#sick pay

I’ve been hearing about people showing up to work sick, testing positive for covid, and not wearing a mask and working sick, despite the CDC’s recommendation that people “Stay home and away from others”, and even after feeling better they say to mask when resuming normal activities.

CDC - Respiratory Virus Guidance March 1, 2024 Preventing Spread of Respiratory Viruses When You're Sick When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors. This is especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses. Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.

I let my boss know that this was an issue, and that I'd get a note for treatment. When's my procedure? It's not that kind of thing. It's the exact same thing I said the first time: The treatment is two months keeping my finger in a splint, entirely straight, to give the tendon a chance to heal.

So I went to the doctor and got a note a few weeks later. The treatment is two months keeping my finger in a splint, entirely straight, to give the tendon a chance to heal. Two months of adjustments of work, or if they couldn't manage that, two months off.

Despite me handing in that note, it took over three weeks for my manager to speak to my area manager about it. What's the treatment? He doesn't know. When is the procedure again.

It's the same it's ever been: The treatment is two months keeping my finger in a splint, entirely straight, to give the tendon a chance to heal.

The assistant manager is leaving, we don't have another office person. Wouldn't this be the perfect time to train up someone who knows the workplace and knows the systems? We'll never know.

He told me he'd give me until a week the following Monday to get an answer. Around a week and a half. I wait, trustingly and halfway through the day I have no answer.

I ask my assistant manager and he gives me the email for the area manager. I say that he said he'd get back to me that day with a solution, and that I was waiting. Near the end of the day he emailed to call him the next day.

The next day I had had enough and called him to say 'you've had weeks, the splint is going on tonight, what's your choice'.

At that point I'd backed him into a wall and instead of doing to sensible choice of saying 'of course we'll get you in the office, learn the stuff before the AM leaves so we're not in the shit' he just said well, I guess we'll see you in two months, keep us posted.

The longer I didn't treat this injury, the less likely it is to heal. I didn't want to fuck over my manager or my colleagues, even though my manager didn't even bother to mention it to the area manager. The area manager didn't care or appreciate my waiting, my sacrifice, or the fact that prolonging the start of treatment would lessen the chance of efficacy. All I get for my decency and waiting is a lower chance of healing, and a longer time on basic sick pay.

If you're sick: take the time off for you to get better.

If you're injured: take the time off to heal.

Don't wait for other people and assume they'll do the best for you because you're trying to do the best by them.