anyone else take FU days ????

[Daisy]

I just can't lie about being sick.  I did that once when I was 17, and I felt terrible about it.  Haven't done it since.

That sounds like 2 sick days to me. Bonus!

One day for fake calling in sick. Another day to get over feeling terrible about it.

[Monkey Uncle]

I just can't lie about being sick.  I did that once when I was 17, and I felt terrible about it.  Haven't done it since.

That sounds like 2 sick days to me. Bonus!

One day for fake calling in sick. Another day to get over feeling terrible about it.

Ha!  Perhaps I should have made it two.  But when I showed up to work the next day with a sunburn, nobody said a word.

[Inaya]

We get lots of paid time off, so I do this several times per year. They don't ask why I'm taking the day off, since we don't have separate sick days. As long as I'm keeping up with my work and don't blow off important meetings, nobody cares what I do with my time off.

[Blonde Lawyer]

I just can't lie about being sick.  I did that once when I was 17, and I felt terrible about it.  Haven't done it since.

That sounds like 2 sick days to me. Bonus!

One day for fake calling in sick. Another day to get over feeling terrible about it.

Ha!  Perhaps I should have made it two.  But when I showed up to work the next day with a sunburn, nobody said a word.

My parents were of the mindset that when you miss school or work sick, you don't leave the house except for doctor's appts etc.  My dad had something wrong and took a day off to see the doc and was rx a new med.  It said to be careful in the sun.  That night he attended my brother's baseball game that started at 6pm, breaking his don't leave the house if you missed work rule.  He figured since it was at 6, he didn't have to worry too much about the "be careful of the sun" warning.  He got a raging sunburn and worried everyone would think he had played hookie that day.

[Linea_Norway]

I have 2 vacation days left that I need to use up in 2017. So I am taking up a FU day tomorrow. Just doing whatever the f I want for one working day.

[Imma]

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

[Blonde Lawyer]

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

I would hate this even when legitimately sick.  I don't want to get up and speak to a nurse in my house.  Is my house clean enough for guests? I'm not going to feel like cleaning while sick.  For 75% of illnesses there is nothing the nurse can do to help anyway.

[WootWoot]

I think I'll be taking one very soon, actually...

[albireo13]

That's obnoxious.  It's my house and if you're not invited I don't want to deal with you.
That's treating employees like little children who have to be monitored constantly.
Control-freak management.

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

[soupcxan]

Occasionally I am actually sick.  Sometimes I need to get things done, like my lawn business, my tax business, my tutor business

This is super unethical and I’d fire you in a second if I caught someone working a side job while they called in sick to mine. I guess extra $$$ justifies the lying to some people.

[sequoia]

Is that nurse visit optional, or they send the nurse to your house automatically as soon as you call in sick?

I can see how that can be beneficial. A few winter ago I was alone, and manage to fall in my driveway due to ice. I hit the back of my head pretty good, had major a headache. I called in sick and slept for 2 days straight. On the third day, I felt a little better so I drove to the doctor. My doctor freaked out after hearing my story. He rushed me to get CT scan fearing that I had internal bleeding. Looking back now, I should have called 911 and ambulance, but kinda hard to think straight when my head was hurting real bad. In my case it would be nice to have a nurse to visit, and offer a medical advice.

But for just calling in sick due to flu or minor problem, no I would rather not have anyone come to visit me :)

That's obnoxious.  It's my house and if you're not invited I don't want to deal with you.
That's treating employees like little children who have to be monitored constantly.
Control-freak management.

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

[Linea_Norway]

Is that nurse visit optional, or they send the nurse to your house automatically as soon as you call in sick?

I can see how that can be beneficial. A few winter ago I was alone, and manage to fall in my driveway due to ice. I hit the back of my head pretty good, had major a headache. I called in sick and slept for 2 days straight. On the third day, I felt a little better so I drove to the doctor. My doctor freaked out after hearing my story. He rushed me to get CT scan fearing that I had internal bleeding. Looking back now, I should have called 911 and ambulance, but kinda hard to think straight when my head was hurting real bad. In my case it would be nice to have a nurse to visit, and offer a medical advice.

But for just calling in sick due to flu or minor problem, no I would rather not have anyone come to visit me :)

Companies who send nurses do it to check whether the sick employees are really sick. It is a control tool to reduce sick time.

Where I live now, we can report sick for a couple days and need doctor's proof if we are sick longer than that.

[Imma]

Is that nurse visit optional, or they send the nurse to your house automatically as soon as you call in sick?

I can see how that can be beneficial. A few winter ago I was alone, and manage to fall in my driveway due to ice. I hit the back of my head pretty good, had major a headache. I called in sick and slept for 2 days straight. On the third day, I felt a little better so I drove to the doctor. My doctor freaked out after hearing my story. He rushed me to get CT scan fearing that I had internal bleeding. Looking back now, I should have called 911 and ambulance, but kinda hard to think straight when my head was hurting real bad. In my case it would be nice to have a nurse to visit, and offer a medical advice.

But for just calling in sick due to flu or minor problem, no I would rather not have anyone come to visit me :)

That's obnoxious.  It's my house and if you're not invited I don't want to deal with you.
That's treating employees like little children who have to be monitored constantly.
Control-freak management.

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

In my company a visit is obligated every time you call in sick, in some companies they are only sent when they're in doubt if you're really ill. In my employment contract it's explicitly stated that when I call in I need to let the visitor in, that I need to stay at home and have my doorbell plugged in and my mobile phone on until I've been told otherwise and I need to contact my employer if I'm leaving the house to go to the doctor, pharmacy or shop for food. (I assume that if you're at home for a longer period with a serious illness, you don't have to stay available all the time) .

It does feel intrusive because you're wearing sweat pants and you look and feel like shit, and I think 99% of the visits are quite pointless, but it's pretty much routine. You let them in, you tell them why you called in sick and what you're doing to get better. Then you set a date for returning to work (if possible) sign the form and they're gone. If there's something serious going on, they'll put you in touch with a doctor who will decide if you are truly ill or not, but that doesn't really happen for things like the flu.

But on the upside: we always get paid sick leave. The visit is unnecessary in most cases, but I think there has to be some kind of accountability. You need to be able to check in some way that someone who calls in is really sick, if you pay them.

[Schaefer Light]

In my company a visit is obligated every time you call in sick, in some companies they are only sent when they're in doubt if you're really ill. In my employment contract it's explicitly stated that when I call in I need to let the visitor in, that I need to stay at home and have my doorbell plugged in and my mobile phone on until I've been told otherwise and I need to contact my employer if I'm leaving the house to go to the doctor, pharmacy or shop for food. (I assume that if you're at home for a longer period with a serious illness, you don't have to stay available all the time) .

It does feel intrusive because you're wearing sweat pants and you look and feel like shit, and I think 99% of the visits are quite pointless, but it's pretty much routine. You let them in, you tell them why you called in sick and what you're doing to get better. Then you set a date for returning to work (if possible) sign the form and they're gone. If there's something serious going on, they'll put you in touch with a doctor who will decide if you are truly ill or not, but that doesn't really happen for things like the flu.

But on the upside: we always get paid sick leave. The visit is unnecessary in most cases, but I think there has to be some kind of accountability. You need to be able to check in some way that someone who calls in is really sick, if you pay them.

I would rather go to work sick than have someone come to my home to check on me.  Companies need to think about what kind of behavior they're incentivizing with their policies.

[GnomeErcy]

Is that nurse visit optional, or they send the nurse to your house automatically as soon as you call in sick?

I can see how that can be beneficial. A few winter ago I was alone, and manage to fall in my driveway due to ice. I hit the back of my head pretty good, had major a headache. I called in sick and slept for 2 days straight. On the third day, I felt a little better so I drove to the doctor. My doctor freaked out after hearing my story. He rushed me to get CT scan fearing that I had internal bleeding. Looking back now, I should have called 911 and ambulance, but kinda hard to think straight when my head was hurting real bad. In my case it would be nice to have a nurse to visit, and offer a medical advice.

But for just calling in sick due to flu or minor problem, no I would rather not have anyone come to visit me :)

That's obnoxious.  It's my house and if you're not invited I don't want to deal with you.
That's treating employees like little children who have to be monitored constantly.
Control-freak management.

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

In my company a visit is obligated every time you call in sick, in some companies they are only sent when they're in doubt if you're really ill. In my employment contract it's explicitly stated that when I call in I need to let the visitor in, that I need to stay at home and have my doorbell plugged in and my mobile phone on until I've been told otherwise and I need to contact my employer if I'm leaving the house to go to the doctor, pharmacy or shop for food. (I assume that if you're at home for a longer period with a serious illness, you don't have to stay available all the time) .

It does feel intrusive because you're wearing sweat pants and you look and feel like shit, and I think 99% of the visits are quite pointless, but it's pretty much routine. You let them in, you tell them why you called in sick and what you're doing to get better. Then you set a date for returning to work (if possible) sign the form and they're gone. If there's something serious going on, they'll put you in touch with a doctor who will decide if you are truly ill or not, but that doesn't really happen for things like the flu.

But on the upside: we always get paid sick leave. The visit is unnecessary in most cases, but I think there has to be some kind of accountability. You need to be able to check in some way that someone who calls in is really sick, if you pay them.

What line of work are you in?

This sounds insane to me and like the shittiest sick policy I've ever heard of.

[Imma]

Is that nurse visit optional, or they send the nurse to your house automatically as soon as you call in sick?

I can see how that can be beneficial. A few winter ago I was alone, and manage to fall in my driveway due to ice. I hit the back of my head pretty good, had major a headache. I called in sick and slept for 2 days straight. On the third day, I felt a little better so I drove to the doctor. My doctor freaked out after hearing my story. He rushed me to get CT scan fearing that I had internal bleeding. Looking back now, I should have called 911 and ambulance, but kinda hard to think straight when my head was hurting real bad. In my case it would be nice to have a nurse to visit, and offer a medical advice.

But for just calling in sick due to flu or minor problem, no I would rather not have anyone come to visit me :)

That's obnoxious.  It's my house and if you're not invited I don't want to deal with you.
That's treating employees like little children who have to be monitored constantly.
Control-freak management.

What's your plan if someone sees you out and about? Doctor's appointment that got out early? You can make excuses if you are seen at the grocery store or the pharmacy but kind of hard to make an excuse if you are seen at lunch with wine.

Many years ago I worked at a company that cooperated with a doctors office, that would let a nurse make home visits to people that reported in sick. Some of the empoyees were just on their way out of the door carrying a tennis racket. I guess this had consequences for their personnel file.

Yes, we have that too. We always get a visit when we call in sick, it's the standard procedure. Which is why I would never call in sick if I wasn't. Of course, if you really want to stay home you could tell the nurse you have a migraine or a stomach bug and she wouldn't be able to prove you wrong, but then you'd still have to stay at home the entire day.

Sadly we can't just take the day off when we feel like it - we have to request them months ahead. I would absolutely like to have a FU day every now and then.

In my company a visit is obligated every time you call in sick, in some companies they are only sent when they're in doubt if you're really ill. In my employment contract it's explicitly stated that when I call in I need to let the visitor in, that I need to stay at home and have my doorbell plugged in and my mobile phone on until I've been told otherwise and I need to contact my employer if I'm leaving the house to go to the doctor, pharmacy or shop for food. (I assume that if you're at home for a longer period with a serious illness, you don't have to stay available all the time) .

It does feel intrusive because you're wearing sweat pants and you look and feel like shit, and I think 99% of the visits are quite pointless, but it's pretty much routine. You let them in, you tell them why you called in sick and what you're doing to get better. Then you set a date for returning to work (if possible) sign the form and they're gone. If there's something serious going on, they'll put you in touch with a doctor who will decide if you are truly ill or not, but that doesn't really happen for things like the flu.

But on the upside: we always get paid sick leave. The visit is unnecessary in most cases, but I think there has to be some kind of accountability. You need to be able to check in some way that someone who calls in is really sick, if you pay them.

What line of work are you in?

This sounds insane to me and like the shittiest sick policy I've ever heard of.

I'm in software, personally, but this is a fairly normal sick policy in my country. And I know from another thread that Linda_Norway has lived here too, so I guess her similar experience is from when she lived here. My boss used to be a lot more lenient, but then an employee took advantage of that. Now everyone gets a visit every time you call in sick.

How does that work in other places? When you get paid sick leave, how does your employer ascertain you're actually ill?

[Lmoot]

 ^ My guess is that it's pretty much written in as a loss. Many of the companies here that offer sick time are large employers which hire hundreds if not thousands of people nationwide. They would definitely lose money trying to do this, rather than just letting everyone have their sick days.

Also companies are now doing away with sick days. I've personally only worked for one company which still used sick days, and it was only two or three days worth. So it wasn't really intended to be used to take an entire day off, but rather for taking a few hours off at a time for doctor appointments. And they could ask for confirmation of the appointment anytime, although they never did, not for me at least. Now many companies use PTO, or paid time off and it's up to you to manage your sick and vacation time.

This is good for people like me, who only get sick once every three or four years, because typically PTO has slightly more days than when they divvy'd up vacation and sick days. I never got to use my sick days, because I never got sick. I'm also one of those horrible people who never goes  to the doctor, so I couldn't even use it for that either.

[Imma]

I can see if it's only two or three days why they wouldn't bother. In here, companies are by law obligated to pay their employees for a much longer time than that. For a small company, that's a huge risk. There's also a clear distinction between vacation days and sick leave, which is basically unlimited for the duration of the illness / your employment. So if you call in sick while you're not actually sick, you're basically taking an extra vacation day that doesn't cost you anything.

If you're healthy, this PTO system probably leads to more time off, but I can imagine it's difficult if you have a serious illness. 

[Monkey Uncle]

I can see if it's only two or three days why they wouldn't bother. In here, companies are by law obligated to pay their employees for a much longer time than that. For a small company, that's a huge risk. There's also a clear distinction between vacation days and sick leave, which is basically unlimited for the duration of the illness / your employment. So if you call in sick while you're not actually sick, you're basically taking an extra vacation day that doesn't cost you anything.

If you're healthy, this PTO system probably leads to more time off, but I can imagine it's difficult if you have a serious illness.

Ah, I see the issue now.  In the U.S., pretty much no employer offers unlimited sick days.  You get a certain number of sick days, and if you waste them by goofing off and then get sick after all your days have been used up, you are fucked.

[Daisy]

I like the PTO system too, as I hardly took sick days and saw it as 2 more weeks of vacation time to use. And then you don't need to "lie" about being sick if you wanted a day off.

At my old company, and I assume most large US companies, if you were sick for an extended period you would go on short term disability. The company pays for the policy as part of your benefits package.

[Lmoot]

I can see if it's only two or three days why they wouldn't bother. In here, companies are by law obligated to pay their employees for a much longer time than that. For a small company, that's a huge risk. There's also a clear distinction between vacation days and sick leave, which is basically unlimited for the duration of the illness / your employment. So if you call in sick while you're not actually sick, you're basically taking an extra vacation day that doesn't cost you anything.

If you're healthy, this PTO system probably leads to more time off, but I can imagine it's difficult if you have a serious illness.

Ah, I see the issue now.  In the U.S., pretty much no employer offers unlimited sick days.  You get a certain number of sick days, and if you waste them by goofing off and then get sick after all your days have been used up, you are fucked.

 You can use vacation days if you are sick also. If you have a reoccurring or chronic illness, there are government programs typically available in most states, were you can  get additional sick days or leave. They may only be partially paid, or not paid days at all, but it would ensure your employer can't fire you for missing too much work. There is also disability and short-term disability, Social Security… They are hard to qualify for because some people abuse them. I know at both of my full-time jobs I've worked at, sick leave fraud was rampant.