calling in sick - on your first day at a new job...?

Question

Just interested in what the majority think here.

My boss has hired a new PA (as Im leaving next fri) today was supposed to be her first day... She sent her husband in, saying she was too sick (with a COLD!) and wouldnt be better til Thursday... (tho, how she knows by thursday- seems a little too specific for a genuine illness.. how would you know?)

She knows theres an awful lot I need to show her.. And now have one week less to do so...

Does anyone think this is acceptable...? I think we're a bit biased as we're stressing... Just interested who thinks a Cold is good enough for missing work...?

oh, just to add... The boss...Is my step father..and its his own company..so yeah, I am moving on, its still going to effect me..

Tho...yeah, getting hit by a car isnt the same thing at all!! Thats horrible, im glad you're ok now!!

Sylvester M... I wasnt saying anything of the sort in that I am perfectly aware we arent all the same......My reference was more to the point, she didnt even call herself and that its her first day...! I know not everyone is the same.. tho, can I just ad, having had cancer...I did manage to go to work during chemo...and so perhaps do find minor illnesses a bit pathetic to take time off with...!

No need for rants here...

Answer 1

H E L L no that isn't acceptable!!! I have managed MANY things from a store to an office~and THAT behavior would have me looking for a new employee to do the job. And I would wait for her to come in on Thursday, and say " I was gonna tell you that you didn't have a job on Monday"!!!

Congratulations on your new job!! Best of Luck!! :o)

Answer 2

I've had a cold for the past week but I have been coming into work coz I didn't feel that bad and I'm pretty isolated at work BUT I have also had occasions where i have taken a day or two off for a cold so there's no hard and fast rules.

Also as a boss I hate it when my employees come into work when they're ill. They're only doing it to show committment but let's face it I'm not giving out awards for least sick days absent, and I really don't appreciate people sharing their germs with me.

I always laugh at ppl who proudly state they haven't taken a day off sick in 10 years. I always think well good for you if it makes you feel good about yourself, you're still not getting a bigger pay rise than anyone else unless you deserve it for other reasons and when the business starts losing money it won't put you any nearer the bottom of the redundancy queue.

However, being that this is a brand new job it is likely that this will be the precedent for things to come especially as she sent her husband in to do her dirty work for her.

I'd give her a chance coz recruitment costs are extortionate but I'd keep a VERY close eye and if there's any repeat of such behaviour get rid of her whilst I can because once she's off probabtion it won't be that easy.

Answer 3

Well that all depends upon the individual. We reside within a society now that tries to lump everyone into the same category. All cancers are not the same. Everyone getting cancer doesn't necessarily die from it. Everyone who smokes
does not develop lung complications. Everyone who drinks does not develop kidney and liver problems. Everybody is not allergic to poison ivy/poison oaks. Some people can push through their pains and still perform their tasks/duties/job
responsibilities. But News Flash!!!!! Others cannot.
There is no one size fit all. You're assuming that everyone and their systems are the exact same. What cures you might kill another. Stop judging what you can't experience. You don't know what another person is going through with their illnesses, only what you go through with yours. And it's not the same. It just isn't at all.
Still I'm inclined to agree with you here: that, sick or dead; there's an unwritten rule that you never miss your very first day at work. Show up and knock off early if you have to but at least arrive. At least make that effort. That is if it is at all humanly possible. Peace always.

Answer 4

That is very bad for her to do. I personally will force myself to work unless I am so bad off I can't possibly function. Plus this is training time she really needs to be there so she can be fully prepared to take the job and do it efficiently. I don't hold all that important of a job and the only time I took off was when I was so sick I slept all day and I never sleep all day. It is not acceptable and very bad ettiquet. If it isn't a bad cold (if it is a cold) this just shows that she may be one to take a day off when the mood strikes her. If it is a bad cold then she is somewhat justified because if she is so bad off she can't function and would only make things difficult and get everyone sick she shouldn't come in, but it would be hard to know what is what.

Answer 5

Well the way its happened is totally unacceptable too be honest.

If she has a cold she should make the effort to come in to at least show she is unwell, even if she is sent straight home. That's the minimum you'd expect from a new employee.

We had someone start a few weeks back who had food poisoning and was running to the loo every 5 mins. At least she showed her commitment unlike your new starter and yes we did send her home.

I would query her commitment at this stage as a cold is a cold and unless its proper flu then she should come in. You don't want this to be a start of things to come.

Bring it up with the boss and let him know your concerns

Hope it works out OK.

Answer 6

I would make her come i with her cold.Then when the rest of the office goes down with colds caught from her,the boss can sit back smugly and think.I caused that.Then when no or very little work is being done due to illness he will have nobody to blame but himself.After all how many times has it been preached in the papers,if you have colds or flu don't go to work and spread it,or is that just a load of b******* put out by the dept of health?

Answer 7

If this is what happens on her first day, it is the shape of things to come. I would have sacked her, and complained to the employment agency who sent her. She has no respect whatsoever, and her previous workplace is probably glad to be rid of her.

It probably wouldn't have been possible to have hired the next on the list, as she would have had to have given notice. I would find someone else within the company to help out, or got a temp in pretty quick.

What's the bet as well, that she doesn't actually need to work?

Answer 8

She doesn't want to get the rest of the office sick during her first week there, and she knows how long her body will need to fight down the infection because this is probably not the first time she's had a cold. I wouldn't like it either, but I would try to be appreciative of her efforts to keep illness out of the workplace.

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Wow. Lots of answers here accusing her of lying just because she specified a timeframe. Anybody with as much as one semester of human physiology knows how long the body needs to build up its defenses and bypass the infectious period of an illness. You people are pretty cynical.

Answer 9

I am very happy tht you are moving on at last and wish you all the best.

Personally I am very happy if anyone with a cold does not show up, because if they do, I would be sure to catch it.

On my first day at one job in Manchester, I had to report to the registered office in London. I dozed off on the train, and when I woke up, I could not figure out why we were not in London, and the train had stopped in open countryside.

When I stammered my way in, my predecessor dismissed it with a wave of his hand - Never mind, old boy, these things happen!

Answer 10

Regardless of whether she has a cold or there is some other reason she is off. It has to be pretty serious to miss your first day of work maybe its an embarrassing problem, or the death of someone who is not immediate family.

Or maybe she's got problems with her old job and she couldn't finish up when she was meant to..... who knows but it would have to be something genuine to miss the first day of a new job.