would you take 4 days sick in first month

[or in other words, are they just workshy and how do i sack them?]

 

My husband missed his first 2 days due to a vomiting bug - he was considering going in anyway looking green and shaky but saw sense.

There's a lot of Covid/flu going around at the moment. Too early to say whether workshy or just ill. 

Depends what the sick days are for.

My view is that you should only be taking sick days if you are actually sick, in which case you cannot help whether you are sick in your first month in a new job or whether you make it five years without taking a single sick day. I have also learned over the years that sometimes if you get a bad cold you can pretty much knock it on the head by taking a day or two off and staying in bed all day, or you can keep powering through and not shake it off for weeks.

I also really don't appreciate it when colleagues come into work when sick and infect everyone else.

So if I happened to be sick but not too sick and it was contagious, I would try to work from home provided that it wasn't going to make me sicker. If I was too sick to work then yes I would take the time off, even in my first month.

Context. 
 

Four days consecutively taken because they have a virus or a broken leg or something, fair enough. 
 

The first four Mondays in the month taken because they “have a virus” then maybe warrants investigating. 

If I was sick, yes. I would also go to great pains to make it clear that it was extremely unusual for me to be that unwell. 
 

But you don’t need to ask us because your gut has already told you they’re taking the p!ss

I did, in my current job

nobody gives a shit. If you’re off sick then you don’t count towards the denominator of utilisation for management metrics. They’d rather have you off sick than doing 2h CHPD, for sure

I would say if the person is a professional or purporting to be a serious player in the business this is basically unheard of. If it’s a PA, a)sux to be you with that management responsibility;and b) they would only be in the office on Facebook on their phone or something if they were in. 

My last job I had to take day 2 off with a vomiting bug.  Came in on day 3 as anxious to give a good impression.  Threw up in a box in a meeting room in front of my new colleagues, went home.  Came back the following week.  My boss was convinced, and telling everyone, I must be pregnant (I wasn't).

 

 

 

Surely it depends what  you are sick with? Even the most ardent professional might suddenly get pretty sick. Not sure making a distinction between job types is right - massive generalisation here.

Since Covid I’m not really aware of people taking sick days, they just wfh and dial into teams on mute with no camera. 
 

If clubbers insists everyone works in the office he is the one who should be sacked. 

I dont follow this.   People take sick days when they are sick.   Unless you are suspecting your employee of fraud then you have to presumably assume they are just unlucky to have been sick in the first month a new job,

Not what dux said. Clearly a skiver. Give an informal warning and request a doctor's note if they take any more liberties. Ask them what's wrong with them and tell them to sort their shit out or they'll have to go. When can you put actually them on statutory sick pay? People will claim all sorts of made up ailments to get out of work. Unless it's a woman of course. Have to give a bit more leeway with gynae stuff. That probably includes trans gynae stuff. Actually be careful what you say as you might find yourself on the wrong end of an unlimited claim for constructive dismissal resulting from discrimination. OMG what have I done? Listen to dux.      

The distinction of whether they are 4 sick days taken consecutively together or 4 individual days is key. 

We just had someone start and then get a chest infection. They needed a week off and fair enough. It happens 

Er yes LP, but you cant go around firing or warning people unless you have proof that is what they are doing.  Obliviously if it continues you would need to investigate in more detail what their health issues are or whether they are in fact fraudulent but I think for the time being you can do no more than assume they are unlucky

How sick? Have you spoken to them? You’d have to be some kind of chancer to be sick four days in the first month and not be very conscious of it, and/or fairly apologetic. 

In my role about three jobs ago I had to have three days off in the first month due to a massive dental pain issue. The first day an emergency appointment the second was ring knocked out so they could do the work, and the third was recovery.

 

I went in on the fourth day as I was in my first month and wanted to make a good impression. That was the day the bruising on my chin really looked it’s most hideous and they sent me home