Sick leave is paid time off from work that employees can use to stay at home and address their health needs... or run around the city, trying to please their abusive boss before their body shuts down.
Some time ago, when Reddit user u/kathjoy was suffering from flu-like symptoms, they informed their manager about taking a few days off, as permitted by law.
The manager, however, threatened to fire u/kathjoy if they don't get a doctor's note. Luckily, the Reddittor's well-being was in good hands — instead of 2 days, they got 2 weeks of rest and a disciplinary hearing for their barbaric manager, all thanks to a devoted doctor who refused to contribute to the world's injustice.
Below, you will find a detailed description of the events that u/kathjoy themselves had written on r/MaliciousCompliance.
Image credits: francisblack (not the actual photo)
u/kathjoy told Bored Panda that Steve was one of the worst managers they have ever had. "He never believed everyone about anything, and would often talk down to us and tell us how to do our job even though he didn't know anything about the department," the Redditor said. "You could probably walk up to him holding your own head in your hand and he'd probably still not believe you needed to go to the doctor. Nobody liked Steve because he just didn't seem to care about anyone but himself. He hid in his office most of the time and even when we put out calls for him because we needed him for a complaint, you'd usually have to call several times and he'd take his sweet time getting to you. So I guess you could say there was no love lost between us."
But their doctor surpassed all u/kathjoy's expectations. "I was just expecting the doctor to confirm I was ill. I didn't expect her to do what she did and I'm forever grateful." In fact, u/katjhoy was even afraid she'd turn them away.
"After the incident, Steve was kind of weird towards me," u/kathjoy said about the dynamic at work after they went back. "Sometimes he'd be a fake sickly-sweet nice to me like 'Hey, it's [you], my favorite worker' or 'I'm so glad you're feeling better' and other times he would blank me out and ignore or avoid me. But he never tried to force me to come in when I called in sick, so that was a plus."
Currently, British employees must give their employer a doctor's 'sick note' (also called 'fit note') if they've been ill for more than 7 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.
If it's not Covid, they can get a note from a GP or hospital doctor. If their employer agrees, a similar document can be provided by a physiotherapist, podiatrist, or occupational therapist instead. This is called an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Health and Work Report.
If employees are off work for 7 days or less (like u/kathjoy would have been), they do not need to give their employer a note or other proof of sickness from a medical professional. When they return to work, their employer can ask them to confirm they've been off sick. This is called 'self-certification'. The employer and employee will agree on how the employee should do this. They might need to fill in a form or send details of their sick leave by email.
Sadly, similar experiences are still the norm in many parts of the world. According to a 2019 study from global staffing firm Accountemps, for example, 9 in 10 employees in the US admit going to work sick. Moreover, one-third said they always go to the office with cold or flu symptoms and 54 percent of those who report to the office with cold or flu symptoms said they do so because they have too much work to do. Most respondents who said they report to the office while ill because of an overwhelming workload were from New York City, Minneapolis and Miami.
People were really happy to learn everything turned out for the best
