When to call in sick?

My former corporate shop made you go to the doc every time you called in sick. He would validate you were sick with a note, when you were ready to go back to work you went to see him again to be cleared to fly. Yes, company paid for it but it was a huge hassle when all you had was a cold or ate some bad sushi.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
My former corporate shop made you go to the doc every time you called in sick. He would validate you were sick with a note, when you were ready to go back to work you went to see him again to be cleared to fly. Yes, company paid for it but it was a huge hassle when all you had was a cold or ate some bad sushi.
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Pure intimidation.

If I went to the doctor with what's clearly the common cold, I'd just infect the office and be sent home empty handed anyway.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Seriously, people, listen to the man. I didn't have it as bad as @Gonzo, but I've ruptured my ear drums twice. The doc says I lose 2% of my hearing with each rupture. Not to mention that it hurts like hell right up until it ruptures. Imagine an ice pick being driven into the side of your skull and your jaw. Not fun.
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Last time I powered through I was fine the whole flight, even the descent. As soon as the wheels touched the runway it felt like someone drove an ice pick into my forehead. Nothing like shouting out in pain rolling down the runway. Not doing that again.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
My former corporate shop made you go to the doc every time you called in sick. He would validate you were sick with a note, when you were ready to go back to work you went to see him again to be cleared to fly. Yes, company paid for it but it was a huge hassle when all you had was a cold or ate some bad sushi.
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I remember when Pinnacle played this card after you had like 2 or 3 sick calls in a year. My primary care in MEM was also an AME. He was incensed that the company not only was wasting my time forcing me to see him with a head cold that would clear up in a day or two with over the counter meds, but he was incensed that they were wasting HIS time as well since really all he did was talk to me, look in my ears, say "Yep, you're sick and shouldn't fly" and write me a note. The problem happens when a company decides to punish EVERYONE for the 2% of guys that abuse the system.

I don't think our policy at jetBlue is draconian or anything at all. If I'm sick, I call in sick. I make sure to do it BEFORE I start my reserve shift, though. We've got some guys on reserve that will roll the dice and not getting called so they don't have to use sick time, then they get the phone call and say "Uh.....I'm sick." That's a little shady, IMO, and I feel if you're not able to accept an assignment for any reason (sick, mental health, fatigue) you shouldn't even start you reserve period. I don't keep track of my sick calls (and with my wife's now laundry list of health issues, I've called in sick more than a few times), and I've NEVER heard a word from the CP office. Are they tracking it and have a file on me? Maybe. Do I care? Not really.

The issues we were having when the new policy got implemented were that there were a lot of "F the company" guys that would do things just to poke their finger in the company's eye. Nothing good really ever comes of that. I don't agree with how the policy was implemented, and I think as it was written originally, it wasn't a very good one. As it stands now, I don't have any problems with it at all. The feeling around here has kinda shifted from "F the company" to "business as usual." Leadership change is helping a lot of that, and it seems like flight ops management is legitimately willing to work with the new union leaders (and vice versa). Seems that a lot of the bad eggs that hated life have either quit or moved on to greener pastures as well.
 
We solved the doctor's note problem at AirTran by having it in the CBA that the company couldn't just request a note. They had to actually schedule you an appointment, send you there with pay, and the only thing the doctor could do was tell them whether you were fit to fly or not. That pretty much eliminated any company desire to want doctor's notes.
 
So far, the only thing I've heard is "Feel better" from scheduling and phone calls from my CPs while my wife was in surgery to check on how she was doing. No requests for any kind of documentation whatsoever. Pinnacle was the complete opposite end of the spectrum. They wanted a note for anything after the 2nd or 3rd sick call and once called to JM in the middle of a funeral when I was out on bereavement leave......
 
I call in sick at the first sign of coming down with something. Scratchy throat? I'll punch out.

I used to call out more frequently when I would fly 80+ a month as a lineholder. Now on reserve, my sick calls are a lot less frequent. It's amazing how much your health improves when you aren't flying all the time.
 
kellwolf said:
So far, the only thing I've heard is "Feel better" from scheduling and phone calls from my CPs while my wife was in surgery to check on how she was doing. No requests for any kind of documentation whatsoever. Pinnacle was the complete opposite end of the spectrum. They wanted a note for anything after the 2nd or 3rd sick call and once called to JM in the middle of a funeral when I was out on bereavement leave......
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Yeah even at me regional that has a fairly confrontational sick/absence policy no one cares.

"Guys, I'm calling out sick for this 4 day. Sorry"
"No problem. Call us when you are better"
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If you cross reference my sick calls to my domicile and monthly block numbers it becomes readily apparent I'm allergic to both commuting and work.

Snuggle said:
I used to call out more frequently when I would fly 80+ a month as a lineholder. Now on reserve, my sick calls are a lot less frequent. It's amazing how much your health improves when you aren't flying all the time.
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ZapBrannigan said:
Well, commuted in feeling ok. Went to bed early. Woke up around 11pm coughing and wheezing. Figured that was a lousy way to start a 3 day, so called in sick.

Woke up this morning feeling a little better and now commuting home. Hard not to feel guilty when you're back to feeling ok again. I really hate calling in sick. I guess it's that mission mentality we have as pilots. We've been assigned a job and we want to get it done. Part of me wishes that I was feeling a lot worse this morning to help me justify my decision.
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I have a similar mindset, but I'm getting better at not feeling so guilty. A part of my mind thinks I need to be half dead with influenza before I make the call, and feels guilty if I am just a "little sick." I have to deal with sinus issues like many on this board, and in the past I have gone to work with them (they give me splitting headaches, but gratefully no pressurization problems) and powered my way through the trip. The mindset was "this is nothing some Mucinex D, Redbull and Exedrin can't cure. Sick hours accrue slowly and I want to use them why I really need them."

Now in the past few years I have tried to alter my way of thinking regarding being mildly sick. If I go to work in that condition I'm probably not sleeping well either. I am a liability. If I happen to really jack something up I'm more likely to get crucified by the FAA and or thrown under he bus by the company. Nobody will have my back.

On this issue my wifey tends to think like ATN Pilot. She told me something like this when I was humming and hawing about calling in for a sinus infection recently..... "This isn't a military mission, you're not serving you're country, you're working for a corporation."
 
I have to say, when this thread was first posted, I was like 'seriously', are we really talking about this???? However, I am really happy that this thread was posted and the sentiments shared.

As some of you know, myself and @PhilosopherPilot have had heated arguments over the validity of sick policies. I have stated that 99% of pilots want to do the right thing and don't abuse sick time. Those that do usually have some other issue (that can be medically related) they need to take care of. Furthermore, I have stated, you don't make a policy for the small minority who are abusing the system. This should be easy to comprehend especially considering the fact that in recent times, an airliner crashed when one of the crew members was sick and could have been concerned with the consequences of calling in sick due to their companies policy.

We have had multiple pilots, from a wide variety of backgrounds/airlines/situations here saying the same thing. They don't want to call in sick but will if they need to. Some folks even 'agonize' over it. It is clear to me, and reinforced in this thread, that my point of pilots wanting to do the right thing 99% of the time is valid. No need to make ANY policy over sick time. The few questionable calls can be handled with ProStandards.

Overwhelmingly folks want to do the right thing.
 
My point was only that the company cannot punish abusers if the definition of abuse hasn't been established. If there is literally NO policy, then you can call out 50 times a year, and there's nothing anyone can do but call and shame you. A "You better shape up" call from pro stands doesn't mean much if there are no standards to begin with. I'm not sure why this is controversial.

Add to that the fact that @kellwolf told you that YES we had rampant widespread sick calls at my company before the new policy was created, and I'm pretty sure my point is made.

Again, our policy was poorly designed and implemented, you'll get no disagreement there. But abuse has stopped, or at least slowed to the normal trickle. Could this have been handled better, maybe with a high-end limit and a clear email saying, "Come on guys, stop calling in sick all the time." Of course it could. But then we are just arguing about the implementation.
 
my philosophy is that sick time bank is my time and my version of what being sick is should not be defined by anyone but myself. It should really be called "unfit for duty" time. If i don't get the sleep i need the night before a trip starts i consider that a "sick call" is justified.
 
skyw82 said:
my philosophy is that sick time bank is my time and my version of what being sick is should not be defined by anyone but myself. It should really be called "unfit for duty" time. If i don't get the sleep i need the night before a trip starts i consider that a "sick call" is justified.
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I'm actually converting my own company's sick and vacation banks to a single PTO bank starting in January because I agree with this. It's your time, so use it as you see fit.

However, most airlines don't have that. They have sick time. So unless you're sick, you shouldn't be using it. Otherwise, it's a lie.
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
My point was only that the company cannot punish abusers if the definition of abuse hasn't been established.
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There doesn't need to be a definition of "abuse." The only thing that matters is are you sick, or are you not. If you're not, then you're a liar, and lying to the company is always a terminable offense. No additional policy is necessary unless you're just trying to keep people from calling in sick when they're sick.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
There doesn't need to be a definition of "abuse." The only thing that matters is are you sick, or are you not. If you're not, then you're a liar, and lying to the company is always a terminable offense. No additional policy is necessary unless you're just trying to keep people from calling in sick when they're sick.
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Sounds good online. Doesn't work in practice.
 
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