Bosses shouldn’t ask sick workers for doctor’s notes

[Aught3]

Sick workers of the world, stay home. And don’t worry about getting a doctor’s note.
That’s the proclamation of Ontario Medical Association (OMA) president Scott Wooder, who is calling on employers in the province to drop the requirement of a doctor’s note when workers call in sick. They should just stay home instead, especially during flu season, Wooder argues.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...t_ask_sick_workers_for_doctors_notes_oma.html

Makes a lot of sense really. No point in wasting the resources of the health system on pointless doctor's visits where you are just spreading the virus to other people. I remember that a doctor's note was always required for a sick-day in school, it's always the last thing you feel like doing when you are sick.

At some point an employer would like to know from a doctor when an employee will be fit to come back to work. The general advice is that after three days of fever you should see a doctor anyway. Perhaps is the absence is longer than three days asking for a medical note is appropriate?

 

[Dragan Glas]

Greetings,

This is what I used to do when I worked in the UK - I even explained to my employer why. They were somewhat taken aback at the logic of not coming in to work to "take-out" my colleagues by infecting them.

Kindest regards,

James

 

[Aught3]

Yes, some people do react with surprise when you do something solely for the benefit of others don't they? I've had this reaction from people before when I explain the benefits of staying home when sick

 

[freshie23]

If they want a doctor's note for "proof" you were really sick, then how can they trust you to do the work they hired you to do for their company?

If your employer wants to know when you'll be fit to come back to work, he can always just ask you. You're an adult - you know when you have the flu.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Well, they should because fraud is a thing. Because people abuse claiming to be sick when they are not.

 

[WarK]

Without a note from the doctor, the employer could always say "Hey, you're not sick, you're pretending. Work now, slave!"

I think most of the time it's just a formality. On the other hand it forces the employee to actually go to a doctor instead of trying to force their way through a flu or something.

 

[tuxbox]

My sister is a NICU nurse at a hospital and they do not ask for sick notes. They give their employees a certain amount of sick days and if those are exceeded then they start getting negative marks in their employee chart and vacation days are subtracted.

 

[WarK]

My sister is a NICU nurse at a hospital and they do not ask for sick notes. They give their employees a certain amount of sick days and if those are exceeded then they start getting negative marks in their employee chart and vacation days are subtracted.

This sucks. How can they take from vacation days? What if someone's sick longer than the vacation days they have?

It's crazy.

 

[tuxbox]

My sister is a NICU nurse at a hospital and they do not ask for sick notes. They give their employees a certain amount of sick days and if those are exceeded then they start getting negative marks in their employee chart and vacation days are subtracted.

This sucks. How can they take from vacation days? What if someone's sick longer than the vacation days they have?

It's crazy.

Sucks indeed! She already has a hard enough job as it is. She just experienced this BS this year. Now she goes on unpaid vacation tomorrow. I told her that nurses need a union and she replied that they took a vote for a union and lost. Some people are just freakin stupid!

 

[Inferno]

All those countries without unions worry me...
Though then again we've got politicians stepping on our unions. Or rather the unions agree to get stepped on because they're from the same party. Fucktards. I had a few rather violent verbal clashes with some of them.

 

[tuxbox]

The problem as I see it, at least here in the States, is that the unions, not all, but quite a few get just as corrupt as "Big Business" and the government. Also, the people who need unions the most, the little guys who work their asses off, don't get the votes they need to form a union.

 

[Laurens]

I don't get any sick pay if I am off for a short period.

For long periods I get £60 a week or something, which is far, far below what I would require to keep my flat and pay bills etc.

Essentially I can't afford to be ill or have an accident.

 

[Visaki]

I work for the city, so if I get sick I can be away for 3 days with just notifying my boss, after that I need a doctors/nurses note (some employers want a note starting from the first day). Thou personally I'm sick rarely I do think that kind of freedom to stay home when sick is a good thing for both me as a worker and the employer. Of course if someone is sick every monday there might be a reason to start asking for notes on every sick day.

I also get full pay from my sick days from the first 10 days by law, after that I have to apply for sick leave benefit from Kela (National Pension Bureau).

The new government (came into power 5/2015) tried to cut sick time pay so that you don't get any pay from the first sick day and after that 80%. That didn't go well with the unions, or indeed almost anyone (not including the employer side of course). As I understand it Sweden did something similar a few years ago and the result has been more sick leaves, not less since people come to work half sick, infect others and since they didn't treat the sickness at the start the sick leaves were longer.

So yes, happy living in a "socialist" nation.