Signed off sick - boss thinks im taking the ****!

[LouD86]

Deleted as apparently someone emailed my boss at work?? Anyone send me an email at work???

Edited by LouD86 on Tuesday 3rd December 18:51

[Lotus Notes]

Health first (if you need telling), you've only got one back.
If you gave him enough notice, then he needs to 'suck it up'.
Make sure you send him the doctor's cert.
Record the voicemails to remind you what an @rse he is.
Look for a new job (your profile shows a small van business)
Enjoy your convalescence and do your physio.

[Gargamel]

Lou, Hope you are feeling better.

It depends really on your Boss, is he the company owner? Is it a small business ? Do you have a large Human Resources department and a company lawyer ?

If your boss owns the business, then I am afraid no matter what appeals, tribunals and other legal stuff you are entitled to, you are unlikely to become golden balls again afterwards. The hassle and bitterness is unlikely to go away, unless you can reach some kind of understanding.

Send the consultants letter to your boss, let him know that have had major surgery and that you want to come back to work, but have been given very specific medical advice not to risk your long term health by rushing back in. You can only make your own situation worse by ignoring medical advice.

If your boss choooses to "hold a disciplinary meeting" when you return, then please seek specilaist advice from CAB or ask for a suitable person to also attend.

If what you have stated is true, then there are no grounds for your boss to proceed with warnings etc. However you should also check your employment contract and make a note of when you informed you boss about the operation and the subsequent drug reaction. I.E. if your contract says you must inform your employer before 9:00am of a sick day and you call at 09:30 then it could be grounds for a disciplinary (but unlikely to be severe)

Please try to speak to your boss, avoid confrontation, ask him genuinely what he would do if he were in your position, ie recovering from surgery and told not to risk long term injury by rushing your recovery. Try to have a proper exchange of views with him so that you can both move on in a constructive way.

He sounds a bit of a tool btw, you sure you want to go back

Edited by Gargamel on Tuesday 3rd December 22:31

[LouD86]

,,,,

Edited by LouD86 on Wednesday 4th December 01:51

[sunoco69]

LouD86 said:

He indeed is a tool as been posted, but he pays bloody well!


Indeed, he is the owner of the business. Im one step down from him, no HR or anything, just grumpy old git of a boss.

I wonder if he is related to my boss? Exactly the same set up and behavior.

[Yazza54]

Your boss isn't a tool, he's a weapons grade

[Gargamel]

A verbal contract is still a contract,

He is not exempt from employment law just by not giving you a written contract.

If he sacks you, you have a strong case for legal redress.

[Sir Fergie]

Any boss that expects their employee to disobey the instructions of a Consultant not to work for a week (at least) after an operation - isn't worth working for.

Yes many of us like to try and do the right thing by our bosses - but theres a limit to whats reasonable - and id say expecting their employee to disobey hospital instructions - and come in even when not well - is way way beyond what any normal decent type of person would consider reasonable.

Way I see it - unless the boss is a medical doctor himself - I can't see how he feels qualified to decide that a consultants recommendation can/should be ignored.

If you've done a very good job for him during your time there - then the boss is a wker

[elanfan]

If you are No2 then I guess its likely you could run the business.

Get better, hand in notice, set up in your own name undercut his contracts. Job jobbed.

[Barchettaman]

This would *never* happen in Germany.

Not helpful I know, but it just seems an utterly incredible situation.

[Rich1973]

I was always under the impression that you were not insured to be in work if you are signed off by a doctor..
Can somebody confirm if that is the case?

[andy-xr]

LouD86 said:

The fact I discharged myself Friday night as to not mess up his weekend should show some kind of support towards the business.

It's a nice sentiment, but you should probably avoid doing this as it's causing more hassle than it's worth (I guess this is hindsight) and generally it's not a two way street when they want rid

Send him the sick note, give him a call to say it's on the way and let him know when you're coming back in - everything can wait until then and he'll just have to deal with it in the meantime.

When you go back to work you should have some kind of return to work chat, I've had them before in really small companies that were more along the lines of 'you alright?' right the way up to signing forms and having declarations. If he takes you down a disciplinary route it cant be too serious and shouldnt be counted against you in the future if you have a good explanation for it.

If he decides for whatever reason that you've swung the lead, and you have a valid sign off from a doc he's headed down a route that will cost him fairly heavily in time, money and effort.

[anonymous-user]

Rich1973 said:

I was always under the impression that you were not insured to be in work if you are signed off by a doctor..
Can somebody confirm if that is the case?

Of course not.

The fact is, like it or not, that hundreds of thousands of people turn their employers over every day with fake or imagined illness absence. Getting signed off by a Doctor is as easy as falling off a log.

I'm not saying that's what the OP is doing but I'd bet that his boss is 'several times bitten, now shy'.

How long have you worked for him, OP, and what's your attendance record?

[GadgeS3C]

Might be worth deleting your other post too if your boss is now aware of this thread.

Hadn't realised that you have the business web address in your profile if you're going to post stuff like this...

[Paulm4]

Lol, might be worth deleting the above comments regarding him being a tool!

[dingg]

Your boss needs to put himself in your shoes and ask himself whether he would be at work or off

and if he IS reading this he IS AN ASSHOLE

HTH

[calibrax]

REALIST123 said:

Rich1973 said:

I was always under the impression that you were not insured to be in work if you are signed off by a doctor..
Can somebody confirm if that is the case?

Of course not.

Actually, it's true.

I was in hospital a couple of weeks ago with pneumonia, I was signed off until yesterday (Thu) but I wanted to come back to work a few days ago (Mon). Personnel wouldn't let me, as I would not be covered by company liability insurance. The only way would have been to get my doctor to re-certify me as fit to work, or for the company to do a risk assessment (basically, have the company doctor check me over).

So, although I wanted to work a full week this week, I ended up working just Thu & Fri.