self cert after sickness

[juicymel]

Hi all, I'm just wondering if its legal for my boss To ask me what medication I'm on after taking a day off sick.
We have always filled out a self cert but now they have given us an. extra form about prescriptions and medication ect. Thank u xx

[charitynjw]

Re: self cert after sickness

Hi juicymel,

You're allowed 7 calendar days during which you can self-certify.

Usually, if you're asked for medical reason, it would be 'a cold', or 'a 'flu bug' or somesuch - I've never seen a requirement for disclosing meds.

From NHS.UK http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1062.asp...categoryid=158

[juicymel]

Re: self cert after sickness

thank you for replying. we have a new manager who is generally making our lives hell!!! I was off for a month with a broken foot and was fine when I went back to work, but last week needed 3 days off for a minor op, which I tried booking as unpaid holiday (he refused them) so another manager suggested I call in sick instead. id supplied the proof ie hospital appointment letters and called in sick on the 3 days. on my return, I was summoned to his office, along with his sidekick idiot manager for a "back to work interview" which I thought strange seen as I never had one after the foot incident. anyway, I was not told I could of taken someone in with me so I went alone. they tried to be intimidating, as this is how they work, much to my amusement, and thrust a sheet at me outlining my absences, mainly through my kids being ill and me not having child care and told me to explain!!! I replied that my kids will always come first over that place, and those absences were irrelevant to the meeting, as I was given advise from the cab saying im allowed to call in due to home emergencys as and when needed. they then went on to fill out my self cert for me, not sure why as we do this ourselves usually, then demanded to know what medication I was prescribed and how often each day I was to take it!!! I replied that it was none of their bloody business what I take as my work is no way affected!! they have now said everyone must fill these medication forms out after being off sick. i think its just another of their bullying tactics in a long line of many!!!

[strong123]

Re: self cert after sickness

thank you for replying. we have a new manager who is generally making our lives hell!!! I was off for a month with a broken foot and was fine when I went back to work, but last week needed 3 days off for a minor op, which I tried booking as unpaid holiday (he refused them) so another manager suggested I call in sick instead. id supplied the proof ie hospital appointment letters and called in sick on the 3 days. on my return, I was summoned to his office, along with his sidekick idiot manager for a "back to work interview" which I thought strange seen as I never had one after the foot incident. anyway, I was not told I could of taken someone in with me so I went alone. they tried to be intimidating, as this is how they work, much to my amusement, and thrust a sheet at me outlining my absences, mainly through my kids being ill and me not having child care and told me to explain!!! I replied that my kids will always come first over that place, and those absences were irrelevant to the meeting, as I was given advise from the cab saying im allowed to call in due to home emergencys as and when needed. they then went on to fill out my self cert for me, not sure why as we do this ourselves usually, then demanded to know what medication I was prescribed and how often each day I was to take it!!! I replied that it was none of their bloody business what I take as my work is no way affected!! they have now said everyone must fill these medication forms out after being off sick. i think its just another of their bullying tactics in a long line of many!!!

HI and welcome,

With regard to filling out a form re: medication, illness etc. I used to have these at my old company. All it is is a self cirt, in otherwords, saves you going to the docs. You don't have to supply 2 though, it's either or.

With regard to time off work for op, your company can't refuse you time off for a hospital operation. They don't have to pay you however if you have used up all your sick leave, which I understand from your post you'd already asked for it as unpaid.

I think it's something you should perhaps raise with your hr department.

[strong123]

Re: self cert after sickness

HI and welcome,

With regard to filling out a form re: medication, illness etc. I used to have these at my old company. All it is is a self cirt, in otherwords, saves you going to the docs. You don't have to supply 2 though, it's either or.

With regard to time off work for op, your company can't refuse you time off for a hospital operation. They don't have to pay you however if you have used up all your sick leave, which I understand from your post you'd already asked for it as unpaid.

I think it's something you should perhaps raise with your hr department.

Intact, if my memory serves me correctly, because you can't get a self cirt from your doctor's for less than 7 days, (I'm guessing that's still the case) we would have to fill out one of these instead. Not all companies do this but if it is a new thing the company is bringing into practice, I believe you have to be made aware of this and it then has to be entered into the hand book.

[juicymel]

Re: self cert after sickness

thank you for your reply. its neigh-on impossible to take anything up with hr as the main bully, is the one hr send the complaints to lol!!! if we ask for it to be referred to the main man, the response is always the same " he wont want to know". and if you do manage to collar the main man, he tells you to see the main bully about it!! its a bloody vile place to work!!!

[juicymel]

Re: self cert after sickness

the self cert rule has always been the same. fill it out on return. my main query was about the second one they are giving us, wanting to know if we have been prescribed any meds and what they are ect. just plain nosey in my mind. as my op was kinda personal for a woman, I don't him knowing anything about my health. I even scrubbed my hospital number off my appointment letter because I don't trust them not to call the hosp and try to discuss it!!

[strong123]

Re: self cert after sickness

thank you for your reply. its neigh-on impossible to take anything up with hr as the main bully, is the one hr send the complaints to lol!!! if we ask for it to be referred to the main man, the response is always the same " he wont want to know". and if you do manage to collar the main man, he tells you to see the main bully about it!! its a bloody vile place to work!!!

Mmmm, I notice you say bully??

Firstly, if you are making a complaint about person A, then you can't be going to person A about it.

The point I'm trying to make is if you have a genuine grievance against somebody and you wish to bring that grievance forward, the company has an obligation to take this seriously and deal with it in the correct manner. They cannot fob you off. It is your right to bring that forward. Having said that a grievance is a serious matter, it's not just a "quiet word" in someone's ear.

If you are having serious problems with this person, I would recommend speaking with ACAS. They are very good at advising on work issues.

All companies have office politics, it's part and parcel and I can't tell you the amount of people in work who irritate the xxx out of me, but never put up with a bully!

[juicymel]

Re: self cert after sickness

oh we don't put up with it lightly. im the only female in a factory (apart from the office staff) and theres around 30 of us on the factory floor who are each being picked on one way or another, wether it be by having the work criticized, hours messed around, money and bonus cut ect ect. 3 have already upped and left because of this in the past 4 months alone. I guess we are just waiting for the main man to start questioning why his staff are vanishing so rapidly!!! and its hard to get a complaint listened to, the company operates on the fact that everyone is replacable so if they think youre going to cause strife, your out the door. usually by redundancy or saying there is no work for you so legal cases against them are few and far between!!

[strong123]

Re: self cert after sickness

oh we don't put up with it lightly. im the only female in a factory (apart from the office staff) and theres around 30 of us on the factory floor who are each being picked on one way or another, wether it be by having the work criticized, hours messed around, money and bonus cut ect ect. 3 have already upped and left because of this in the past 4 months alone. I guess we are just waiting for the main man to start questioning why his staff are vanishing so rapidly!!! and its hard to get a complaint listened to, the company operates on the fact that everyone is replacable so if they think youre going to cause strife, your out the door. usually by redundancy or saying there is no work for you so legal cases against them are few and far between!!

Seriously, I would speak to ACAS. You can Google them to get there number and it's free.

It's all very well staff "upping and leaving" believe me, all that happens with regard to the company is they get a bad rep for high staff turnover. Unfortunately a lot of companies have the same view "anyone can be replaced" And sadly that's fuelled by the current climate. Its disgusting that kind of attitude.
It sounds like everyone in your company is being affected.
With regard to questioning medication, and I'm only going by the form we had to fill out, it did query medication. I'm not really sure that they have a legal right to know, personally I didn't care.
I hope it all works out for you.
There are people here who are much more knowledgeable on workplace law if you need more info or advice on which steps to take should you want or need to.

[charitynjw]

Re: self cert after sickness

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1680

ACAS Mediation

[Tools]

Re: self cert after sickness

Time off to care for dependants

All employees have the right to take a reasonable amount of time off to deal with family emergencies. Such absences are unpaid unless the employer agrees otherwise.

The rights apply only to those providing care to a dependant which includes the employee’s spouse, parents, children, or another person living in the same household who is not a tenant, boarder or lodger. Additionally, the right extends to any person who reasonably relies upon the employee for the purpose of providing assistance or making arrangements.

Family emergencies include instances connected with the death, illness or injury of a family member, or where a dependant gives birth. The right also exists where an unexpected disruption has arisen in relation to care arrangements for a dependant, or where an incident occurs involving the worker’s child at school.

You must inform your employer of the reason for your absence as soon as possible, as well as when you expect to return to work. You can bring a claim against your employer for unreasonably refusing to allow you to take time off.


Sick Pay

If you are an employee who is unable to work because of sickness, you will be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provide that:
· you earn more than the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contribution. At the moment this is £90.00/ week before any deductions for Tax and NI.
· You are unable to work for 4 days or more, as SSP is not payable on the first 3 days an employee is unable to work.

You get statutory sick pay at one flat rate (which at the moment is £75.40) for each week that you are unable to work. This is subject to an entitlement limit of 28 weeks SSP in any three year period.

Your employer will ask for evidence that you are unable to work due to sickness, and this is usually in the form of a sick note from your GP.

SSP is a statutory minimum, and your employer may have agreed more generous sick pay entitlements, which will be part of your contract of employment. If that is the case, you are entitled to the more generous pay. If there is no entitlement agreed in your contract, then you will be entitled to the SSP.

If the employer suspects that any medication you may be on is/or is likely to affect your work then they do have a duty of care to check. What reason did you give for your 3 day absence? If no medication was prescribed then just inform them no medication. If your reason for absence would obviously be followed by medication then could you let me , male by the way, ( or Amethyst or Kate if you would prefer a female member of Admin Team) know what meds ( by pm if you would rather it not be posted openly) and we can see if it is irrelevant to your employer.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: self cert after sickness

I never had to answer questions regarding medication when filling in self-cert forms when I was employed full time, however, seeing that we're talking about factory work, the employers may have concerns over health and safety. A number of medicines, including some sold over the counter without a prescription, come with warnings about drowsiness and driving or operating machinery. Having had surgery, it wouldn't be uncommon to be prescribed strong painkillers or something that could impair your ability to operate machinery, so the question seems a reasonable one under the circumstances.

[wales01man]

Re: self cert after sickness

I cannot see what the problem is?You could tell them your on Paracetamol only if you were sure the other drugs would have no effect on the work you do.The OP sated they blanked out the Hospital number so the Hospital could not be called by the Employer?Serious for the hospital if they told a complete stranger anything about the person.

[juicymel]

Re: self cert after sickness

thank youfor all the replies. my reason for the absence was to have a cyst cut out of me on the thurs, the fri was because I was in pain with it, nothing major but it was on my boob so it hurt to wear a bra lol, and the Monday was a follow up app to see if it was ok. im taking roaccutane for the cysts which is a long term med but it doesn't affect me in any way apart from dry skin. I don't operate the machinery at work, mind u, my broom is rather large!!! I did ask the hosp if anyone could obtain my info and they assured me that they couldn't. this was only because a former staff member took a few days off with a sick child and the boss attempted to call the school to find out if the kid was sick. our place has the worst staff turm over in the area and its well known for it!! one poor chap dared disagree with the main man over a welding job, next thing u know, he was handed a letter saying they were making him redundant!!!