How to Handle Being Denied Sick Leave Despite Medical Proof and Unlimited Leave Policy?

I am working with XXX India for the last 6 months, and the experience has been horrible with the team. Due to stress, I fell sick and am now traveling back home for a complete diagnosis. However, I received an email from my lead stating that he won't approve my leave and will mark me as absconding. I have already sent him the entire scanned medical documents. Can anyone suggest how to tackle this situation? I want to mention that XXX provides unlimited sick leave to its employees.

Regards

If you have informed your team leader that you are unable to continue due to your illness and require leave, you need to submit all your prescriptions, treatments, and other relevant medical bills to your HR. However, you must have permission from your team leader since you will be working under him upon your return.

If you have had a negative experience with them, as you mentioned, then you should consider looking for a new job after some time and not worry about it. However, if you are using your illness as an excuse and are concerned about this negative experience, I don't think you are on the right path.

When you return, presenting valid reasons along with your complete treatment, prescriptions, bills, and other relevant medical documents to your team leader will help him understand your situation and approve your leave. Remember to also provide the same documentation to your HR for their records. While your team leader cannot take on the role of HR personnel, he can provide more guidance since you will be working under him upon your return. Consider this aspect carefully.

Now, make sure to take proper medication. Take care and best of luck.

Dear Deepika, From your query, what I understood is that you need to inform about your sick leave within the stipulated period set by your employer. In case you did not report the status of your leave or ill health, and your employer has no information about your leave, it will be looked at as follows:

1. You were absent from your duties.
2. Since you were absent from your duties beyond a certain number of days stipulated by your employer, there is a possibility of you being treated as an absconding employee.

Regards, Amit Lingayat

To visit "Maverick's HR Euphoria" - my HR blog, refer to my profile.

No company will sanction unlimited sick leaves. There must be some ceiling.

No organization gives unlimited sick leave to people who have worked for the firm for 20 years, let alone six months. Hence, you can't do much having worked for them for only six months; you can only appeal to the HR.

Thanks for your reply. I will make a note to bring all my relevant documents regarding the medical condition when I return to work. I have informed the lead on a daily basis about my condition. When there was no considerable improvement in my health, I was advised by the doctor to take complete rest and undergo further diagnosis. The best option was to stay at home because, apart from medication, precaution is also necessary. When I asked for permission for this, I don't know what went wrong, and his response was, "I don't want to get into the technicality/criticality of your illness. I have given you time to recover; still, you are not well, so I can't run the business in the same way, and I am forced to mark you as absconding if you are not resuming your services." I was just shocked to hear all this and stressed too.

Hi, if you have informed your team leader about your inability to continue due to your illness and required leave, you just need to submit all your prescriptions/treatments and other relevant medical bills to your HR. However, you must have taken permission from him because you have to work under him upon your return. As you mentioned that your experience with them is not good, you might consider looking for a new job after some time and not worry about it. But if you are making excuses for your illness and are worried about this bad experience with them, I don't think you are on the right path.

Returning to Work with Medical Documentation

When you return and present a valid reason with your complete treatment/prescription/bills and other relevant medical documents to him, surely he will understand your situation and approve your leave. Also, you have to present the same documents to your HR for their records. Your team leader can't perform the job of HR personnel but can guide you more because you have to work under him upon your return. Think about it first. Now you need to take proper medication. Take care and best of luck.

Regards.

Thank you for your reply. I have been informing my lead about my illness on a daily basis. For proper documentation purposes, I have sent him all the scanned documents stating my medical condition.

In your response below, you mentioned two points that could label me as absconding. Am I falling under those categories?

Thank you,

Deepika

Thank you for your reply. XXX India states that it relies on its employees, and genuine medical/sick leaves are unlimited. Your PLs/earned leave won't be affected, which means you will receive your salary regardless of sick leave.

My appeal to HR should be for granting me leave, taking action against my Team Leader for mental torture, or changing my team.

I don't know what others think and have experienced in this regard, but my six years of experience in different industries and my knowledge suggest that you need to inform your HR personnel about everything concerning your illness.

Sometimes, bosses fail to understand the situations employees face and assume that employees are taking leave intentionally for some hidden purpose. They may use language similar to what your team leader has used. In reality, they may simply be trying to verify the reason for your leave or your behavior.

I have witnessed this scenario many times and have discussed it with several people, which is why I feel confident in saying this. While some people in this situation may not agree with me, I'm not trying to give advice but rather sharing what I have observed and experienced throughout my career and life.

You should inform your HR personnel and team leader again and try to persuade them. Additionally, it's important to return to work as soon as you can. In the meantime, prioritize getting proper medication and rest.

"We should not worry about the consequences before attempting something, as only then can we determine the rightness or wrongness of our actions. Why should we be afraid of taking action?"

During your absence, focus on your recovery and make sure to follow your prescribed medication and rest regimen. Take good care and best of luck.

Regards

In case you are keeping your employer informed about your sickness and leave thereof (not only by telephone but also by way of written communication), there is no reason why they would treat you as an absconded employee. However, it also becomes mandatory for you to keep your HR in the loop in every form of communication you are involved with your TL.

Best Regards,
Amit Lingayat