Travelling while on Sick Leave

boofgfhjyyjty

So I broke my ankle two weeks ago and have been unable to work since as I am on crutches. It was suggested I could return to work, but I work with children so that is not feasible.

Over a year prior to my sick leave, I have booked a volunteering trip abroad which will be coming up while I am still on certified sick leave. My GP has said I can travel, but am not able to work while on crutches. For the trip, I will be able to be in a wheelchair and have someone to push me, so it should not interfere with healing etc.

Can I travel despite sill being on sick leave? And do I need to inform anyone?

Thanks

Stheno

boofgfhjyyjty wrote: »

So I broke my ankle two weeks ago and have been unable to work since as I am on crutches. It was suggested I could return to work, but I work with children so that is not feasible.

Over a year prior to my sick leave, I have booked a volunteering trip abroad which will be coming up while I am still on certified sick leave. My GP has said I can travel, but am not able to work while on crutches. For the trip, I will be able to be in a wheelchair and have someone to push me, so it should not interfere with healing etc.

Can I travel despite sill being on sick leave? And do I need to inform anyone?

Thanks

Don't see why not but your employer may question you being fit enough to volunteering but not work

Mrs OBumble

Stheno wrote: »

Don't see why not but your employer may question you being fit enough to volunteering but not work

Unless the employer can provide someone to push the OP around in a wheelchair, then they won't have a leg to stand on! (Reading the OP again - who exactly is it that says a return to work isn't feasible?)

But there's some risk to manage re them being unhappy.

I would get the GP and the volunteering organisation to both put things in writing, and then talk things through with the employer. If the annual leave for the volunteering trip was already booked, then maybe just continue to use it instead of SL.

boofgfhjyyjty

Its because of the nature of my job that it isn't feasible for me to work. I'm on my feet about 80% of the average day and work with young children, from 6 months to 8 years old, so need to be quite fast. Obviously this would be quite difficult in crutches. I was also informed by work that I was not insured to work while on crutches. The volunteer work is mostly administrative in nature so I'll be sitting down quite a bit, and due to a large number of us traveling there are people who have volunteered to wheel me in a chair meaning I would be able to go. Would I need to tell work that I plan to go away? I will still be on sick leave when I return from the 5 day trip, and the policy is that we can't go directly from sick leave to annual leave or viceversa, so using the annual leave I have booked off isn't possible.

Eoin

I would tell them, even if you're not technically obliged to. They're bound to find out one way or the other, so I think it'd be better to be upfront and explain to them why you're capable of doing this trip. As they're the ones telling you that you're not fit for work, it sounds like they can't have much to complain about (unless they found alternative work for you that was also administrative in nature).

Jim2007

You should also check if you are covered by insurance while abroad, most likely it will be limited if you are sick leave already.