

CAn you go on holidays whilst on sick leave? Dr says I am not fit for work but am fit to travel and need a break ................ I work for the HSE and am wondering if this is ok to do?

Mr. Loverman

beccaboom wrote: »

CAn you go on holidays whilst on sick leave? Dr says I am not fit for work but am fit to travel and need a break ................ I work for the HSE and am wondering if this is ok to do?

Well if it's something like you are stressed and the Dr. recommends a break would be good for you... that's a lot different than being off for the flu and then going to Ibiza for two weeks!

beccaboom

no I had surgery and am scheduled for another in the last week in September, but we have had a city break in Barcelona booked for ages, the dr says i need a break but i am afraid that I will have diciplinary action if I am not allowed leave the country while getting sick pay .

John Mason

all the polish people i work with go home when they are on sick leave - so i wouldnt think its a problem if you have been signed off by the doctor

love porter

Hi,

I feel your pain, as I was off before and like that would have liked to gone somewhere, you should check with your union, so you feel right if you do go.

Mr. Loverman

beccaboom wrote: »

no I had surgery and am scheduled for another in the last week in September, but we have had a city break in Barcelona booked for ages, the dr says i need a break but i am afraid that I will have diciplinary action if I am not allowed leave the country while getting sick pay .

If you don't have a doctors note saying you need to take a holiday, if they find out you could be in big trouble...

I guess the question is will they find out?!

Tom Dunne

Just think for a moment how this looks.

You are off sick, yet you are well enough to go on holidays.

Doesn't look at all professional, no matter what spin you put on it.

tatli_lokma

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Just think for a moment how this looks.

You are off sick, yet you are well enough to go on holidays.

Doesn't look at all professional, no matter what spin you put on it.

yeah how unprofessional, you are fit enough to take a relaxing break and do nothing, so obviously you are fit enough to work! :rolleyes:

its not that simple - it depends on your job and what it involves.

If you are sick and you have a doctors note to back that up, then I would say that you should be covered, but as others said, check with your union if unsure.

I had holidays booked a while ago, but while away I got sick. I needed an extra 2 days off at the end of my scheduled leave. I told my manager and some of my holiday days were converted to sick leave, as technically I was too sick to take my holiday properly. I wasn't expecting that, but since I had a doctors note I was covered. It doesn't matter where you take your sick leave, all that matters is that you were sick and have a doctors note to confirm. It may make things difficult with a manager though, so it might be worth telling them upfront and asking the doc for a letter to confirm that you are not yet fit to resume your duties, but that he recommends a short break for you as part of your recuperation.

Chinafoot

Once you have a doctor's note stating that you are not fit for work then you are covered to be out of work for that period. What you do during that time is not really anybody else's business. As nobody here knows your situation its not really anyone's place to pass judgement.

tenchi-fan

Just exercise some cop on.

It would look ridiculous if you arrived in work with a sick note and a glowing tan.

If you are fit to take holidays, why not just take your annual leave now and work around your work schedule (as most people do when they need a break!)

It sounds like you're trying to take a break now in the guise of sick leave and another break later out of your annual leave.

Regardless of rights or entitlements, just think how it would look to you if you were a manager and one of your staff members did this.

Chinafoot

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Just exercise some cop on.

It would look ridiculous if you arrived in work with a sick note and a glowing tan.

If you are fit to take holidays, why not just take your annual leave now and work around your work schedule (as most people do when they need a break!)

It sounds like you're trying to take a break now in the guise of sick leave and another break later out of your annual leave.

Regardless of rights or entitlements, just think how it would look to you if you were a manager and one of your staff members did this.

The OP hasn't even said where they are planning to go! For all we know they could be planning to go down the country to a spa for a few days to relax.

And sorry, but you can't disregard rights and entitlements. She/he has been signed off sick from work and has a doctors note to that effect. This is all that is required of him/her as far as management are concerned. It is none of their business what their employees get up to once they are covered by a genuine doctor's cert. The management can decide to contact the doctor in question or they can send the OP to the doctor in residence if they feel there is anything inappropriate going on.

I would question if the same level of disgust would be displayed if the OP said they worked in the private sector :rolleyes:

Thoie

beccaboom wrote: »

no I had surgery and am scheduled for another in the last week in September, but we have had a city break in Barcelona booked for ages,

Chinafoot wrote: »

The OP hasn't even said where they are planning to go! For all we know they could be planning to go down the country to a spa for a few days to relax.

And sorry, but you can't disregard rights and entitlements. She/he has been signed off sick from work and has a doctors note to that effect.

I think it might be Barcelona. Most reasonable people take "not fit for work due to surgery" as "not fit for wandering around the place". "Not fit for work due to depression" would be taken as "but fit for a relaxing break".

OP, while to doctor said you need to relax, I'd ask him if flying is OK so soon after surgery - particularly if the second surgery is related to the first. You might feel fine pottering around at home, but the air pressure when flying can do funny things to you, particularly if you have stitches.

tenchi-fan

Chinafoot wrote: »

I would question if the same level of disgust would be displayed if the OP said they worked in the private sector :rolleyes:

Is that the way you're trying to sway this thread?

Clearly I would be more disgusted if the op worked in the private sector, as the employer would be the person picking up the tab. Not good for small business and not good for the HSE.

Chinafoot

Thoie wrote: »

I think it might be Barcelona. Most reasonable people take "not fit for work due to surgery" as "not fit for wandering around the place". "Not fit for work due to depression" would be taken as "but fit for a relaxing break".

Apologies, I missed that.

Thoie wrote: »

OP, while to doctor said you need to relax, I'd ask him if flying is OK so soon after surgery - particularly if the second surgery is related to the first. You might feel fine pottering around at home, but the air pressure when flying can do funny things to you, particularly if you have stitches.

Agreed, but the OP has said that her doctor has cleared her to travel so it's probably safe to assume she asked. Tbh, it all depends on her job. In my job I would be unable to work in some areas with a broken leg for example as my job involves me standing and moving around all day. That doesn't mean I couldn't go for a relaxing break away where I'd be on my arse for the majority. And believe me, I just returned from Barcelona yesterday and as it was our second time there it was incredibly relaxing.

The fact of the matter is she has a cert for the time she'll be out of work and thats all she needs to the best of my knowledge. You or I might not do the same thing, hell we could even be disgusted by it, but the OP hasn't asked for our personal feelings on it, rather her official position as an employee.

tatli_lokma

tenchi-fan wrote: »

If you are fit to take holidays, why not just take your annual leave now and work around your work schedule (as most people do when they need a break!)

If you are already signed off on sick, then your employer is not legally supposed to take annual leave when they know you are sick.
OP didn't say they 'need a break' they said they are sick legitimately, are signed off by the doc, but has a break booked from before they were sick. They are wondering if any diciplinary action can be taken for going on this break. They are not pretending to be sick so they can go on a holiday!

As I said before, not fit for work does not mean not fit for a holiday! but if it were me I would tell my employer so that they knew I was not hiding anything or trying to be dishonest.

beccaboom

Well I checked with HR and they have said that as I had surgery and I am not fit to work , as my job entails that I sit most of the day and i had bowel surgery that it is perfectly fine that I am not fit to do my job and cannot discipline me if I have been cleared to travel by my doctor. Occupational health were also liaised with and are in agreement that since I am not fit to do my everyday job that they have no problem with me travelling if the doctor recommends a break before my next surgery at the end of the month .........................

Thanks for all the feedback..... really very much apreciated.

tatli_lokma

happy days! enjoy your holliers so!