sick leave advice

style42uk · Post by **style42uk** » 20 Sep 2017, 08:12

Hi. A friend of mine was off sick last week, She actually went abroad with her family. whilst she was off HR have been calling her and have realized the call was going international! She is on holiday this week and her line manager has left her a message saying they need to interview her as her sick absence is "suspicious"
Shes obviously worried, should she be? Any advice what she should do or say?

gary1975 · Post by **gary1975** » 20 Sep 2017, 09:09

Advice is she will be sacked if they can prove she was on holiday while on sick leave

Post by **osgoody1970** » 20 Sep 2017, 12:01

wassamatter wiv u lot, she lent her phone to her sister, who took it abroad!!! the tan was from a shop!!!

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 20 Sep 2017, 14:06

style42uk wrote:Hi. A friend of mine was off sick last week, She actually went abroad with her family. whilst she was off HR have been calling her and have realized the call was going international! She is on holiday this week and her line manager has left her a message saying they need to interview her as her sick absence is "suspicious"
Shes obviously worried, should she be? Any advice what she should do or say?

If she really was sick, then she needs to get evidence to prove it, even if she has self-certified.

If she has gone sick whilst on Holiday then it shouldn't be a problem, in fact, she'll be able to claim the holiday back.

However, if she has gone sick so she can go on holiday then she needs an Area Rep involved as soon as possible. If she has done this it is a sackable offence and she will need as much help as possible.

Now if she was off sick, then decided to go abroad there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this. But to help her she would need medical advice to say the break would aid her recovery. However, the sticking point is that if she was going to be away from her address she should have informed her manager and got their agreement as per the Absence Procedure.

Post by **PHARRY** » 29 Sep 2017, 18:43

She should of left her mobile at home or turned it off before going abroad

Post by **ihatedogs** » 01 Oct 2017, 19:21

Piggybacking on this. I'm currently off sick, fractured ankle, and I'm planning to go abroad for a few days instead of looking at the same four walls here.
The thing is, the dates I'm planning to go are my annual leave dates which were booked last year but my sick absence will now overlap these.
What's my best course of action to protect myself here?
Cheers.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 02 Oct 2017, 13:43

Best course is already laid out above.

Get medical advice (written if you can) that a break will aid recovery.

Tell your manager as per the absence procedure, however as yours is a broken ankle, travelling to go on holiday will weaken your case if you subsequently claim you can't travel into work and do light duties.

Not saying I agree with you having to do light duties, or whether it practicable, but that's the question the manager may be asking.