Would you accept this call out excuse?

[motherof3sons]

Thursday night I got a call at 7pm from a night shift CNA saying she was tired and didn't sleep that day and couldn't come in for her shift 11-7.

I told her that I that I would write up the call-out slip, but I didn't think being tired was an acceptable excuse. I got a string of profanities and then "fine, I'll come in"

I called my DON and double checked with her and she backed me up....but wow....if you are going to call out, come up with a better excuse, please!

[GundeRN]

I am disgusted by all the shotty work ethic. Wouldn't I love a personal day. And I have them too, I just ask for time off and take PTO BEFORE the schedule comes out. Or I make a trade ahead of time, not call off a few hours before my shift and leave everyone else running their butts off because I need a little ME time. How selfish.

Now as for not getting any sleep, I could see it as an excuse if she worked the night before but not if this was her first night.

[jkosinski9]

I have been on the night shift for 21 years now and have taken hundreds of call ins for day shift. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is the one from the ADON. she said ( I let the dog out this morning and he took my shoe and now I don't have anything to wear.) I told her I was putting her down for being sick.

[Kaci82]

Some of the excuses I got:

1. "I have a hangover." (At least they were honest.)

2. "My sister is in the hospital" Me: "for what?" Them: "I don't know." Supposedly this employee went to the hospital, still had no idea what sis was in the hospital for. He had on Facebook what a great time he had late at night drinking. I made him come in.

3. "My mom is in the hospital dying from cancer." I found out later that mom had cancer, but was fine.

4. "My cousin is in the hospital." Me: "that is not a close enough relative." I found out later that she only met this cousin once.

5. "My dog is having puppies."

6. "My brother was in a bad accident." I found out later it was a total lie.

I'm sorry, but I would be offended if someone told me that my cousin "is not a close enough relative." Who are you to say that?

Also, I find you to be very intrusive by asking for such details. It is none of your business.

Sick time is earned. Period.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

In many companies cousin is not close enough for death/funeral time. Most companies it's mother father sister brother spouse child grandparent grandchild. Some companies allow paid or unpaid funeral time for aunt, uncle first degree cousin but not all.

If you call out for funeral/bereavement time they get to ask so you get the appropriate benefit time. Mom, dad, spouse , child is usually a longer benefit time (3-5 days) than secondary or tertiary family members. My mom & sister don't work in healthcare and were given 7-10 days paid bereavement for planning, funeral, bereavement when my dad died. and my sister an extra travel day as she was 3000 miles away. My sister that works for a great healthcare system was offered 3 days bereavement when my dad died

[EBibeault]

I agree that this excuse may not be the "best" excuse however the FACT is this, management is not supposed to ask WHY and as an employee, you DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE A REASON Period! You have sick days to use if you are not able to do your work safely. She callout out at 7pm which gives management adequate time to find someone to cover. I work for the government and I can call off anytime to include up to 4 hrs AFTER the tour starts. Her being out is none of the other staffs business unless it becomes habitual and then the management needs to deal with it. People need to do their own jobs well and stop worrying about other employees. To JustBeachyNurse--I presume you know this person and her habits since you are so quick to assume she was calling out to party! Behaviors like this are a sure way to get yourself in trouble with your colleagues.

[EBibeault]

I am disgusted by all the shotty work ethic. Wouldn't I love a personal day. And I have them too, I just ask for time off and take PTO BEFORE the schedule comes out. Or I make a trade ahead of time, not call off a few hours before my shift and leave everyone else running their butts off because I need a little ME time. How selfish.

Now as for not getting any sleep, I could see it as an excuse if she worked the night before but not if this was her first night.

I would agree with your work ethic opinion as it is so very true however the facts are clear, you earn your sick time, leave time, PTO time, whatever. Legally a manager,supervisor does not have the right to ask "what's wrong" and employees are not obligated to tell. If the manager questions the absence then the manager needs to address it with a sick leave restriction or something but there again, management will need to have substantial information of abuse to do so.

How do YOU know this isn't much needed "ME" time for her.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

In my view, I don't really that the right/authority to question another employees reason for calling off at the time they call off. If I'm asked about said reason later on, but a manager or whatnot, I will offer an opinion...but, at the time, it's not my place to judge the reason.

As for "I'm too tired to come in"....I worked night shift as a CNA. There are some days you just can't sleep. For various reasons, it just isn't happening, and those reasons might have nothing to do with drinking/partying/goofing off/etc. While I have never felt I was unsafe d/t lack of sleep, I have been close, and, with even less sleep, I could have been too tired to work. Therefore, I think it is a valid excuse--an adult is able to determine for themselves if they are too tired to be safe on the job.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Now as for not getting any sleep, I could see it as an excuse if she worked the night before but not if this was her first night.

So just to be clear - how many hours do I have to be awake before I'm unsafe to take care of you, or your family?

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I also think there might be legal issue here (in a civil sense). An employee calls off to me that they are too tired to come to work. I tell them "no, not a valid excuse, you must come." On the way, they fall asleep at the wheel and cause a fatal accident. Or, they come to work, make a critical error while taking care of a patient/resident, and they say "I was too tired to think straight...I was going to call in, but nurse psu_213 made me come it, even when I said it would be unsafe for me to do so." That could put me in some hot water.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry, but I would be offended if someone told me that my cousin "is not a close enough relative." Who are you to say that?

I totally agree. Yeah, you found out later that they only met their cousin once. Well, what if that cousin was like a brother to him? What if their cousin was raised in the same house as the employee? Based solely on family tree, it may appear that a cousin is not a close enough relative, but there may be way more to the situation....and when they are actually calling off, it really not the best time to get into this with them.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

"The same thing happened at a local LTC and it turned out to be a viral outbreak ( Astrovirus I think ). Best prevention was washing hands in warm soapy water. Turned out the hot water heater was not set high enough so staff. & patients couldn't effectively wash hands. Staff had complained but an edict from the health dept threatening to shut down the facility."

It's the soap and friction that kills the germs...not the temperature of the water.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

So we should give the third degree because the floor is short when a person calls in. Does replacement staff magically materialize when the call is "legitimate"?

If you don't have a replacement when I call in with a hangover, you wouldn't have had a replacement if I called in with the flu. Management's lack of planning for people to use their sick time isn't the fault of the staff that's calling in, it's the fault of management. Perhaps if people were treated with respect like adults instead of children who need a note from their mommy proving they're sick, they'd not need these unplanned mental health days away from the place.

It is NOT my fault if you call out....it's yours. Do you think I have a supply of extra staff just waiting to come in because you don't feel like coming to work? I know people get sick and certainly I don't want them coming to work if they are truly ill, but if you need a 'mental health day', ask...switch with a co-worker.