Do you feel you can't go out when you're certified off work sick?

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 04-05-2018 12:29PM #1

I've just heard a colleague complaining about a co-worker who has been on a cert this week suffering from a chest infection. Apparently she saw her in the supermarket yesterday evening so 'she can't be that sick really'.

It seems logical to me that as the week goes on she would be getting stronger and able to go out and do a bit of shopping or whatever.

There's a big difference between getting up at 7am, facing a long commute, a full day at work, and another long commute home; and popping up to the supermarket, or out to meet your mum for an hour for coffee.

Would you judge a co-worker if they were off sick and you saw them out somewhere?

amcalester · 04-05-2018 12:31PM

Depends on the sickness (not that I would necessarily know), someone with agoraphobia would be a bit suspect.

CrankyHaus · 04-05-2018 12:36PM

I thought you meant 'out' out. Like someone calling in sick and then going on the rip.

ChikiChiki · 04-05-2018 12:36PM

Your colleague should be told to mind her own business OP.

Hector Bellend · 04-05-2018 12:38PM

I usually go to the pub to celebrate my sick days

CraftySue · 04-05-2018 12:40PM

No, I judge the co-worker who makes these judgements, as it's none of their business, quite frankly, and can often have a negative impact in work, where people feel pressured to turn up for work when the are unwell.
There's many reasons why that person might be out and about, like you said they could be at the end of an illness, I think for health and safety reasons your not supposed to return to work, till the day stated on a cert, a person might be out for mental health reasons, but would prefer say chest infection, there could be a multiple number of reasons, but it's not for co-workers to judge.

PlaneSpeeking · 04-05-2018 12:41PM

I had to go out when off sick to get meds - someone in work heard me talking when I got back and said "thowing a sickie, I knew it!".

No, hacking up a lung and went to pick up various remedies in the hope I'd hit on the random combination that would let me live.

_Brian · 04-05-2018 12:43PM

I was off for a time with a nasty back injury.

Now, when I was able I still went out and about whenever I could. Went to the pub, out for dinner, weekends away.

Your certified not fit for work. There may be specifics to the cert and each case is individual but your not certified dead or housebound, just too sick for work.

There are many aspects to being certified sick.
Yes you mightn’t be physically able to work. But you might also be in a situation where going to work may make you worse and open the company to litigation. You might have something nasty that can be passed to others by coughing about the place.

It’s not just about the employee certified, it also takes account of the employer and other employees too.

Someone moaning is probably just jealous they are at work and the other person isn’t.

Sofiztikated · 04-05-2018 12:44PM

It's horse****.

A while ago, I had a hape of bladder stones taken out, and picked up a UTI as a result.

Off sick for a week, barely fit to move, and was cabin fever was setting in. Meself and the Mrs needed a few bits from the shop, so in order to get a bit of exercise and not go mental, we headed to the local supermarket.

Happened to meet 2 of my co-workers, and had a bit of a chat, got our few bits and went home. I was asleep on the sofa 20 later, knackered.

Next day I heard from on of the lads that I was leaping around, like I was on Supermarket Sweep.

**** off and mind your own business.

Gannicus · 04-05-2018 12:45PM

I'm out sick this week and I will be doing my grocery shopping today.
What has me out sick stops me from doing my job properly but I'm not starving myself all weekend to make sure my job are okay with me being out sick.

It depends on a few things really.

Reason their off sick (which is only the business of the employer & employee).

What they were out doing (on the piss versus getting some food shopping)?

Do they call in sick often?

What their job is (nurses in hospitals/care homes versus someone in a call centre)?

I try to avoid these conversations with staff its up to management to handle it. if its being done on the reg then the employer will cop it and deal with it.

PlaneSpeeking · 04-05-2018 12:47PM

I will add that a few years ago I had an accident in work and broke two fingers. It was on ,y dominant hand, hospital signed me off for two weeks.

I padded my arm up like those guards doing dog training where they are getting bitten and walked to the pub.

Anonymous colleague reported me and boss threatened me with sack by email.

Dial Hard · 04-05-2018 01:06PM

While technically it's nobody's business but the employee and their employer and yes, not all illnesses keep you completely housebound for the duration, the optics can and do look bad. It's just a fact of life.

jimgoose · 04-05-2018 01:18PM

I can do whatever the trouser-flapping fuck I like, that's what "certified" means. And people with big mouths sometimes find themselves trapped in the machine-room when the halon drops. 'S one of these Human Tragedies, innit??

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 04-05-2018 01:19PM

Dial Hard wrote: »

While technically it's nobody's business but the employee and their employer and yes, not all illnesses keep you completely housebound for the duration, the optics can and do look bad. It's just a fact of life.

That is why I'm so glad that nobody from work lives anywhere near me. If I'm out sick and feel like meeting my mum for a pub lunch towards the end of the week I can do so without worrying that some colleague is going to see me and go around blabbing that 'Bella is just skiving. Saw her in the pub, so can't be much wrong with her'.

Kimbot · 04-05-2018 01:24PM

Well what if you live alone and a good distance from family etc, are you not allowed leave the house to get essential supplies such as food, bog roll etc.

SarahS2013 · 04-05-2018 01:25PM

There's someone out of my place at the moment on long term stress leave. They're posting photos all over Facebook of awards nights they're attending and all the foreign holidays they're off on....

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 04-05-2018 01:27PM

SarahS2013 wrote: »

There's someone out of my place at the moment on long term stress leave. They're posting photos all over Facebook of awards nights they're attending and all the foreign holidays they're off on....

Well if they're stressed the last thing they should be doing is staying cooped up in the house, avoiding people. Maybe it's work related stress.

Sofiztikated · 04-05-2018 01:37PM

SarahS2013 wrote: »

There's someone out of my place at the moment on long term stress leave. They're posting photos all over Facebook of awards nights they're attending and all the foreign holidays they're off on....

That's the thing about Facebook. You only see the good stuff.

You won't see the pictures of her sitting on her stairs, having a breakdown. You won't see her locking herself in the bathroom, unable to face going to the shops.

But a trip away, of course you are going to see smiling. But the stress is still there.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 04-05-2018 01:40PM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

That's the thing about Facebook. You only see the good stuff.

You won't see the pictures of her sitting on her stairs, having a breakdown. You won't see her locking herself in the bathroom, unable to face going to the shops.

But a trip away, of course you are going to see smiling. But the stress is still there.

Exactly. She, like many others, is presenting a heavily curated version of her life. You rarely see people on Facebook showing the downside of their lives, and it's easy to believe their day to day lives are full of sunshine and picnics and loving friends and unicorns, when actually it could be **** a lot of the time.

PlaneSpeeking · 04-05-2018 01:44PM

Viviana Chubby Road wrote: »

Exactly. She, like many others, is presenting a heavily curated version of her life. You rarely see people on Facebook showing the downside of their lives, and it's easy to believe their day to day lives are full of sunshine and picnics and loving friends and unicorns, when actually it could be **** a lot of the time.

I'm not suffering from stress per se (not medically if you get me) but I guarantee that if you photograph me on the train in this morning and then again tomorrow in the pub before the match - be like night and day.

If someone is stressed by work, getting out might be just the help they need.

ChikiChiki · 04-05-2018 01:51PM

SarahS2013 wrote: »

There's someone out of my place at the moment on long term stress leave. They're posting photos all over Facebook of awards nights they're attending and all the foreign holidays they're off on....

Whatever about awards nights, holidays could be part if the recovery. I wouldn’t judge to harshly. People having breakdowns with stress etc is practically invisible to others.

Fann Linn · 04-05-2018 01:54PM

Hector Bellend wrote: »

I usually go to the pub to celebrate my sick days

Same here. Are you a public servant too?

EDit · 04-05-2018 01:57PM

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

I will add that a few years ago I had an accident in work and broke two fingers. It was on ,y dominant hand, hospital signed me off for two weeks.

I padded my arm up like those guards doing dog training where they are getting bitten and walked to the pub.

Anonymous colleague reported me and boss threatened me with sack by email.

Your colleague and boss are arseholes. Also, legally I doubt your employer would have a leg to stand on if they fired you while officially signed off (very different if you had just rang in claiming sickness and then headed down the pub)

Teyla Emmagan · 04-05-2018 02:00PM

Sick people need to eat too.

Fann Linn · 04-05-2018 02:05PM

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Sick people need to eat too.

Through a drip, according to some employers.

PlaneSpeeking · 04-05-2018 02:09PM

EDit wrote: »

Your colleague and boss are arseholes. Also, legally I doubt your employer would have a leg to stand on if they fired you while officially signed off (very different if you had just rang in claiming sickness and then headed down the pub)

They were, both!

And nothing came of it, I went back to the GP and she signed me off for a further week and wrote a strong note to my boss's boss!

TerrorFirmer · 04-05-2018 02:30PM

I hate this mentality but it is a real concern for a lot of people - myself included, to be honest.

Some people have this ancient old-world view that if you're able to get out of bed, you're fit for work. No consideration given whatsoever to what may actually be wrong with the person, or even to the radical difference between going to a cafe for a cup of tea and sitting in work for 10 hours.

Just because you look OK does not mean that you are OK - physically or mentally. Personally, if someone was off sick from work, it wouldn't matter a jot to me if I saw them sinking pints at the local, out playing football, hang-gliding off the cliffs of moher.....whatever it is, I think nothing of it. You've no idea what is really going on with some people at all and it's none of your business.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 04-05-2018 02:38PM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I hate this mentality but it is a real concern for a lot of people - myself included, to be honest.

Some people have this ancient old-world view that if you're able to get out of bed, you're fit for work. No consideration given whatsoever to what may actually be wrong with the person, or even to the radical difference between going to a cafe for a cup of tea and sitting in work for 10 hours.

Just because you look OK does not mean that you are OK - physically or mentally. Personally, if someone was off sick from work, it wouldn't matter a jot to me if I saw them sinking pints at the local, out playing football, hang-gliding off the cliffs of moher.....whatever it is, I think nothing of it. You've no idea what is really going on with some people at all and it's none of your business.

I agree. It's also the mentality that has people, myself included, worried that we don't sound 'sick enough' when we ring in to say we're not well. I remember a time when some bellends would chant 'If you're well enough to ring work, you're well enough to come in'.

PlaneSpeeking · 04-05-2018 03:00PM

Viviana Chubby Road wrote: »

I agree. It's also the mentality that has people, myself included, worried that we don't sound 'sick enough' when we ring in to say we're not well. I remember a time when some bellends would chant 'If you're well enough to ring work, you're well enough to come in'.

Another previous boss once said to a colleague "you don't sound very sick" to which she replied "and how would you know what a healthy uterus sounds like ?"

We larfed!

Graces7 · 04-05-2018 03:02PM

I still feel guilty about a girl i was at school with ; she would be off ill but we would see her out walking when the bus went past where she lived so of course...

When I said this to my big brother, he told me that she had severe migraines and would be abed in agony all day then manage to get out for air.

I got to know her better and years later she was getting married and was terrified she would get a migraine on the day as she was totally incapacitated,

Thankfully she didn't

But it stopped me judging others like that.

04-05-2018 03:49PM

Not wanting to be seen out when I was off sick, was something I thought when I was at school.

If I'm off sick from work, I'm presumably a grown adult. Do what I want.

Mildly related, but i often wonder why people don't just say I'm not in the humour of going to work' to their boss or such instead of lying about an illness. Surely to god most bosses would appreciate someone's honesty if they wanted a day off. Instead of ringing in sneezing and coughing over the phone whilst putting their jacket on to go out the door, just say 'look, im there every day, today I'm not in the mood, im going out, stick it down as a holiday day' or such.

I just don't get the childishness that surrounds it at all.

Do you feel you can't go out when you're certified off work sick?

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