Urgent advice needed on taking time off for surgery!

Rosielocks

Hi folks,

I'm hoping some of you kind people can help me out since I'm a little stressed out this evening. To cut a very long (and painful) story short, I've had a medical problem for a few year which in the past I've had two operations on. Back in January I was told I'd probably need another one to get the thing sorted out once and for all, and I was put on a waiting list. The previous time I'd been on the waiting list for about a year and a half, so I didn't tell my bosses because I thought I would only be at the company until April. They've since kept me on, and because my condition has improved in the meantime, I never even thought to mention the surgery to them. About two months ago I got a phonecall from the hospital asking if I was able to go in for the op before September, and I told them things were hectic in the office but I had two weeks booked off for the end of August and could probably do it then. They said they'd be in touch, but when I didn't hear back from them I presumed August didn't suit them and I'd been put back on their long list. On top of that, the condition has improved dramatically since then so I thought by the time it came around to it I might not even need the op, so again I didn't tell my bosses.

Then today I got a phonecall asking if I could be in for surgery on Monday - yes, this Monday!!! I really don't know what to do, I'm literally just back from my time off. I'm going to go to the doctor and ask him, since my condition is not as bad as it used to be, but I know he has told me on previous occasions that it will never fully go away by itself. I can cope with it for another few months, but I run the risk of it getting worse again in the meantime and yet again being on the really long waiting list.

I know I should've told my boss straight away at the outset, but I honestly thought the hospital would give me more notice than this. What are my options here? Do I really have any? I'll need to be in hospital for two days for the procedure and I'll probably need about a week off to recover - I really can't turn around to my bosses after two days back and say I need that time off. But at the same time I don't want to risk leaving it.

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!!!

masterkenali88

Hi OP,

I know times are tough with regard to work at the moment and you're probably very grateful to have a job. This doesn't change the fact that you have a medical issue and require surgery. All you need is a cert and that will cover you. Take care of yourself and put yourself and your health first, above your job and company. Good luck !

Rosielocks

Thanks so much, you're very kind. You also hit the nail on the head with the grateful part; I'm one of the lucky few who's managed to get a job doing exactly what I trained in and exactly what I love and it took me so long to get here I do want to do anything to mess it up! (It's in an industry that's getting it especially tough at the moment too, so I'm especially grateful.) Saying that, I said my condition had been behaving itself recently, but since I posted that this evening I swear it's been playing up! Don't know if it's just psychological or because of the stress worrying about this tonight... Anyway, I'm going to head down to my doctor tomorrow and if advises to go for it I'm going to get it in writing Thanks again for your kind response!

Procrastastudy

When you say you've had time off - I assume it was holiday? Holiday and time off for medical procedures are completely different. If due to sickness you aren't able to carry out the job anymore then there are grounds for termination. As example would be someone who suffers from really bad heyfever and needs random days off to the point that they become totally unreliable.

From what you've described your attitude is commendable and if I was still in a position of managing staff I'd clone you! Most employers will want a person to get sorted and get well - primarily because we're all human (I, of course, discount people who work in HR) but also because it's generally in a company's best interest to have people at 100%.

Keep your employer informed and I'm sure everything will be grand.

EDIT - Bear in mind no time is going to be ideal - place come up on hospital waiting lists for a plethora of reasons - but its very easy for you to be all geared up, time off planned etc to go in - there be a massive pile up (god forbid) and every non-urgent surgery from here to there canceled. Also time off for this sort of thing is never at a convenient time - there is always something - in my experience teams pull together when people are off for genuine reasons and you'll find the place hasn't burned down when you come back!

Rosielocks

Aw, aren't the people here on the boards while nice (I'm only new to these parts). Anyway, you were right - told my bosses about it today before I went to the doctor's and they were absolutely fine. A little pissed off about the possibility of me having to take time off, but in a light-hearted way and not actually pissed at me. It didn't matter though because everything worked out grand in the end; I went to my doc and he agreed with me that the thing was improving on its own (which he had previously told me couldn't happen!). So he actually advised to hold on for the op for a while to see what happens. I was stressing over nothing in the end, thankfully. Thanks again for all your advice, it really helped put my mind at ease last night.

Procrastastudy

Rosielocks wrote: »

Aw, aren't the people here on the boards while nice (I'm only new to these parts). Anyway, you were right - told my bosses about it today before I went to the doctor's and they were absolutely fine. A little pissed off about the possibility of me having to take time off, but in a light-hearted way and not actually pissed at me. It didn't matter though because everything worked out grand in the end; I went to my doc and he agreed with me that the thing was improving on its own (which he had previously told me couldn't happen!). So he actually advised to hold on for the op for a while to see what happens. I was stressing over nothing in the end, thankfully. Thanks again for all your advice, it really helped put my mind at ease last night.

Employers know when they have a good employees and when they have d!ckheads. The ones that don't are d!ckheads themselves...

Best of luck OP.