Need help with an awkward situation at work please!!

Former Member

Hi, I handed my notice in at work 2 weeks. I currently have 9 shifts left (today being a day off).

Basically, I've been feeling shit and proper flu-y for a couple of days, had a takeaway from a new place late last night and woke up today feeling like I've been hit by a bus & what feels like a bit of mild food poisioning (throwing up etc).

I'm entitled to 10 days paid sick leave a year. I've not had a day off sick since mid 2009 so obviously my full entitlement is in place. Where do I stand if I decide to take a few days off, I've had food poisoning before and it ain't pretty. Thing is they're gonna automatically assume I'm doing it on purpose because it's my last 2 weeks of work. Will I automatically be entitled to pay if I take say 5 of those 9 days off for example? Or is it dependant on producing a doctor's note? At the end of the day I don't want to lose any salary because this will be my bridging cheque before payment from my new place.

A bit of help please, weighing up my options before I'm due back in tomorrow. Oh and for background information, I work in a place where food processing takes place (though I don't deal with it directly) and I'm not in need of a reference because I've already been offered a contract with my new company. Thanks in advance!

Former Member

Hey Bare Grills, hope it's not too late to pass on some info. Sorry to hear you've got food poisoning, never fun... and on top of the cold, no wonder you're feeling knocked out

It's good to hear your full entitlement is in place, if you don't feel well enough to go in and given that there is food processing taking place in the vicinity then you shouldn't go in. That is what sick days are there for. However, it sounds like your employees don't have the most trusting attitude which is making you worry that they might make things difficult for you when you leave in terms of withholding pay.

The key thing here is the amount of time you take off and making sure you follow their procedures around calling in sick, that way you shouldn't have any problems.

If it's a day or two it shouldn't be an issue but most employers will request a doctor's note after a certain amount of time. This varies depending on the employer but you should be able to find out in your contract, employee handbook (if you have one) or staff intranet maybe? Or you could make a call to HR to ask them.

There's some more info on Directgov about having time off for sickness which might be useful to read: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Sicknessabsence/DG_185054

Sorry not to give you a definite answer but as I say, some employers are more strict than others! Hope you feel better soon either way and that they don't kick up a fuss if you need a few days to recover *hug*

Former Member

Thank you for your reply Jo7. They are more than a bit suspicious, it bugs me really. I'm in a managerial position but whenever one of our members of staff goes sick the other managers are always sceptical, even if they've got a proven track record. No need really.

To be perfectly honest, I've run around like a blue arsed fly holding things together in that place for far too long, the only reason I'm not fucking them off entirely is because I'm not sure whether I'd be paid or not!

Former Member

It's really frustrating when the culture is to be sceptical rather than to trust your employees isn't it? :banghead: It's as if these people are invincible and have never had a day off sick! It doesn't exactly make for a nice working environment full of happy employees either if you're treated like children. /rant over. Hehe..

As long as you stick to the rules around letting people know and providing a note if required then you should be fine. Sounds like you're doing the right thing by moving on, congrats on the new job and get well soon