Calling off sick

[bailey2227]

Hi, I am working as a part-time sorter. I am wondering how calling off sick works? I just passed my 30 working days of probation. When I went through training the supervisor said you can basically call off whenever? I was wondering if this is really true?

They told us in training that once you are in the Union it is basically next to impossible to get let go? Please don't think I am the type to call off on a weekly basis or every friday or monday. I just want to know what the real truth is behind this.

I am a full-time college student as well. Since we don't get sick time if I want to call off 1-2 times a month or whatever the case may be is it really true they can't do anything?

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[drewed]

Its hard to fire a union member, by no means impossible and the younger and more inexperienced they are the easier it is.....
I would sit down and tell your supervisor the situation, Im going to bust my ass for you
I also have school and thats the priority and on occasion i may need a day off sometime... im assuming youd know a couple days in advance, due to hw schedules and test schedules? well make sure he knows in advance too.

 

[bailey2227]

Thanks for the response. I understand that if I know I am going to need a day or two off in advance I should let them know. What I am asking is more of when you need off a few hours in advance. I know the contract says to call off no less than 1 hour before the start of your shift. However, since we don't get sick time. I am wondering how that would work. I guess I should just go with what the supervisor said during training and if that becomes a issue the other 8 people who were in training can back me on what we were told.

 

[drewed]

No, dont listen to that, its jackassed thinking.
You can get fired for hibitually calling in, like i said sit down with your supervisor and explain yourself....he doesnt have to accomodate if he doesnt want to and hes sure to be less accomodating if you use the logic you were taught in training.

 

[bailey2227]

So, if you call off 1-2 days a month you can get fired for that? This person who trained me was a Management employee who has been working there for 12 years. Again, referring back to my original post I am not someone who is going to call off "on a regular" basis. But, by the same time I want to know what my rights are.

I just finished reading some posts from a while back. It talks about employees being harrassed when they called in. That really struck a nerve with me. The bottom line is UPS doesn't give us sick days. We get 1 week of vacation after 1 year of service and 1 week of option pay which equals two weeks. Plus, the 8 holidays off and paid.

There is no where that we get sick days. This person I am referring to also told our training class if we called off 1-2 days during training that is not bad. They had a bunch of employees come talk to us during our training week and they were joking around about them being lucky to have employees showing up to work.

When you are a full-time college student and taking 18 credits a semester and working Mon-Fri there are going to be times/days when you have finals,etc. where I will utilize your advice and let my supervisor know.

Above and beyond that if a situation comes up where my wife is sick, or I need to see a doctor and it has to be at night, I shouldn't be "scared" to call off. That is the whole reason for my post.

I would rather UPS say okay you get 10 sick days in a year, than be told OK you can call off whenever you want. Just don't make it a habit of every friday. The impression I get is if you call off every other week and change it up and not make it a pattern then who cares. That is not a good attitude to have, but it is the truth.

Does that make sense?

 

[bailey2227]

Just curious, but are you in management by chance?

 

[drewed]

Yea im a managament person

And I completely understand things in life arise, some sups are and some arent. You do accrue sick time (some one help me out with the rate and when) i think you get 5 days in a yr not 100% positive though.

 

[soberups]

Calling in sick counts as one occurence. If you have over 6 occurences in a 9 month period you can face disciplinary action for absenteeism. People with ongoing health issues who require some sort of regular medical treatment can fill out FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) paperwork so that any preplanned treatment will not count as an occurence.

 

[bailey2227]

So, if you were sick and called off lets just say 2-3 days in a row, that is only 1 occurence then correct? I worked for the airlines prior to coming to UPS. I was layed off when they had Mass layoffs. We had a point system where you were only allowed so many points in a year. If you went over those points you were basically terminated. If you were sick and called off lets just say mon, tues, and wed that was 1 point. Is that the same way it works at UPS?

I appreciate everyone's help.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

Calling in sick and requesting a day off are two totally different issues. If you know that you need the time off and schedule it with UPS, no problem. Chronic sick calls will draw attention to yourself. Do you work in a hub or center? You would be missed more in a small center than in a big hub I would imagine.

 

[bailey2227]

Hi Helen! Thanks for jumping in. I work at a Hub. We do 150,000 packages a day. In peak we do over 200,000. I was told we are one of the busiest in the country.

Can you clarify do we get sick time? I am going to ask my supervisor again on Monday, but I am pretty sure they said we don't get sick time.

Also, I understand what you mean by scheduling time off and that not counting against you as opposed to "calling off sick"

 

[drewed]

up here its 3 occurences in 9 months
but absentisism and tardiness count seperately
but a 3 day call in counts as 1 but UPS can refuse returing to work after the on the 3rd withought a drs note

 

[drewed]

Also, I understand what you mean by scheduling time off and that not counting against you as opposed to "calling off sick"

It still can count against you, they can refuse to give you the time off, we still have a business to run.

 

[soberups]

So, if you were sick and called off lets just say 2-3 days in a row, that is only 1 occurence then correct?.

Yes that is correct. What that means though is that if you are really sick for 2 or 3 days and you try to come back before you are healed and wind up calling in again on the same illness, it counts as two occurences instead of only one.

 

[Toledo UPSer]

Dude:
This is how it works. If you are late for work it is an infraction. If you call off sick and are off one or two days it is an infraction. If you are sick for 3 or more days you need a doctors note to come back to work. You get 6 infractions in 6 months and then you are in the disciplinary process. If you continue to miss work or have more than 6 infractions in this 6 month window, you could lose your job.

You don't get "sick days" because that encourages employees to call off and use their days, even though they may not be sick. The best advice is to keep your supervisor informed of what you have going on and get a "request off", that does not count against you.

If you are truly sick and can't make it to work, then call off and deal with it when you are feeling better. Just don't make a habit of calling off. That will certainly draw attention to yourself and you don't want that.

Hope this helps.

 

[bailey2227]

Where is UP HERE Drewed? That is pretty vague. I will check with my shop steward to find out exactly what the rules are for my Hub. I have asked questions before and the answers were all over the board. It seems each person wants to have their own answer on what things should be. Regardless, I guess it is kind of goofy to even be asking questions on here, because I am sure each hub has there own rules. Oh well! I guess I can't really get a clear answer on this board.

 

[1989]

Just goto work and you'll be fine.

 

[drewed]

im the furthest up here anyone can be

 

[drewed]

Why did it take you a year to get a job at ups?

 

[bailey2227]

Huh?!? It didn't take me a year. Actually, I was offered a job at a few different locations and put them on hold. I got a job working at the Airlines and they went through Mass layoffs. I called up HR and they had me come in the same day. They have already asked if I'd be interested in part-time sup, but I can tell that is a bad decision to make.