When you aren’t feeling well, you should call in sick to work not only so you can recover, but also so that you don’t infect anyone else.

What would you do if your boss demanded a doctor’s note when you called in even though the company policy says a note is only needed for multiple days in a row?

That is what happened to the employee in this story, so he went to the doctor and was told to stay home for five days, putting the manager in a predicament.

Boss breaks his own policy and he pays the price

I work in the hospitality industry in a small town fed by tourists.

This sadly leaves issues for businesses trying to find RELIABLE employees.

To try and incentivize those people to find work in town, every business is raising its wages to keep people who actually do their job.

Even the golden arch burger chain starts at 9$ an hour.

So, when I got hired here, I went through all the paperwork, signed all the documents, reviewed all the policies of a business trying to act far more professional than it actually was.

I was given policy booklets, signed that I read them, and set on my way through training.

All is well for a while, until the HR staff was cut.

No surprise here.

Now, as it goes in this particular business, any responsibility that could be taken on by the General manager is given to the General manager.

He runs housekeeping, maintenance, grounds work, scheduling, dining/waitstaff, hiring and firing, if you can think of an area behind the scenes: he runs it.

He is also my direct boss.

So I am a good noodle.

I work the night shift, solo.

I actually show up on days I’m scheduled.

I show up on time.

I do my job, even!

I have received nothing but positive reviews from my boss and his boss!

But we are not here to celebrate these achievements.

We are here to celebrate what happened when I told him no.

In the summer of last year, I was out of town picking up the GF from the airport, after she had a wonderful trip to Belize.

We had a good weekend doing the things couples like to do, when right after eating my favorite pizza, I felt my stomach rejecting the food I had eaten.

The next dozen hours were brutal.

I emptied more out of me than I thought my body could hold.

Obviously I was sick.

I could barely pack my bags the next morning, let alone actually move them to the car.

It’s still bright and early, not long past dawn, when I realize I’m gonna need a day to recover.

So, I contact my boss.

I lay it out for him, and for the first time in over a year and a half, let him know that my shift that night needs to be covered.

Of course calling out sick is ok!

The policy book I had read like a good employee told me that calling in sick is okay!

Calling in sick for one day doesn’t require a note, only the second and consecutive days would.

I wouldn’t have to go to a doctor for a note because it’s only one day, so I can rest and come back in good as new….

But I wouldn’t be posting here if I got off work that easy would I?

He told me I’d either have to work or I’d have to get a doctors note.

After 18 months or more, never calling in sick, covering every shift I was asked to, he picks NOW to treat me like a child.

Alright, may as well.

So I go to one of those urgent care clinics.

Nurse gives me a 2 minute consultation, sends me out with prescription strength anti nausea meds and 3 copies of a doctors note (because you’re darn right I’m keeping my own copy).

I read the note, and it states: <OP> is sick and cannot perform job duties for 5 days, signed <doc>

Huh. Why not?

Wow, he can’t even be bothered to acknowledge the note?

I shoot him a picture of the note aaand radio silence.

Now, this man works 9-5.

He does not work nights.

I have another coworker who does my job on my days off, so I expect him to have been called in that night.

After the radio silence, and since I was still up that night anyway, I prepared my two weeks notice just in case they’re going to try and make me work anyway.

I go into work with a copy of the doctors note and my notice to meet people at the shift change.

To my surprise, I saw my boss, and he looked bad.

He looks at me, confused as to why I’m here.

Before he spoke, I handed him the note (not my notice yet), and said:

“Glad you’re here, and hi <receptionist>! Boss, here’s a copy of my doctors note. Figured I’d drop this off in person since you didn’t reply to me in the last 8 or so hours. Can I go home and rest now?”

Boss: “… I can’t believe you were actually sick. Guess I’ll see you next week…”

Receptionist: “Hope you feel better!”

Sleep is often the best medicine.

And with that I left. The next several days were spent recovering, sleeping an ungodly amount.

I am really glad I listened to the doc!

The aftermath of this whole event isn’t very exciting, but it was satisfying.

The next Tuesday, a week after the Incident, I was pulled into the office.

I was asked why I requested so many days from the doc, how it hurt him to have to fill all those nights, etc.

I gave him the honest reply: “Doc didn’t ask how long I needed. I just asked for a doctors note and I was handed that! I still have a couple copies if you lost one!”

He started to protest, saying I should have corrected Doc, but I stopped him: “Get a copy of the policy book would ya,” he did.

“Turn to the attendance policy and read out the portion about sick days and doctors notes,”

Boss: “…oh”

He really put him in his place here.

Me: “Yup. So If you keep pestering me about this, I’m going to go to the owner (his boss) and ask to be compensated for the cost of that clinic visit and ask that you be reprimanded for not following your own policies. Or you can let me do my job and not treat me like a child going forward.”

That spells the end of that conversation, and I wasn’t bothered again.

Still gave my two-weeks soon after.

Sick days are an inconvenience, but they are not nearly as bad as a sick employee coming in and spreading their germs.

Why don’t managers realize this?

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Sadly, few managers will learn this lesson.

Yes, this was a great way to handle the situation.

What a jerk.

I’m sure they do it all the time.

And they wonder why good employees quit.

What is wrong with this manager?

The same thing that’s wrong with most of them, apparently.

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.