Where do you live? In the U.K. there is statutory leave entitlement and sick pay. You only have to produce a sick note if you’ve had 7 consecutive days off work.
New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
I got signed off work after I had a mental breakdown. I was asked by my employers to go to the doctors to get signed off as I was coming to work an absolute mess every day due to depression and anxiety. I was on a monthly sick note from the doctors which I posted in to HR. I was extremely unwell and checked in with my manager sporadically when she would just say she was thinking of me and said to just ask if I needed anything. A few months into my sick leave I got a new manager, I was gutted. This new manager rang me every Monday to “check in”. She would ring every week and ask if my depression had gone and if I had stopped being anxious. I bit my tongue and would just say no and wait for her to end the call. Some weeks I wouldn’t answer my phone as clearly stated in my sick note I was off work ill. She text me saying if I didn’t answer every week she would discipline me. I tried to return to work as she was pressuring me to and threatening to have me sacked. I was there a couple of weeks and had had to leave or not made it in as I was still very unwell. She pulled me into a glass see through office that the whole floor could see into. Shouting at me it wasn’t acceptable and I should be better by now. I got signed off straight away again that day. I ended up getting paid out of my job by the company. Another time that manager also said Glandular Fever wasn’t real so shouldn’t be off work. I was just unhealthy and should drink more water. She once left her computer unlocked with an email open (I sat next to her) The email was all just her slagging me off, about all sorts. Not just being ill. I’ve never worked since. The anxiety of having to deal with managers makes me feel sick.
Same with retail, even forced to work with shingles & several broken bones. And the mental health side of things was even more impossible. Similar to other posters, expected to check in daily even when sectioned. Even now I don’t work in that environment, I still get terrible anxiety around being sick on a work day.
I remember when I worked in McDonald’s, my grandad became really unwell and I asked if I could go home as I wanted to see him in the hospital. My manager’s response? “Well you can go, but remember you’ll be letting the team down”. I didn’t go, luckily my grandad was okay though.
i remember once when I worked in retail, I pulled my neck and I was in a lot of pain and I couldn’t move my head, the management made a big song and dance about me going home even though I was in pain!
when I worked in a call centre, they luckily weren’t too fussed and I had a lot of time off sick because the job made me hate my life.
i remember once when I worked in retail, I pulled my neck and I was in a lot of pain and I couldn’t move my head, the management made a big song and dance about me going home even though I was in pain!
when I worked in a call centre, they luckily weren’t too fussed and I had a lot of time off sick because the job made me hate my life.
The idea that you have to have an interview to return to work after having ONE measly day off is horrendous! I'm lucky in that we simply have to fill out a form which states the date we were off and a brief description of why (writing "felt sick" is fine). I can't imagine how demoralising having to sit and have an interview about your one day off must be!
Don’t even get me started on the Bradford Factor 
That's so awful and that woman should NEVER be allowed to manage anyone again. She's completely unfit for the job.
About 3 weeks ago I had tonsilitis (never had it before) and I don't think I've ever been so ill in my life. I called my boss on the Sunday to say I wouldn't be in on the Monday which was fine by him. I called back on the Monday afternoon saying I would not be in on the Tuesday. Tuesday morning, I get a call from my boss asking me if I could work a few hours that day (I work from home but I was really in no state to do so). I couldn't believe him. He said it was really busy so it would help. I said no but felt so guilty about it and was made to feel guilty about it.
She was a vile horrible bully. I got paid out because of her negligence. I was asked not to take them to court. I think she still works there. Once she told me that she’d been looking on my Facebook and “couldn’t believe how fat I used to be.” I can’t understand how she’s still employed.
my current boss is so good, last time I was sick she said don’t be coming in tomorrow if you’re still feeling like this.
the worst was when I worked in an office. I called in sick on the Monday and my manager kept calling me up asking when I was coming back in. I felt so unwell but now couldn’t relax. So I went back in the next day and he told me I “looked like tit” which I did because I had dragged myself in. So I went back home that same day as I couldn’t keep my head up. A couple days later on the Thursday he said I really should be back in because they were so busy and we need to have a meeting about it. So I spent the rest of the day feeling worse and really anxious.
When I went back in on the Friday he accused me of faking it (even after seeing me on the Tuesday and saying I looked like tit). I asked my other colleague had they been really busy and she said no.
Just hated working there and I’m so glad I’m no longer. Worst job ever.
the worst was when I worked in an office. I called in sick on the Monday and my manager kept calling me up asking when I was coming back in. I felt so unwell but now couldn’t relax. So I went back in the next day and he told me I “looked like tit” which I did because I had dragged myself in. So I went back home that same day as I couldn’t keep my head up. A couple days later on the Thursday he said I really should be back in because they were so busy and we need to have a meeting about it. So I spent the rest of the day feeling worse and really anxious.
When I went back in on the Friday he accused me of faking it (even after seeing me on the Tuesday and saying I looked like tit). I asked my other colleague had they been really busy and she said no.
Just hated working there and I’m so glad I’m no longer. Worst job ever.
I don’t begrudge any of my staff for calling in sick if it is entirely genuine, but the hours were given from head office sometimes mean that shifts are run literally to the wire and one person not coming in could mean the difference between being able to take a lunch break or not. I’m a retail manager and I’ve done double shifts (13+ hours) on no break because a staff member is hungover (or so I’ve seen on Instagram.. ) and I never get thanks for it from the staff member, the staff on shifts or my bosses. So I’m literally on both sides of this! I still come in to work with colds and there are times when maybe I shouldn’t have been at work to try and set a precedent that ‘the sniffles’ is not a valid excuse. That’s probably way harsh to a lot of people but that is unfortunately the culture in retail - everything is trimmed right down to the wire with budgets for hours etc!
Retail was savage 
I was part of the management team for a large company and it was expected that we would show up even if we were at deaths door! I did shifts full of flu, with stitches in my head, with a fresh tooth extraction, with ligament damage in my knee, with migraines that led to me cashing out the till in the dark...
I’m now a teacher and if we cannot be present, we text the admin team and someone emails/texts/rings us back to check we are okay! No expectations they just want to know how we are
I was part of the management team for a large company and it was expected that we would show up even if we were at deaths door! I did shifts full of flu, with stitches in my head, with a fresh tooth extraction, with ligament damage in my knee, with migraines that led to me cashing out the till in the dark...I’m now a teacher and if we cannot be present, we text the admin team and someone emails/texts/rings us back to check we are okay! No expectations they just want to know how we are
This is true I sometimes did 16 hours no break but I would have never ever berated the staff for not turning in
well of course it works both ways. Those people who take the p!ss and stay off because they can’t be bothered or are hungover are something else and probably the reason why when most of us are genuinely sick and wouldn’t be able to work efficiently because of it, we feel really guilty.
I’m a teacher too, luckily work in very supportive school.Retail was savage
I’m now a teacher and if we cannot be present, we text the admin team and someone emails/texts/rings us back to check we are okay! No expectations they just want to know how we are
This is true I sometimes did 16 hours no break but I would have never ever berated the staff for not turning in
It’s just my personal opinion but I can’t help but feel it’s really selfish and irresponsible to go to work if you’ve got a bug (virus) that can be spread. It never seemed fair that you could make the rest of your team sick just to prove a point. If you took a couple of days off to get better it would be over and done with. If you bring it in and someone else got it that’s two people down.
My whole team ended up being off at the same cause we all caught flu of another team member. This was long before Coronavirus but out manager made us wipe our desks/mice/keyboards when we came in and left everyday after that.
My whole team ended up being off at the same cause we all caught flu of another team member. This was long before Coronavirus but out manager made us wipe our desks/mice/keyboards when we came in and left everyday after that.
I used to hate making that phone call, especially if it was a genuine reason. At my last job they knew I suffer with migraines, so actually were understanding about my reasons for calling in sick, plus I never got paid if I didn’t work, so it was always genuine.
But, from experience, if you’re calling because you fancy a few days off, just make the call a quick one. When you start rambling and listing all of your ailments, that’s when most people would smell a rat.
For a bad cold, I would shove a bit of pepper up my nose before making the call, so that I would sound as though I had been sneezing and if I sneezed during the call, even better!
One time, I was so desperate for some time off work, I ate some laxative chocolate and well, I will let your imagination take over from there.
They sent me home from London in a taxi. It was bliss. 
You can’t do a lot with a broken wrist.
I broke mine 18 months ago, so know how inconvenient it is.
These Managers are the worst kind and Britain is full of them. They’re usually stuck so far up their own arse, whilst brown-nosing someone else’s.
I wish we could ship them all off to a remote island somewhere and let their inflated egos take over. They are the pits.
Last edited:
I always feel like they don't believe that I am unwell .I saw on the back to work interview it said ' assume the absence was for a genuine illness, unless proven otherwise '
In my experience, staff did tend to come in for their shifts when feeling unwell with colds and headaches etc .
I do always think that if people are just off for one day with something minor, it may be an excuse and they are having a mental health day.
In my experience, staff did tend to come in for their shifts when feeling unwell with colds and headaches etc .
I do always think that if people are just off for one day with something minor, it may be an excuse and they are having a mental health day.
When working in retail I found out on my break my grandad had died, my manager just said ‘awww you will be able to grieve properly once you have finished tonight’ 
Expected me to carry on serving on tills for a few more hours!
Expected me to carry on serving on tills for a few more hours!
Come to think of it, it was a regular occurrence in the supermarket I worked in for people to be taken ill mid-shift. Fainting, upset stomach, migraines etc, often they would mention in the morning that they weren’t feeling great.
People shouldn’t have to drag themselves into work only to be sent home just so management sees that they’re really sick. I do hope after covid there’s a bit more understanding and less judgement when it comes to this. There will always be chancers constantly trying to get time off, but I believe most people only call in when they’re genuinely unwell and they don’t need to feel guilt on top of being sick.
People shouldn’t have to drag themselves into work only to be sent home just so management sees that they’re really sick. I do hope after covid there’s a bit more understanding and less judgement when it comes to this. There will always be chancers constantly trying to get time off, but I believe most people only call in when they’re genuinely unwell and they don’t need to feel guilt on top of being sick.
Coming in and then going home mid shift happens a lot where I am