Sometimes, policies around leave days can feel unfair, especially when they operate on a “use it or lose it” system.

What would you do if you had earned a pile of sick leave but were told it wouldn’t be paid out when you left? Would you let it go to waste? Or would you find a way to use it before walking out the door?

In the following story, one employee finds themselves in this exact situation and refuses to let these hard-earned days go to waste. Here’s what happened.

Using my leave days

I was leaving a job that I had been working at for 5 years. Over that time, I earned a lot of sick leave that I rarely used.

I was informed that my sick leave would not be paid out when I leave, and it is essentially a “use it or lose it” kind of deal.

I didn’t want to go crazy, so about two months before I was leaving, I started taking Monday off each week.

Nobody complained, and my work still got done, and I was able to use some of those saved-up sick days without feeling like I was just going to leave them behind.

About a month into this, my boss called me on a Monday morning and left a voicemail saying if I was going to have any more sick days, I needed a doctor’s note and that included a note for the day he called.

He got a doctor’s appointment and the note he needed.

I scrambled and got a last-minute doctor’s appointment somehow so I could get the note.

I explained the situation to my doctor, hoping he would give me a note for that day.

My doctor said, “Well, MarkyMe, I’ve got some bad news. It’s my professional opinion that you need to be on a week of bed rest at home just to be on the safe side.”

He handed me a slip that said I should not return to work until the following Tuesday.

I took the week off and strolled into my boss’s office.

I smiled as I handed him my doctor’s note.

Bravo! That doctor deserves a nice raise for that one!

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit relate to this situation.

This person has a great point.

Sounds like a great doctor.

Here’s someone who also got a week off, thanks to their doctor.

You would think.

He deserved that time off!

In fact, there should be a law that requires companies to pay out sick days or allow employees to take them before they expire.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.