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If you think about it, the fact that we have to not only explain our absences from work but sometimes, they don’t believe us and so we have to get a real adult to sign a note for us to skip.
Why do employers require a doctors note?
byu/TwisTED_Ech0 inNoStupidQuestions
I mean. What’s that all about? Are we grown ups with jobs or kids? Make up your minds!
These 16 people are sounding off on why it might be a thing – and whether or not it should be – so let’s see what they have to say!
16. Seriously, just stay home.
I wish I could send my boss home when he comes in sick.
There is some kind of cold or something that goes around the place I work every year because he just won’t stay home.
We as a company had to threaten mutiny early this year to make him stay home until he got his covid test back. Literally the lady in the office went around and told us all they she told him if he came to work, that there wouldn’t be anyone there because we would all leave.
He wound up having covid, and had to miss two weeks.
15. That blew up in their face.
I worked in a place like that once, didn’t make any sense to me and it cost so much to go to the doctor as well. I argued that it’s better if I just take a full day of rest, and come back fine the next day.
Long story short, they made me go. The doctor told me to stay home for over a month. Couldn’t stop laughing after I told my boss.
14. Imagine that.
In the UK, you can “self certify” for up to 7 consecutive days (regardless of working days or not). That is to say – if you get asked to produce a doctor’s note – for up to 7 days of being ill you can write on the back of a napkin “I certify myself as being ill” and it holds the same weight as if a doctor were to write it.
For this reason, you don’t get asked to produce a doctor’s note, but at some places they might and that’s where you kindly inform them you can self certify and sarcastically offer to write your own doctor’s note.
Understandably, if you are ill for over 7 days, (or, in most places, this is the equivalent of 5 working days) you should be seeing a doctor anyway and may be asked to provide a doctor’s note.
13. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.
Has a similar situation but not quite as nice an ending. I used a sick day and told them I had a bad headache. My supervisor called me later and said I’d need a note from doctor when I returned.
Went to the doctor for a headache (ridiculous) and at the end of the appointment I asked for a note for work.
He asked me if i thought I’d be ok to go back to work tomorrow and I said something like, “probably but i could use another day of rest.”
Wrote me a note for that day and the following day.
Sometimes I wonder if they get as annoyed as we do for having to waste everyone’s time and money to jump through an employers hoops to discourage using your sick time.
12. They probably lost those customers, too.
I worked at California Pizza Kitchen when I was 18/19. I was so sick I could barely stand, high fever, horrible cough and drippy goopy nose. I called in for the first time ever after having worked there for almost a full year, and they said that if I didn’t come in I would be fired.
I was young and dumb so I went in, sick as all hell, because I needed the money. It took several CUSTOMERS asking that I leave for them to finally let me go home and keep my job.
Now that I am making more money, I am always sure to tip really well regardless of the service because I swear to god minimum wage workers not only work way harder and get abused, but they also make nothing to show for it. I hate it and no one deserves to be treated that way. We need workers rights.
11. What a good doctor.
I had to actually call another person’s supervisor (for whatever reason she didn’t accept doctor notes). Patient just needed some tea and soup along with some Tylenol for a day, but just because I had to take a moment from my day to call the supervisor (who had an attitude too) I said that my patient needed the rest of the week off.
“The rest of the week!!! Just for a cold?”
“Well, it’s not a simple cold, I can tell you that much”
“Well then… what is it?”
“I can’t tell you that ma’am, its confidential, but thank you for having the wisdom to send her to see the doctor right away”That moment still makes me laugh.
10. Make them change.
Show up sick and have a friend call the health department on them. This shit doesn’t change without enforcement.
9. If only they learned their lessons.
I only needed a single day to get well after falling ill on a Friday. I worked through the Saturday feeling like shit, slept most of Saturday afternoon, all of Sunday and rang my boss telling her I couldn’t do the Monday because I felt like shit. Told me I needed a certificate, so I rang the doctor Monday morning, got the junior resident who said no worries, he’d write me one up. Got a call half an hour later from the senior doctor saying I needed to be Covid tested and would have to stay home until I got my results back, giving me an extra day. I picked up my certificate saying two days while getting the test done.
So I rang my boss after I got the test and told her that I would be having an extra day off now. She wasn’t happy seeing as we were going to be extra busy on the Tuesday. Told her I couldn’t help it, but that I also wouldn’t be breaking the law just to facilitate her having a full compliment of staff. Guess next time she’ll just let me have my single day off.
8. You’re not allowed to be sick.
Hell, I had a job at a tech support call center once where even WITH a doctor’s note it was considered an ‘unplanned absence’. You were allowed 2 in a rolling 12 month period. First one, verbal warning.
Second one, written warning.
Third one, you’re fired. Sucks to be you. And they wondered why turnover was so high. It made NO sense because the training period just to get someone on the floor was like 6-8 weeks.
7. Amazing. Let’s all do it.
This is a copy of a note I recieved from a local doctor. This was given to my employer and I posted a copy in the lunch room. They no longer ask for doctors notes.
“Dear Employer,
An employee of your company recently visited my office to obtain a sick note to satisfy your company’s absenteeism policy. Medical sick notes are NOT an insured service in British Columbia, and are not funded by (MSP) Medical Services Plan
As a taxpayer, and prominent business owner, I am asking for your support in helping alleviate an unnecessary pressure on our health care system. Kindly consider reviewing your absenteeism policy and removing the requirement for your employees to obtain a medical sick note for days missed due to illness. An increasing number of employers are requesting notes to verify workdays missed due to illness. This policy creates an unnecessary burden on an already overburdened health care system and exposes seriously ill patients in my office to infections that could be detrimental to their health and wellbeing. In most cases the best remedy for patients with cold and flu like symptoms is to stay home and rest. Visiting a doctor’s office for a medical note does not complement their recovery, and may put other people at great risk.
If, however, your business continues to require verification of absenteeism from a physician, I will require a written request from your organization requesting the medical note. For the service provided, I will be invoicing your company $35.00 per medical note, as this is a standard practice when providing non medical necessary services for third party organizations.
We are very fortunate to live in a country with socialized healthy care, but the ability to access its services in a timely fashion is a growing problem. We all have a role to play to ensure sustainability. I hope your business will consider reviewing its absenteeism policy and continue to contribute to reducing the unnecessary burden on our health care system and improve access for other British Columbians.”
This was scanned using OCR. I apologize for any spelling errors in the transfer
6. They just don’t care.
Because they want you to come in and don’t care if you’re sick. They know it’s hard to go to the doctor when you have the flu they don’t care
5. This is a decent compromise.
I don’t think any employer who doesn’t provide a healthcare plan to every employee should be allowed to ask for a note.
Not in this country, not with how expensive healthcare is, especially for uninsured people.
4. You’ve gotta have some trust.
Your employer doesn’t trust you that you’re not faking your illness. Or they have some other employees who they don’t trust not to fake illnesses, and they have to make the same rule for everyone.
3. If you wonder why everyone is hiring…
This is just one more reason the food service industry doesn’t have anyone to work. This is just their way of insuring people don’t call out with the cocktail flu. Feel better dude!
2. They’ll work you to death.
This 100%
Back when I worked dead end jobs, getting a sick day was like pulling teeth. On top of my ass being out of commission, they wanted me to get up and go to a doctor and spend what little money I did have so they had proof I was sick.
It’s a form of legal bullying to get you to show up so they can keep a skeleton crew going. You running at 50% is still better than you not being there at all.
1. The three-day rule isn’t terrible.
Every place I worked asked for a note for more than three days.
That seemed reasonable. If you were sick for more than three days I suppose you should go to a doctor.
Once I worked for a germaphobe and if you came in sick she would send you home.
This is one of those moments I’m pretty pleased to b self employed.
What do you think about employers requiring doctor’s notes? Let’s keep the discussion going in the comments!
