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Calling in sick

normab

normab

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Now that we're in the data age, how do those of you (who still do the 9 - 5) call in sick?

Since I always have my computer at home, I sometimes email in sick. Other times I have called in. DH has always called in.

Not sure there is really a preferred protocol, but curious what others are doing? Obviously you need to use a format that your boss would access! :D ( Anyone Tweeting, texting )

Norma
 
Employees Who Push The Limits.

I had an employee 1 time who stayed home from work 1 day after phoning in Stressed Out.

That was a 1-time occurrence, so I did not make an issue of it even though no doubt I should have. So it goes.

I had another employee, a grown man with grandchildren, who kept on sneaking smokes in the office after the entire building went No Smoking. I called him in for a little heart-to-heart talk about that.

Later the same guy used up all his vacation time & all his sick-leave time & then borrowed ahead to the max on vacation time & sick leave but still was gravely ill. Rather than take unpaid absence, the guy dragged himself in to the office all dosed down on heavy-duty prescription medicine. He locked his office door, turned out the lights, & zonked out.

That triggered a major serious discussion of appropriate at-work behavior, emphasizing the requirement to be in reasonable physical condition so as to be able to perform office work when actually at the office, etc.

Pretty soon the guy retired. I felt sorry he was unwell, but under the curcumstances I was not sorry to see him go.

All that was before the age of E-Mail & Twitter, etc. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
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For the past two years, teachers in our district are told to use an online system, (or you can phone in to the system), to account for our absences. We no longer have to "call in" to our assistant principal, (although for emergencies, that option is available). Simply log on to the website, click on the date(s) of absence, click the reason, add in any "notes", and voila....we have "called in" sick.

Deb
 
Planned in advance, we all should have, in Outlook parlance, an All Day Meeting on our calendars with the topic "Bill PTO" (Paid Time Off).

Same-day, an email to entire dept is fine. Anyone wanting to make it into a calendar appt can do so (like those who approve timesheets).

I call if I really cannot deal with the pc (migraine, for example) and assume info is disbursed to those who need it (you know where assumptions land you? with a ton of angry people the next day because you didn't respond).
 
Electronic, all the way

For planned time we do the same thing w/ the all-day meeting notification in Outlook. For sick days, a simple email to our team is all that is needed. We also use the Out of Office Assistant to set our status -- then any email we receive will get an automatic reply with info on when we plan to return to the office. That also ties into Microsoft Communicator (IM application), so you can quickly see who is available at any given time.

AwayWeGo said:
I had an employee 1 time who stayed home from work 1 day after phoning in Stressed Out.
That was a 1-time occurrence, so I did not make an issue of it even though no doubt I should have. So it goes.
Click to expand...

I'm sure times have changed a bit, but our management has no problem if we call in for a "mental health" day, as long as we don't abuse it. In the long run, it makes for a happier, healthier, more productive staff.

Kurt
 
PigsDad said:
I'm sure times have changed a bit, but our management has no problem if we call in for a "mental health" day, as long as we don't abuse it. In the long run, it makes for a happier, healthier, more productive staff.
Click to expand...

Exactly. PTO is simply time off, we do not need to explain ourselves. My basement could be flooded, I could be sick, I could still be out partying from the night before or maybe I just don't feel like showing up. no one's business.
 
All our time is PTO, it should still be scheduled unless it's an emergency. My secretary usually leaves a voice-mail if she doesn't feel well. It's pretty amazing how often she doesn't feel well as she has 30 days of PTO and it's use it or lose it. I have to bill my time so I haven't had a full sick day since 1997. I assume if I can't work, I just have to e-mail my secretary and my partners.
 
Since I am the only one in my office during the day, and there is only one in the office at night - if one of us takes time off then the other works double shift. If I am not there there is noone to answer the phone, or get the office started until she shows up.

I know that I CAN call in - but I have only called in "out" once in the last 10 years, and that was for a major snowstorm, when my only transportation was a borrowed car that I had never driven til the night before. A friend was supposed to be picking me up on her way in but she ended up in a snowbank. We called in but the company ended up never opening up anyway - the few people who did show up were sent home.

Good thing is that since I very rarely take any time except for my 4 weeks scheduled vacation, my supervisor would never question when I do need (or want) to leave. When I am sick I go in for 2 - 3 hours, do my morning paperwork and then call my night shift partner and then I go home.
 
The last job I had before retirement was with a local Dialysis Clinic. The previous social worker had frequently called off and then went MIA for several weeks. So they advertised, I applied and accepted her position. There was a joke going around that she used all her sick time and so she was "calling off dead". She was not, dead that is but was obviously replaced
:ponder:
Pat
 
geekette said:
Exactly. PTO is simply time off, we do not need to explain ourselves. My basement could be flooded, I could be sick, I could still be out partying from the night before or maybe I just don't feel like showing up. no one's business.
Click to expand...
My company used to be like that -- we never had "sick time" accumulation, and if we were sick or on vacation, the time off came from the same PTO bucket that we had earned.

However, a few years back they changed things up a bit. They reduced the amount of PTO we earned in a year by 5 days. BUT, we no longer have to take PTO when we are sick. In fact, no "sick leave" was accumulated -- we just take time off and it is never accounted for in the books. It is now up to your manager to monitor if you are abusing this benefit. With no "sick time" on the books, it makes the financials look better (no liability that needs to be carried on the books for years).

Another big benefit is that people who are not feeling well and may be contagious are less likely to come into the office and infect others. When you have to burn your own PTO, you are more likely to "tough it out" in the office, which may result in lower overall productivity as others may get sick as well.

So when someone here takes a "mental health" day, it is simply a day off, and their earned PTO is not reduced. The managers need to ensure it is not abused, but a mental health day once or twice a year is not frowned upon. (Now, it if was every Friday during summer...)

This works well in my work environment: an R&D lab, where everyone is salaried. When our schedules are put together for a project, we always estimate some amount of time for vacations, etc., so there is no "emergency" or "double shift" needed when someone is out sick. I know several companies in my industry that have similar policies.

Kurt
 
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how do we call in sick?

We are REQUIRED to speak to a supervisor when calling in sick, or we are considered AWOL- Absent Without Leave.
 
We still have to call in. No exceptions. No e-mail, no text message or any other high tech messaging.
 
My school district uses a computer system. Very simple.

Teachers in our district are given 10 sick days and 3 personal days per year. They can carry over (not personal days - only sick days - though the personals will carry over and turn into sick days). Upon retirement, any unused sick days are given a pay out value. Many young women save for maternity - no paid leave - but you may use up to 6 weeks (30 days) of sick leave paid.

It's a myth that teachers are paid in the summer. We have about 8 weeks between contractual year. We are contracted for 191 days per year - and that's what we're paid for. Teachers are unable to take vacation during school year (I think this is correct - the kids need you) - but we don't have the option of taking 3 day weekends other than our 3 personal days. I'm not complaining - I chose this career and I LOVE IT, but not because I get my "summers off."
 
Where I work you call a automated sick recording line. It has only encouraged people to call in sick. You enter the information on your touch tone phone and do not speak to anybody. Somebody else can call in for you if you were away out of town.

It has only increased sick absenses not decreased.
 
At my parttime job, you call an automated number, get a code, then call a manager and tell them the code. It is silly. I have never called in sick, but that's how I hear it works.
 
Interesting thread. I always wondered what people do.

I'd say first, do whatever your company requires. I don't know if we have any specific requirements, I should check.

I used to call in, but since I get to work before both my bosses, and because most of my dept gets in before both my bosses, I started emailing them. They have Blackberries, so they can check their email. That way, they know I'm out before they get to work. And they can let my dept know in advance too. I don't typically tell my dept, I figure, my boss can do that.
 
We have 6 'unpublished' sick days with pay permitted for each employee with no carryover. We don't tell them how many as most HR people tell you that if employees know how many they get, a high percentage will just take them as their given right...in addition to holidays. Employees must 'go up the ladder' by phone when they call in for a sick day so that their management knows directly from them about their time off.

Brian
 
I get 12 sick days a year that carry over. When I retire I can cash in half of what I have left. When sick, I have to call in(no later than one hour prior to my tour) and let them know what's wrong and when I will be returning. I also have to call and let them know anytime I leave the house(while out sick).They can come and visit you anytime to make sure your there. All the phone calls are recorded. If I'm out for more than two days at time I have to go to a doctor and get a sick note.
 
I worked for a public transit agency. Operators have a much different sick leave policy than most other jobs.

They must personally call in sick ("go on the sick book") to their dispatcher at least ten minutes before their shift unless they are unable to (in the hospital, etc.). You can't "go sick" after your shift starts. You'd be forced into an unpaid day off.

To come back to work you "have to clear the sick book." before 12:30 PM the day *before* you want to come back to work if you want your own shift back. If you clear later than this and your shift is not available, you have to accept being "on report," which means you will come in at a time the dispatcher specifies and wait till a run becomes available. You get paid for the wait time, but you then MUST take whatever run comes open.

Besides this, there are specific sick abuse rules. Everything is counted on a "rolling quarter." If you are sick four times in 90 days, you have to bring a doctor's note for the next 90 days. The doctor's note has to be in by the 12:30 PM the day before (unless the dispatcher trusts you), and can't be faxed (too easy to forge*). Once you are on the sick abuse list, you can't work your day off unless you have eight hours of sick leave available. In other words, you can't take off sick with no pay and then work a day off to cover that.

*The reason for no faxes is that we once had a driver who was on Jury Duty for almost a whole year. She faxed in her Jury Duty slips. I asked to see one in person, and when she brought it in, it was a copy. I took it to the senior dispatcher and explained why it wasn't valid. The driver's Jury Duty mysteriously ended, and faxing was no longer involved.

I almost forgot about "tardiness." If you are ten minutes late, the dispatcher can write you a "missout," and you can either go home without pay or go on report until work is available. Sometimes a dispatcher will allow a driver to trade to a cr*p run and not write them up if they agree. Three missouts in 90 days gives you a ticket to see the man (a hearing with the Superintendent), and four gives you a day off with no pay.

Aren't you glad you don't work where I did? Transit Operators make good money, but most agencies run line paramilitary outfits.
 
Based on Fern's account, I'd say there's an difference between "white collar" and "blue collar" employees (with obviously some variations for each). And certainly anything that's considered shift work probably has much more stringent requirements.

Jeff
 
As someone who has been self employed for a good portion of my career, the logistics of calling in sick were pretty easy.

Unfortunately, my clients and the professional body I was accountable to were tougher than most employers. They didn't particularly care if you're battling whatever nasty virus/personal problem - the work had better get done professionally or you were on the hook.

I tease my union friends that it seems they have 366 sick/family/mental health/vacation/don't feel like coming to work/ days a year.

Oh, I should mention I'm still self-employed but now work from home. If I don't work, I don't get paid, which is a pretty strong motivation. Again, though, the logistics are pretty easy.
 
Interesting variety of responses--I posted the question because I don't think my company has a specific policy on how an employee communicates the sick time and I can see it is quite varied in how it is handled by others.

We don't have a specific number of allowed days but I am assuming if someone is calling in a lot they get spoken to by their manager as it certainly impacts the bottom line of their department.

We also use Outlook for planned absences as well as all meeting planning, my question was more about same day calling-in--but I did not specfiy that!

Norma
 
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