Employee Sickness

[winkyridg]

My Daughter works in a care home she rang in sick with gastro enteritis and was told she wasn't to return to work for 10 days , she returned today only to be told she wasn't allowed to return unless she has provided a sicknote from her GP and gives her employees proof that she has provided 2 stool samples to the GP ( she was previously told when she first rang in sick that she had to provide her employers with stool samples something i have never heard of in my life ) she did provide a sicknote for 3 days and was then told she couldn't return till her 10 days were up even though her GP said she would be fit to return after the 3 days ,she is now in a catch 22 situation does anyone know where she stands and has anyone ever heard of an employer asking for stool samples , or is her boss just trying to bully her because she is young , any advice on this would be greatly appreciated .

[factor-fiction]

I think the employer is right to be so careful given the problems that could ensue if the gastroenteritis is passed on to vulnerable residents in the care home. It could be considered negligent if it didn't take steps to be sure you had been given the all clear and consequently residents became seriously ill.

[buildersmate]

I think that the employer is right also. Similar things happen to staff working in the food industry.

[puddicat]

I work in ther care sector and we have never have been asked that!!!

[puddicat]

The company that i work for wont pay us for the first 3 days of sickness!!!

[stonekicker]

erm...no! i am a nurse and had gastroenteritis. all you need is a return to work certificate from your doctor (the other end of the sick note with a date to return to work) to be classed as ready to go back. never in my life have i heard such crap (pardon the pun!) - if it was c-diff or mrsa i could understand it, but gastroenteritis normally lasts for 2-6 days, so 10 days is enough for recovery and to be clear of symptoms. the rule of thumb in healthcare is that if you have had any diarrhoea and vomiting illness, you must be clear of symptoms for 48 hours before returning to work. i would never start talking stool samples with my employer (unless i had a notifiable disease - which this is not) and would tell them to get stuffed, that i had done what i had to do in order to return to work and would sit on my bum at home until they stopped being stupid. your daughter should be a member of a union anyway (for indemnity purposes) and if she is, i would give them a call to fight her corner. they are being completely ridiculous! x

[puddicat]

Yep stonekicker is totally right bunch of fannies!!!

[factor-fiction]

I'd take the stool sample issue with a pinch of salt - I think wires got crossed with the idea that she had to bring the stool sample into work. Given what stonekicker says the employer does seem to be going over the top by requiring the employee to stay off for 10 days but maybe the employers would rather be safe than sorry.

[stonekicker]

factor - i understand that the workplace wanted proof of a stool sample and not the actual item - but how would this be acheived? receipt, photo...artists impression, perhaps?! the issue here is that the workplace are asking for something they are absolutely not entitled to. the emplyee has a right to privacy about their health and has a doctors permission to return to work. nothing else is required, except a big, heavy object that the poor lady can take in with her and bludgeon her boss to death with for being a complete and utter numpty. i have worked with people who are equally stupid and can't even begin to express how frustrating it is...

[Ice.Maiden]

What on earth is the employer going to do with a stool sample? Do they work in a lab? Are they doctors?
Sounds like the kind of wind-up that my dad told me about, when a new young guy was told to go outside and get a long weight. Half an hour later..he twigged.
If not - see a union rep.

[factor-fiction]

I can't believe the employer ever asked to receive the stool sample, and I'm not convinced that we have the proper story here about the employer wanting confirmation a bout a stool sample.

[66angelmum]

i work in a care home and wat u have been told seems a bit extreme. our home has a policy that we can not return to work for at least a full 48 hours after symptoms have cleared

[gelda]

If he wants a stool sample, give him one in a bit of paper towel (one sheet only) and plonk it on his desk!!!

[tigwig]

I work as a nursery nurse for the NHS and with any episode of diarrohea we have to get a stool sample to the doctors then pass on the result to the managers.
I suppose as well as finding out exactly what the cause was it also stops people phoning in sick and using it as an excuse!

[buildersmate]

A pity the original question asker clears off and leaves others from Chatterbank to pick up the thread.
What is likely to be happening here is the employer has a policy that says 'if an employee has had gastro-what-name he/she either stays away for 10 days from the start of it (irrespective of how long the sick note lasts for - if less than 10 days) OR he/she provides a second doctor's note confirming the employee is specifically fit to return to work'.

That's the way I have seen it work in the food industry. The other twiddly bits of chatter are not valid and need to be inturred - so to speak.

[sandmaster]

Buildersmate is right. The employer needs to ensure that anyone handling food is not ill. Most of the replies here did not read the question carefully enough.