I accidentally took 3 sick days during my probation !!

[Mallumol_60]

I accidentally took 3 sick days during my probation !!!

Let me explain. So the first day was genuine, but I forgot about the whole 12pm rule. When I felt unwell I ended up calling after 12pm and they said this meant I couldn't come in for work on the following day. The next day I didn't feel any better and managed to sleep through the 12pm deadline which meant I'm not coming in for the third day either. Shall I just pack up my uniform and look for another job now? :cry:

 

[Bletchleyite]

Speak to your manager.

 

[signallerscot]

I've never heard of a 12:00 deadline but if you're sick then you're sick. As long as it's a genuine absence because you were unfit for duty then I don't see why your manager would have any issue with it...

 

[ComUtoR]

I've never heard of a 12:00 deadline

My TOC has such a rule.

 

[signallerscot]

And would you like to elucidate, or....

 

[Class2ldn]

Yep so does mine. If you don't resume before 12pm the day before, you are signed off sick the next day

 

[Jonfun]

Meh, if you're ill you're ill. At our place the worst that's happened for taking time off sick is an extended probation, with the exception of one lad who was - allegedly - caught at gay pride whilst sick. Keep your nose clean for the rest of your time in the probationary period and the high likelihood is you'll be fine. You'll soon realise that three days sick is small fry compared to the vast majority of rail staff sickness!

 

[NickR]

So say hypothetically you go off on a Monday sick. If you feel better that evening then its too late to return on Tuesday as you've gone past the 12pm deadline?

Out of interest what's the reasoning for that? I can see it would let them plan the next days staffing levels better I suppose.

 

[RJ]

My TOC has the 12pm rule too - and if you're sick on a Saturday, you're not allowed to work on Sunday, even if you report as fit before 12pm on Saturday.

The sickness system is abused really - there are a few people who are guaranteed to take a week off sick every 13 weeks as it is self certified and below the minimum threshold for disciplinary action (2 separate instances of sickness in a quarter). Not to mention the people who go off sick for 12 months when on the brink of being dismissed - and those who fall sick for exactly 6 months after taking extended leave to go abroad. It seems to be a significant issue in operational roles. It doesn't happen in my head office role - there, people tend to go off sick when they're genuinely sick. On the buses it's a bit funny - heard stories of companies sending their own doctors to assess "sick" employees at home, only for them to be nowhere to be found.

 

[ComUtoR]

So say hypothetically you go off on a Monday sick. If you feel better that evening then its too late to return on Tuesday as you've gone past the 12pm deadline?

Yes 100% That's how it works. Although you would phone up and resume, you would be rostered off the next day regardless.

Out of interest what's the reasoning for that?

Crikey, I wouldn't know where to start. It becomes very very complicated. There are various rostering issues for a start and then you need various medical clearances, resumption interviews, fatigue issues, policy issues etc etc.

The railway is a complicated place with a long list of policies and procedures to adhere to.

 

[ComUtoR]

I've never heard of a 12:00 deadline but if you're sick then you're sick. As long as it's a genuine absence because you were unfit for duty then I don't see why your manager would have any issue with it...

There is a difference between being 'unfit for duty', 'sickness' or even 'absence'

You can be F1/F2/U1 or U2

 

[Bayum]

Just goes to show that every job has different attitudes towards sickness and the hubbub that 'sickness' carries with it.

At my place of work, you could phone up the head at 0630 and say whether you'll be in that day. Day to day supply, even more so on the day, is much harder to come by these days! If you had V&D you'd be looking at 48hrs from last toilet trip, but aside from that it's pretty relaxed. The sickness does, howeee, go against you as far as your moving up the payscale. Just three sicknesses a year brings you away from moving up the payspine.

 

[the sniper]

So say hypothetically you go off on a Monday sick. If you feel better that evening then its too late to return on Tuesday as you've gone past the 12pm deadline?

Out of interest what's the reasoning for that?

The railway I know likes to do as much as possible to encourage people, usually always the same people, to spend as much time off sick as the system will allow. Administrating staff sickness alone keeps the folks upstairs in the office busy, thus allowing them to maintain all their positions. Absolutely no value of any sort is attached to good or even 100% attendance, no matter how many years or decades you keep it up for, you're just mugging yourself and left doing the work of those who aren't there...

If I were to suggest an uncynical answer to your question, the deadline might be to ensure that the Managers have time to organise a 'back to work' meeting the following day?

 

[Gemz91]

Yes 100% That's how it works. Although you would phone up and resume, you would be rostered off the next day regardless.



Crikey, I wouldn't know where to start. It becomes very very complicated. There are various rostering issues for a start and then you need various medical clearances, resumption interviews, fatigue issues, policy issues etc etc.

The railway is a complicated place with a long list of policies and procedures to adhere to.

Different at my TOC. We can phone up and resume work at any time. The following day you'd go in and sit spare, assuming your job has already been covered.

As for the OP, I wouldn't worry about it. People go sick all the time, your manager might not even notice it.

 

[Greenback]

Great Western had a 1200 rule when I worked for them. I never missed it, so I don't know whether I'd have been allowed to return to work had I done so.

Don't worry too much. I hurt my ankle when I had just started and had to take a few days off. Nothing dramatic happened, but hat was back in 1998.

 

[route:oxford]

So say hypothetically you go off on a Monday sick. If you feel better that evening then its too late to return on Tuesday as you've gone past the 12pm deadline?

Out of interest what's the reasoning for that? I can see it would let them plan the next days staffing levels better I suppose.

It's a fitness for work thing - along with planning.

For my work, I'm required to wait a full 48 hours from the final vomit or loose stool before I'm considered fit for work.

This is a good thing really. I've been in work places before where people have returned too soon. Indeed, at the demands of an angry boss at a previous workplace, I returned to work too early when I was still weak as a kitten.

On the day I returned, by lunchtime, there was a queue for the loo and the following day of the 12 staff in the office, I was the only one who turned up for work.

 

[cjmillsnun]

It's a fitness for work thing - along with planning.

For my work, I'm required to wait a full 48 hours from the final vomit or loose stool before I'm considered fit for work.

This is a good thing really. I've been in work places before where people have returned too soon. Indeed, at the demands of an angry boss at a previous workplace, I returned to work too early when I was still weak as a kitten.

On the day I returned, by lunchtime, there was a queue for the loo and the following day of the 12 staff in the office, I was the only one who turned up for work.

Same with my workplace for the very reason you state.