One employee left people in stitches after sharing the ‘passive aggressive’ way their doctor complied with their bosses demands after they made them procure an unnecessary sick note
The past 18-months have illustrated how important it is for people to be able to stay home when unwell.
But it’s fair to say that some unreasonable bosses make this an impossible situation thanks to their unreasonable demands.
One woman on Reddit left people feeling impressed at how she handled a situation where her boss demanded a sick note when she had the flu.
Reddit user Kath said she used to work in a supermarket, where she was a “pretty reliable employee” adding: “I was never late, in fact, I often got in early, and I rarely called in sick.”
But after falling unwell, she called in sick five hours before her shift started – but her boss didn’t believe her and demanded she procures a sick note.
The Reddit user wrote: “The conversation went as follows: Me: Hey Steve, sorry, I can’t come in. I’m sick.
“Steve: With what? Me: I don’t know. I think it might be the flu. I’ve been up all night being sick, and I have a fever.
“Steve: Don’t be stupid. If you had the flu you’d be completely knocked out. I need you in. Come in or you’re fired.
“Me: I can’t. I just told you I can’t stop vomiting. I passed out. Steve: (growling angrily) Either come in or bring a doctor note, or you’re fired!”
In England, if you’re off work sick for seven days or less, your employer should not ask for a sick note to prove that you’ve been ill.
This means you can tell your employer you are sick and fill out a form upon your return instead.
So the employee reluctantly went to the doctors – who is furious that her boss demanded a sick note when he shouldn’t have.
After learning about the unreasonable supermarket boss, the doctor decided to follow his petty demands to the letter of the law.
The note said: “[My Name] has come to the surgery because [manager name] has insisted she come in, in spite of the fact that this is illegal and all employees are allowed to self certify.
“Due to being forced to make this unnecessary and highly dangerous trip when the patient is ill, has a fever of 39°C, and almost passed out in the waiting room, I am signing [my name] off for two full weeks to recover.
“Had [my name] been allowed to self certify as is the law, they might only have needed a few days, but due to straining themselves, they now require two full weeks. They are not to be permitted to work until [date 2 weeks later].”
And it seems that it all worked well – Steve received a final warning, while the supermarket employee enjoyed her two weeks off work.
The Reddit user concluded: “Steve had a disciplinary hearing where he was given a severe reprimand and a warning. Steve tried to argue he never said I’d be fired and I was lying and just decided to go to the doctors, but the duty manager said they heard him admit to it when he said to me that he really didn’t mean it.
“I felt better after a few days and enjoyed my two weeks off, fully paid, and enjoyed the nice weather we had. Meanwhile, Steve was forced to work overtime because we were short-staffed.
“So thanks to the doctor, instead of being off for a few days, I ended up getting a nice two week paid vacation, and Steve was given a final warning, all because he insisted I get a doctors note.”
One person joked: “That note was really sick indeed!”