Is my employer being unreasonable?

[Worjackie]

I am capable of making ad hoc posts on SF, and using the laptop for a few hours a day. I can also rest my eyes whenever they get painful.

 

I am not capable of sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours (or even 4 hours) straight without getting extreme pain in my eyes. My work are fully aware of this, and have not been able to find me work to do that doesn't involve a computer.

 

On Sunday night, I was in a lot of pain and didn't get to sleep until about 5:30am. I don't really fancy the idea of waking up 3 hours later, then not being able to get back to sleep again because of the pain. How does that help at all?

 

That said, I see no need to justify why I'm off, or how ill I am. I've never had a sick note before, and don't intend on having one again.

 

This morning, I was awake and rang them.

 

However, to everyone else, thanks. I think I was just in a bit of a bad mood yesterday because I'm getting frustrated by it all.

 

 

That's fair enough, thanks for explaining. I still don't see what great hardship there is in making one phone call a day just to update your employers on your condition though. It's only common courtesy.

 

At a time when jobs are scarce it's important to stay on good terms with your bosses, as if they have to make redundancies, it's usually those with the worst attendance records who are first out.

[Alex C.]

That's fair enough, thanks for explaining. I still don't see what great hardship there is in making one phone call a day just to update your employers on your condition though. It's only common courtesy.

 

At a time when jobs are scarce it's important to stay on good terms with your bosses, as if they have to make redundancies, it's usually those with the worst attendance records who are first out.

 

I don't mind that, and as I said, I've been ringing them two or three times a week anyway, just to keep in touch. It was the insistence it was at 8:30am that I found unreasonable.

 

Other than this, I have a perfect attendance record, and no-one could have forecast how long I'd be off after my operation. I was told by the doctors originally it would be 2-3 days. The last time I saw the consultant (last week) he said I was a 'special case' and I'd just taken a lot longer to heal than usual.

 

Unfortunately, the operation I had was on both my eyes (three muscles were adjusted), so it's not as if I can even wear an eye patch or something to stop using one eye, they're both bad. I've done everything I can with the doctors and the hospital to try and get better, but they just keep saying "it's going to take time". It's frustrating, more than anything else, to not know when I'm going to be back to normal.

 

I'm on good terms with my employers usually, but I think I just had an off day yesterday.

[cgksheff]

So you are saying that the doctor that issued my note and then said the following to me doesn’t know what he is talking about.

 

I am saying that your/his generalisation is not correct in all cases.

And it is wrong to quote opinion as fact in a field where not every situation is covered by a rule or law.

Your insurance may bar you from taking back an employee early. Ours is not as prescriptive.

 

It is also worth noting that your "quote" is just a post on another forum representing another person's opinion.

 

The introduction of a “fit note” may make the situation a lot clearer.

 

No argument with that though.

 

 

All of this does not alter the matter that the OP does not have to respond to the excessive demands of THEIR employer as posted.

[Grandad.Malky]

If you're well enough to be surfing internet forums, you're well enough to be at work.

 

Well there we have it When I broke a small bone in my arm I was off ( under strict orders from the doctor) for 4 weeks, the fact that my left arm was in a sling somehow didn’t prevent me from coming on here every day.

 

On another occasion I was off following and hernia repair and under orders ……… no lifting or manual work ( easier said than done when you work in a factory) but somehow I managed to lift my fingers to use my lap top.

 

In the 3 years in my current job those are the only 2 times I have been off work ( no man flu here) but I suppose I must be have been swinging the lead in your eyes.

[katy1981]

this ringing in everyday thing seems to becoming popular my work has just told us in a meeting that if we are sick we must also phone in everyday untill we are better and can return to work. and of course if there is no sick note we dont get paid and we do need a return to work note off the doctor so our employer knows we are well and wont infect any of the other staff or cause any accidents and/or harm to ourselves or others if we are still unfit for work.

[Worjackie]

Well there we have it When I broke a small bone in my arm I was off ( under strict orders from the doctor) for 4 weeks, the fact that my left arm was in a sling somehow didn’t prevent me from coming on here every day.

 

On another occasion I was off following and hernia repair and under orders ……… no lifting or manual work ( easier said than done when you work in a factory) but somehow I managed to lift my fingers to use my lap top.

 

In the 3 years in my current job those are the only 2 times I have been off work ( no man flu here) but I suppose I must be have been swinging the lead in your eyes.

 

I got the wrong end of the stick with the OP and accepted his subsequent explanation. But in many other cases, I think it's fair to say that if you can use a computer at home, you're well enough to use a computer at work. As an example, when I used to work in a call centre, one guy was made to come in on crutches while he was recovering from a broken leg. The bosses said that as he didn't need to use his leg to answer the phone he was well enough to be at work!

[Grandad.Malky]

The bosses said that as he didn't need to use his leg to answer the phone he was well enough to be at work!

 

So if he fell at work and ended up in a worse situation what happens then and how did he get to work with a broken leg.

 

I am saying that your/his generalisation is not correct in all cases.

.

 

I can only tell you what the doctor told me and he was adamant that I didn’t drive or return to work until I was signed off pointing out that a sick note was a “legal” document.

 

If individuals or employers want to overrule a doctors advice then they do so at there own risk.

 

As you said it does seem the OP's employer is going OTT

[Greavsy]

I am capable of making ad hoc posts on SF, and using the laptop for a few hours a day. I can also rest my eyes whenever they get painful.

 

I am not capable of sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours (or even 4 hours) straight without getting extreme pain in my eyes. My work are fully aware of this, and have not been able to find me work to do that doesn't involve a computer. On Sunday night, I was in a lot of pain and didn't get to sleep until about 5:30am. I don't really fancy the idea of waking up 3 hours later, then not being able to get back to sleep again because of the pain. How does that help at all?

 

That said, I see no need to justify why I'm off, or how ill I am. I've never had a sick note before, and don't intend on having one again.

 

This morning, I was awake and rang them.

 

However, to everyone else, thanks. I think I was just in a bit of a bad mood yesterday because I'm getting frustrated by it all.

 

Your boss sounds controlling

 

I remember a couple of years ago I were due to start a new job but got taken into hospital for an emergency operation, this was on a sunday night. My dad rang my boss the next morning and explained the situation and what was happening. She rang my house phone constantly demanding to speak to me, even though I were in hospital.

 

Then she decided to ring the hospital numerous times and the nurse explained that I wasn't fit enough to speak and she wouldn't take no as an answer.

 

The day I got home from hospital I rang her and explained more. I had a sick note for 3 weeks off work and she wouldn't accept it that I were really poorly. She told me that I had to ring her at 8am every morning to tell her how I were feeling. Did she expect me to make a fast recovery?

 

So I finally got fed up of and went into work. I were really poorly and everyone were telling me how I shouldn't be there. She basically treat me like s*** while I were there and didn't care less. Going back to work made me even more poorly, I were throwing up in the toilets 3 times a day and passing out.

 

After 2/3 days of this I left and never went back. If she couldn't treat me with the respect I deserved then why should I work for her?

 

She really were a dragon!

[truman]

The bosses said that as he didn't need to use his leg to answer the phone he was well enough to be at work!

 

Did he use a magic carpet to get to work then?

[JFKvsNixon]

Did he use a magic carpet to get to work then?

 

I think that the magic carpet has more chance of being real than the example put forward by Worjackie.