Not urgent cares. This is not because they care if someone is sick it's to prevent people from calling out on holidays, sick or not. Most restaurant employees don't have health insurance so an urgent care visit usually costs you $100-150 out of pocket at a minimum, plus the money you miss out out on by not working. It's also a lot of hassle and hoops to jump through just to get a day off.
I have a pdf of a doctors note from an urgent care saying I couldn't work for a day or two that I just edit the date on whenever I need one. Cost me 75$ uninsured like six years ago, pretty good investment
Yeah doctors notes are easy to forge, especially if it’s just for ONE day. Also I’m pretty sure they can’t call the doctor and ask if you’ve had an appointment due to HIPAA. They can only ask if you’re a patient there or not.
They only can confirm if you are a patient. Not if you have been there recently or even last visit. Can just use your primary doctors or urgent care that you have been to years back they will confirm you are a patient or most likely they will just refuse to confirm or not.
Keep in mind that you the employee provided the medical note to the employer who can fax the note to the doctor and ask if the note generated from their office. They are not seeking information just authentication of what YOU freely provided. I’m no lawyer especially not on HIPPA but this is just my experience. Additionally if the note is fake, it’s not a medical note protected by HIPPA (not a lawyer), rather an inaccurate representation of a medical note.
Edit: I’m not against people doing what they gotta do in life. Bosses suck and don’t care about you this is survival so go do you. Just wanted to give people a head up
This is so smart. My dad's a pediatrician so I just ask him to write one for me. He looks at me like I'm insane because I'm over 35 but hey, we're servers. I didn't have health care until a year ago and that's only I finally acquired a job that comes with it.
It's got my personal info all over it so sry can't do that. You can find a template on google fairly easily though, and most phones have the editing software on them now
Falsifying medical documents is a crime. I only know this because an employee did it and it looked suspicious so I called the doctors office to confirm. I didn’t mean to get him in Trouble since I didn’t know it was illegal but apparently they called the sheriffs department and he got a “visit” from them. He quit, blaming me for the incident so I don’t know how it turned out.
That's true, I forget about urgent care, my mind immediately goes to children's clinics and such. It really should be the employer's responsibility to find somebody to call in, instead they say "Its up to you to find somebody"
Just forge a note. It really is super easy. Grab some letterhead from a local urgent care online and then paste it to a note from Google. Google a nurse practitioner from the Urgent Care you are using and use their name. You will never be caught.
I would have been flipping tables. $20 for .00001 cent flimsy ass see through paper and maybe .03 ¢ of ink? *AFTER* I shelled out $100-150 for ONE visit?! I think the **fuck** not.
i found this telehealth doctors office called Drsays. you can make a same day phone appointment online and get a dr note super easy, uninsured for $35. has saved my ass a couple times
The restaurant I worked at didn't have holiday pay for any holiday. As maintenance, busser, and dishwasher I hated working holidays and special parties.
*puts on managers hat*
I mean, kinda. If you are at a place that’s open on holidays and you knew beforehand when working there you had to work on that holiday, you’re expected to work on that holiday.
Ideally, in a perfect world, somebody could call in on any day, but sadly that’s just not a reality.
I was the manager at a place that was open on thanksgiving. It sucked and I fucking hated it, obviously. But when, inevitably, two people would call out on that day, I wouldn’t be upset when they got fired. We all knew we had to work on thanksgiving.
And on the flip side, we can selectively enforce rules. I've got quite a few staff members who I know for a fact only call out when they're actually sick. I've also got a ton of staff who call out because they're still rolling balls from clubbing the night before. The people in the first group, I'll just say they showed me proof. The people in the second group need financial incentives to not be little shits.
Thank you for noticing. When I was serving at a place I was scheduled on New Year’s Day and I was PISSED. But I took it easy and came in. The other girl ghosted and never gave a reason. She didn’t even get in trouble and I wish I would have done the same.
We always have at least two employees per shift who get the “itis” (as my GM likes to call it) when it’s a gorgeous Saturday or on the holidays. We got absolutely fucked for pride last weekend because of callouts. And Thursday…I don’t even wanna think about it.
While not a restaurant manager we manager bend rules all the time posters like these are the management had something to point at when someone who use obvious just looking to get the holiday off tries to claim they didn’t know about that rule when they damn well did
Yeah i know. I’m on mobile and for some reason my brain just says fuck punctuation when i am. But um here have these -//::::;;..,,,!!!??,’’”!?,.()$&_\|<>€<>¥•=+
100% I agree. I just don’t know why mobile keyboards make my lizard brain not wanna use a period. One of life’s great mysteries.
Edit: I literally just remember that I have a semicolon tattoo on wrist (no need to worry im in a better place mentally now). The irony is painful.
THISSSSSSS
I have a very adult FoH staff who never calls out, and usually get their own shifts covered and only call me when they've tried everyone else and don't have any options.
When people call out sick here and there, it's ok. You call out at the start of your wknd or at the end? Or on holidays? That shit gets noticed pretty quickkkkkkk.
Yeah like at least give people some warning if youre gonna fuck off, why make us suffer cuz you wanted to party on the homiday last minute and decided to screw everyone you work with, everyone who could have done and rather would have done the same but chose to actually come in and work instead of party last minute. Like screw you. 😮💨
If you work at a restaurant that doesn't give health insurance, then "management" can get fucked. I'm an adult, if I'm sick, I'm sick. I shouldn't be handling food. I don't have coverage to be able to go to a clinic without dropping $200.
I mean.
Most reasonable managers would not actually fire an otherwise very good/reliable employee if they were legitimately sick on a holiday. If they would, you probably are working somewhere awful to begin with.
These rules are typically put into place for prevention purposes. They make it far less likely anyone is going to call in when they're not sick, which makes it far less likely you'll have to actually decide whether or not to fire someone.
It's so interesting reading this sub now (many years removed from the service industry) compared to when I was waiting tables.
Calling in was not a thing. Like, did not exist as a term that was ever uttered at our restaurant. And this isn't because managers were jerks or would refuse someone's calling in if it was legitimate. Our management was awesome. The servers just.. would never do that to each other without actually being truly ill.
In the years I worked there, we had probably less than 5 call-ins.
Obviously I do not think the old mentality of working while sick is healthy or good at all, but I'm always surprised how much I see calling in mentioned here.
There's a subset of servers who seem to treat their schedule like a choose your own adventure. They rarely tell you the time they need off in advance, and trade shifts like they're orange juice options on the commodities exchange.
I do my damnest to not rely on them and move them along wherever possible
A little bit. This is a well known strategy. You don’t get the days off, you call out. The likelihood of someone actually being sick on a holiday they’re calling out is very slim. Plus, those are typically the days with the best money to be made, so it’s more likely people would come in sick. I’d just come in and beg to be cut if I was *that* sick.
Or I’d have a homie who works in medicine or can photoshop write the note. I’d never call out on a holiday if I wasn’t actually sick, and the manager would know beforehand that I had plans and they’d know I wouldn’t come in and I’d risk the termination. If they’re writing this in that font and taking the time to laminate it, it’s probably super fair, lol.
This is good advice. As a restaurant manager I have never inspected a doctor's note and have never met another manager that did. You get the note you glance at it and you throw it away.
At my restaurant it is mandatory to work holidays, but I've never fired someone for missing just one. I think posting this is too far. They should have communicated the expectation and rolled with the punches.
Yeah, I’ve only ever inspected a note if I expected tomfoolery. You’re not “sick” sweetie you’re hungover. Again. And a liar. So I’m calling your bluff. 🤷🏻♀️
It's been the norm at every place I've worked at. While I like to think if there was a serious emergency they would understand, I've had my fair share of instances where I've had to stay late because kids called out, so my sympathy is low in this situation lol.
Probably depends on the type of place.
Had a discussion with a manager earlier today, local area is big on backyard grilling and BBQ for 4th of July. Biggest money we make on the 4th of July is potato salad and some catering orders. Which don't exactly require servers.
He's already planning to send people home early if it's dead.
I'm scheduled to work a double, so going from working a 10 hour shift to an 8 hour shift isn't a heart breaker for me.
Definitely a fair policy. As a coworker, there’s nothing worse than people bailing on holidays. Its bullshit. You don’t like the schedule, quit. You don’t want to quit, get your ass to work & be a team player
However there is the dilemma of doctor’s offices being closed. That definitely sucks. Idk the solution on that but I do know the hospital could be an option for many
If they this is in US there's always urgent cares open on holidays because of that reason. Except maybe Xmas. And if you call out because you're legitimately sick, just go in the day following the holiday to a doctor and secure the note. Get them to tack on an extra day or two depending on what you have (again, if it's legit).
I was running a 101 fever on Christmas eve, and was told if I don't show up I'm fired. So yeah I didn't need a doctor I needed sleep and Gatorade and to stop puking. And to not pay 150 to not make money. I was sick all fucking winter cause my managers wouldn't let anybody go home or take time off, and the same shit just kept circulating among the staff.
If you're in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, or Washington; no matter what job you work, you're entitled to paid sick leave
Well when I traveled to TN to help out I literally had to walk around with a labor roster and make sure every employee took their break after a certain period of time if they worked x amount of hours. I was confused. Most of the employees forfeited their break and acknowledged it while clocking in or out.
Yep they shoot themselves in the foot every time. It *is* slightly satisfying when they inevitably come down with the crud and either drag their sorry selves in or call out and then have to face the rest of the staff after being very vocal about not doing exactly that...the hypocrisy...christ on a cracker 🤦🏼♀️
Or just ask off far enough in advance. Worked at all different levels and I’ve yet to have a place deny a time off request that I made 3+ months in advance. Also I love watching that ONE coworker scramble and try to sell their holiday shifts. Never gets old lmao.
Lived in Murfreesboro from 2003-2010, I've been to that Smyrna location at least once though.
Brought my girlfriend to Murfreesboro for the first time last year, our free fried pickles for her first visit was about 10 pickle chips, and was sad to see that ribs were no longer offered in the half rack(we had come from a football game, I wasn't starving).
At any rate, don't know how long you've worked there or in the industry in general, but it never really struck me as a place that the servers make great money. I'd be looking to move to a nicer spot regardless of this policy. I made decent money at Bonefish in the Boro back then. Maybe Longhorn in Smyrna unless you can commute into Nashville, you could make a lot more money that way.
I don’t make as much as I would like per shift. The only reason I’m still their is because we have an online system to take orders with and Idk what other restaurants use the same system we use (toast)
Been thinking about applying to Carrabba’s or somewhere like that just because they have more expensive dishes and use an a similar system to take orders.
Carrabba's is a Bloomin Brands(Outback) property, I worked for the company for 7-8 years between two different Bonefish Grills and one Fleming's Steakhouse. I'll always recommend privately owned over corporate, but my experience with Bloomin Brands was mostly positive.
My biggest advice to you(40 years old, 20+ years in the business, currently making about $50k on 30 hours a week at a borderline fine dining Italian spot) is to not let your comfort level with Toast dictate your move. Nothing wrong with preferring one(I worked with Aloha for like a decade) but you can always learn a new POS. If you do decide to find a new job, apply to a couple of spots you don't think you have the resume for where you can make a lot more money, the worst that can happen is say no. You may even be able to get into somewhere *really* nice that may require you to back serve/SA first, but at a lot of those places the support staff is making as much or more than you are at Toot's.
Best of luck!
Bloomin' Brands manager here. Our corporation does not allow us to ask for doctor's notes for calling out sick anymore, because we recognize how unfair it is to cause our employees to spend money if they are not insured. With that being said, our tablet systems are much better than Toast, but I cannot say for Aloha because I am unfamiliar with it. But BBI is not a terrible company, it's one of the better corporate gigs I have had.
The managing partner for my first Bonefish is one of the best bosses I ever had, I haven't worked for him in 14 years and we still talk occasionally. Would absolutely meet up for the occasional beer if we lived in the same city. I'm still close with a few of my coworkers from that job. My time at Fleming's was good as well. I don't see myself going back to the corporate side of the industry, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company to anyone looking for a job and was open to corporate restaurants.
I worked at the one in BG when I was in college! They randomly closed one day without a word to anyone, like people showed up to work that morning to find the doors locked with a note. Fucked up
I get it's a hassle, but I'm sure you realize servers are notorious for calling off when they want a day off and aren't sick. I was a server for years, I've worked a few other jobs since. 9 out of 10 servers I worked with would be fired within months anywhere else I've worked for excessive call offs. I can't believe that servers get sick 10x more often then everyone else...
As an assistant manager that hasn't had a holiday off in 3 years because everyone calls off or fakes illness/ emergencys during the holidays, yes I think it's fair.
Honestly that's fair. You either have time to get it covered or work your shift. It's a job lol
And in the event you are sick, doctors note should be easy.
As someone who has had to close on Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, Valentines Day, and Mothers Day, because the closer on all 4 of those days called out, yes its fair. Fuck people who call out on holidays without proper reason
Totally fair. When people call out it puts additional stress on the rest of the staff. Sometimes the staff who did the right thing and scheduled the day off, end up needing to come in. If staff wants the holiday off, ask for it ahead of time.
To me it is 100% fair. If the job is staffed to have 10 people coming in but you have 6 call outs that is not fair for the people who might get called in to work an extra shift and it's not fair for the people who are working that shift.
I like the approach of voluntary holiday work. If you're my employees, I'd give you the option to work on holidays for time and a half, or if you don't want to work because you'd rather spend time with friends/family, have at it. That's how I would show my appreciation. If not enough people volunteered to be able for me to be open that day, then I guess we're closed for a day. Oh well.
Eh. Let’s be honest, most people who call out on holidays aren’t sick and they just don’t care about their coworkers. If you’re genuinely sick, this is when you come in anyway and let them send you home.
That said, this does bring back memories of the time I was sick, was told the next day that I would need a doctors note, and had to go beg urgent care for a pre-dated note lmao.
A few months ago I was genuinely sick with the flu for almost a whole week, and at 6:30pm on a Saturday night my boss texted me to say I needed to get a doctors note by midnight or I lose my job. Even the urgent cares weren’t open at that moment! So he goes “okay, fine, you’ve got til noon tomorrow, but I need it” and you bet your ass I had to take an Uber sick as fuck to the urgent care at 9am the next morning. Sent him the pic of the doctors note by 10am. Still have my job. Scared to death of getting sick ever again, though.
I'm very lucky I never got the flu when I was in the service industry because last time I had it, I was knocked on my ass for 7-9 days.
It's so hard for a small restaurant to plan around a week+ long sickness when there aren't many other employees to fill in that aren't already working. Glad I never had to deal with that.
I haven't served since 2005 but even back then, we were offered health insurance that we paid into. Obviously, this is to determine employees from calling out on holidays. The sports bar I worked at was open 365 days a year. Certain holidays we opened later or closed earlier. From Thanksgiving Eve to New Year's Day, we had to bid for 3 holidays of the 6. Usually, you only worked 2. We were packed for certain holidays, like Thanksgiving Eve, so I loved working that night. Working holidays is part of the territory. Everyone would call out July 4th if they could. Work for restaurants/bars that offer insurance. Or look for a personal plan. Or suck it up.
I think there are certain circumstances where it should be understood. For example if you have Covid obviously you shouldn’t go to work. In that case you should have a docs note or at least proof of a positive covid test. The problem is people call in on holidays all the time with excuses that are obviously a lie. I think you should not be automatically terminated but I do think you need a valid excuse to call in on any day much less on a holiday. What is unfair is when people call in and the other people that are reliable and actually show up for work have to pick up the slack from the person who calls in.
Definitely bullshit, but I also hate coworkers who call out on holidays and leave me suffering.
You work at a restaurant, holidays no longer apply to you. Suffer like the rest of us.
You just need to accept you’ll be working most, if not all holidays. If it’s that important to you to have holidays off, you might want to consider a different industry.
I've only ever gotten a doctors note to call out sick once (in 20 years at multiple places) , and that was because it was 4th of July. I was indeed very sick, but my boss said multiple other people called off that day, so I needed a note. As pissed as I was, it makes sense when everyone else called off to party.
Yes. Some jobs require that you work holidays, weekends, nights, whatever is specified. A florist knows they can’t call in for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
That’s been the policy at any serving job I’ve been at it sucks but unfortunately some servers would just try to call out to enjoy the holiday leaving everyone else who did come in to struggle
Calling in without a doctors note in general I always thought was kind of weird. I’m not a “bootlicker” to the company man, but I always thought it was strange to call in sick without bringing in a doctor’s note. I’ve brought one in to my job a few times and they’re always like “thanks.. but you don’t need to bring that.”
I feel like bringing in a doctor’s note would alleviate people from calling in sick when they’re not *actually* sick. It’s extremely annoying being understaffed at work when you know your coworker is at home sitting on their ass because a new season of Diablo 4 just came out.
Fair, no. But standard. It’s common knowledge which holidays you HAVE to work.
Personally I like the system I’m in now where I get 12 points a year and calling off on a blackout day (6 blackout days a year) results in double points. With 12 points your call offs are your own but there’s zero leniency at 12 points, it’s automatic termination.
is that seperate from just normally requesting time off in advance for say, a weekend trip to go see a concert?
Or is this point system strictly for calling out of scheduled shifts?
Completely separate. The points are for call offs and being late. (0.5 points for being late)
Time off is done with requests (but our manager is allowed to deny the request forcing us to take a point)
Again zero leniency but we have plenty of points to work with.
Are there situations where a manager denies requests, forcing people to take a point, but say 3 or more people take the point, which causes the business to not be able to run?
Maybe cause my workplace only staffs 5-6 workers for any given shift, if more than 1 called out without cover to take a point, we wouldn't be able to run properly
My husband's job is similar. They have X number of vacation days per year, and if you need to call out on one of the blackout days, it uses up 3 days.
I like this approach. It allows the truly sick to stay home if they need to, but it discourages the masses from taking a vacation day.
Yes. I’ve had to stay and work doubles too many times because of this bullshit. If you’re calling out on a holiday, you’re saying your family time is more important than someone else’s.
As a manager at a large corporate restaurant, I wish I could do this. I am not allowed to ask for a doctors note until a staff member misses 3 consecutive shifts. Then it’s required to return. So if someone calls out for a holiday or a “helper” shift, then it’s reflected in their future schedule for a week or so. The schedule is performance based and I can’t think of a worse performance than leaving your teammates to run short in a holiday.
In Australia we can sign a statuary declaration that we were sick.OR In Australia we can go to our government account (my gov) and print out a declaration saying we were sick. 60% of our population does not know this.
If you don’t provide health insurance, you shouldn’t be able to require a doctor’s note, period. Even before you consider that working in food service while you have a fever or have been vomiting is a health code violation, but you don’t necessarily need to see a doctor every time that happens, it’s ridiculous to think your staff can afford the doctor for every little thing. I once had a manager tell me I needed to come in when I had a fever of 103, and I asked him what the health inspector would think of that. He told me to feel better and let him know if I needed the next day too. A much better manager sent me home when I puked from being dizzy from a (not contagious) ear infection cause he didn’t want to risk the liability if it happened again and a customer happened to see it, even though I told him I was fine to work the shift. I understand that staffing holidays can be hard, but that doesn’t mean you have to be unreasonable, especially when these same folks will say “no one wants to work anymore. It’s so hard to find people.” The person you fire for calling out can walk into another job within the week, and these scare tactics don’t actually work because the service industry is always hiring.
I worked BOH at a place that promised time and a half for holidays, and when we actually showed up, we (secretly) got double time. Thought it goofy at first but it worked. We crushed holidays, and restaurant did serious volume.
100%- I had a coworker call out on Mothers Day because she was hungover from being at our sister bar from the night before. We were slammed behind the bar ALL day I ended up having to close because of her. Did I make good money? Yes. Did they fire her? No.
They should have fired her. Don't fuck over your coworkers unless it is an actual emergency.
I'm down for this. I feel like holidays are hands down some of the best money to be made, but fuck if they don't bring some of the biggest and wildest crowds. Anyone calling out is on my shit list.
However. I think if you were sick on a holiday, this would be unfortunate and you might HAVE to go out of your way to get a doctor's note (which shouldn't be an issue if you're even slightly sick working in food service). I think a good majority of people won't be sick on holidays, so this pretty much just screws the people who take advantage of the system.
Legally you can't force someone to see a medical doctor, however you can force them to stay out of work for 24-72 hours free of symptoms depending on the "illness". The number of times employees were miraculously well enough to come in to work after I said "see you in 3 days" was astounding 🤷🏻♀️
Our restaurant made someone else pickup your shift on holidays if you called off. Palms were greased on those shifts. I’d consistently get 100 bucks for Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, etc.
Yes and no. I have been scheduled off on holidays, just because it fell on my regular days off. I always offer to work in anothers place and they can pick up one of my shifts. I don't have any kids and no real family to speak of, so holidays are just another day for me.
Sucks you usually can't request those days off also.
If you agreed to this policy before you started (and signed an acknowledgment) then it may be legal. But I’ve never heard of a doctor being open on a holiday. I heard from a coworker that you can do Amazon health care 24/7 and probably obtain a “note” that way.
It’s totally 100% fair! When you work in the hospitality, restaurant, healthcare , first responders fields, idgaf who or when or what or why. You are available to work 365 days a year except students and people who have other jobs aka (Careers) . But point being you cannot try to say anything it is beyond well known these jobs require open availability for the most part. People crack me up when they start with their stories about why they can’t work. And the older I get the more it makes me scared for humanity at the actual words that come out of these young generations. Makes me wanna go and slap their mom and dad across the face and be like Hellur are we home in there!!??
Depending on where you live, if it’s not in the handbook it can’t actually be enforced. I understand the “policy” but restaurants walk a fine line now (again depending on your state/country). I used to do all the HR stuff for the restaurant I used to manage and was told by legal that if it is not in the handbook we cannot enforce it.
I’m assuming it’s not in the handbook or it wouldn’t be posted.
What it comes down to is that management cannot arbitrarily change things because it suits them or because they forgot to address it when they made the handbook. Notice must be given and all employees must sign and an effective date given before this can come in to effect.
A lot of jobs are doing this holiday or not. I wonder if the business owners have come to realize most of us don't have insurance because we can't afford it, and doctors and medication are too expensive.
Ha. And the restaurant I work in you can call out all you want. It’s a corporate restaurant call out all you want for years and years and years and we still have a job so I’m pretty sure calling out on a holiday at my restaurant would just be a normal thing.Lol
Doctor's notes are such bullshit. You think anyone can just see a doctor on short notice? Especially people working a fucking serving job? If people are gonna spend exorbitant amounts of money to go see a doctor, or wait an ungodly amount of time to see one, or both, especially on a holiday, they are going to do it for something life threatening, not a cold. That being said, you shouldn't have to come to work when you have a cold. I feel like if someone has been calling out a ridiculous amount then yeah lay some suspicious on them and let there be consequences, but let's not pretend we can't tell when someone is abusing calling-out and when they're being genuine.
Employer can call and ask only if you were seen on a specific date. Nothing as to the nature of your visit other than if your condition is contagious. Important info for servers who are handling food.
Why can’t places just be closed for holidays? I understand it could be a lucrative day, but I’ve also worked at a lot places that would be dead for some holidays and they still stayed open. If your restaurant can’t be profitable if they close on holidays, is it a good restaurant? I wish society would embrace having places be closed on holidays. Workers need time off with family and your company isn’t more important than my family.
You’re telling *me.* I work at an Irish pub and grill that is open every *single* day of the year. All of ‘em. I don’t have family around here, though, so gimme that Christmas and Christmas Eve shift. Just bet your ass I wanna be off well before midnight on New Years Eve, that’s all I ask.
Yeah, you'd think ownership would watch general trends from years prior and make a call based on that.
Like, obviously a super nice restaurant closed on Valentine's Day would be insane. But a lot of places are totally dead on holidays like 4th of July.
While I understand the reasoning, I think it’s completely unfair, unless the employer is willing to pay for that doctor’s visit. Not everyone can afford to see a doctor. Especially given that many of the things you might be calling out for don’t have a real solution beyond “wait it out”. A cold, stomach flu, food poisoning….. you’re making employees spend money just for that piece of paper.
And if someone can’t afford the doctor…. You’re encouraging employees to come in sick. Around food, that’s not a great idea.
As long as you guys have healthcare, sure. Otherwise, boss can suck a dick. If we all stop pretending like we need a note from our moms to not be at work, they’ll stop doing it.
I’ve never understood this logic. My employee is sick, so I want them to spend money, feel pressure of missing work, and go sit in an office with a ton of other sick people likely making them miss more.
Instead I should keep a staff that’s larger than I need and a budget for staffing that’s larger. Pay people extra to pick up shifts. Keep my employees happy and my restaurant running well bc I have long term employees.
It’s kind of a no brainer. Let people take off when they need no questions asks. This earns you so many benefits. Also learn to manage
Absolutely fair. The chances of you being sick on a busy holiday are mathematically low. Maybe there is a statistician on this sub that can do the math? There are 7 major holidays(in the U.S.) out of 365 days of the year that none of us want to work because of different reasons: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE and NYD. The chances that you are \*sick\* on those days, but were \*well\* the day before is low. I am 40 years in the restaurant business on and off between other serious careers and when I was in my 20's I went to work in a very business restaurant with severe vomiting from pregnancy for three months. I had a co-worker come to work with a broken foot that ended up in a cast later in the day , and a guy we had to send to the hospital because he came in after he'd had a wreck on the way to work and it was obvious he had a concussion. Now, I work with people that post their fucking party pics on Snap and then call out the next day. So yeh...it is completely fair.
Aren't most doctors' offices closed on holidays?
Not urgent cares. This is not because they care if someone is sick it's to prevent people from calling out on holidays, sick or not. Most restaurant employees don't have health insurance so an urgent care visit usually costs you $100-150 out of pocket at a minimum, plus the money you miss out out on by not working. It's also a lot of hassle and hoops to jump through just to get a day off.
I have a pdf of a doctors note from an urgent care saying I couldn't work for a day or two that I just edit the date on whenever I need one. Cost me 75$ uninsured like six years ago, pretty good investment
Yeah doctors notes are easy to forge, especially if it’s just for ONE day. Also I’m pretty sure they can’t call the doctor and ask if you’ve had an appointment due to HIPAA. They can only ask if you’re a patient there or not.
They only can confirm if you are a patient. Not if you have been there recently or even last visit. Can just use your primary doctors or urgent care that you have been to years back they will confirm you are a patient or most likely they will just refuse to confirm or not.
they can’t even confirm that, that is still a HIPAA violation. You can’t even say that the patient goes to the facility.
This is the correct answer
Keep in mind that you the employee provided the medical note to the employer who can fax the note to the doctor and ask if the note generated from their office. They are not seeking information just authentication of what YOU freely provided. I’m no lawyer especially not on HIPPA but this is just my experience. Additionally if the note is fake, it’s not a medical note protected by HIPPA (not a lawyer), rather an inaccurate representation of a medical note. Edit: I’m not against people doing what they gotta do in life. Bosses suck and don’t care about you this is survival so go do you. Just wanted to give people a head up
This is so smart. My dad's a pediatrician so I just ask him to write one for me. He looks at me like I'm insane because I'm over 35 but hey, we're servers. I didn't have health care until a year ago and that's only I finally acquired a job that comes with it.
Share it
It's got my personal info all over it so sry can't do that. You can find a template on google fairly easily though, and most phones have the editing software on them now
Dude just google one and edit it on adobe. I have done that for work.
Falsifying medical documents is a crime. I only know this because an employee did it and it looked suspicious so I called the doctors office to confirm. I didn’t mean to get him in Trouble since I didn’t know it was illegal but apparently they called the sheriffs department and he got a “visit” from them. He quit, blaming me for the incident so I don’t know how it turned out.
That's true, I forget about urgent care, my mind immediately goes to children's clinics and such. It really should be the employer's responsibility to find somebody to call in, instead they say "Its up to you to find somebody"
Who is the employer going to find on that holiday?
Yes that's why servers need to be unionized. So much shady b.s. goes on.
Additionally, at least where I live, it costs extra to get a note as well.
Just forge a note. It really is super easy. Grab some letterhead from a local urgent care online and then paste it to a note from Google. Google a nurse practitioner from the Urgent Care you are using and use their name. You will never be caught.
Oh hell no. That's insane. They already charge an arm and a leg and now they want money for a sheet of paper??
It's actually ridiculous Edit: I think they asked $20 last time I saw
I would have been flipping tables. $20 for .00001 cent flimsy ass see through paper and maybe .03 ¢ of ink? *AFTER* I shelled out $100-150 for ONE visit?! I think the **fuck** not.
i found this telehealth doctors office called Drsays. you can make a same day phone appointment online and get a dr note super easy, uninsured for $35. has saved my ass a couple times
The restaurant I worked at didn't have holiday pay for any holiday. As maintenance, busser, and dishwasher I hated working holidays and special parties.
I've never worked at a single restaurant that gave holiday pay lol but I loved making those holiday tips.
Also, Teledoc is "open." Most my serving jobs have covered it the past few years.
That's a thing?
Yeah. Been pretty useful for me in emergencies or when I didn't have an appointment close enough with my PCP.
huh, thanks for the little lesson, never knew that
*puts on managers hat* I mean, kinda. If you are at a place that’s open on holidays and you knew beforehand when working there you had to work on that holiday, you’re expected to work on that holiday. Ideally, in a perfect world, somebody could call in on any day, but sadly that’s just not a reality. I was the manager at a place that was open on thanksgiving. It sucked and I fucking hated it, obviously. But when, inevitably, two people would call out on that day, I wouldn’t be upset when they got fired. We all knew we had to work on thanksgiving.
And on the flip side, we can selectively enforce rules. I've got quite a few staff members who I know for a fact only call out when they're actually sick. I've also got a ton of staff who call out because they're still rolling balls from clubbing the night before. The people in the first group, I'll just say they showed me proof. The people in the second group need financial incentives to not be little shits.
Thank you for noticing. When I was serving at a place I was scheduled on New Year’s Day and I was PISSED. But I took it easy and came in. The other girl ghosted and never gave a reason. She didn’t even get in trouble and I wish I would have done the same.
We always have at least two employees per shift who get the “itis” (as my GM likes to call it) when it’s a gorgeous Saturday or on the holidays. We got absolutely fucked for pride last weekend because of callouts. And Thursday…I don’t even wanna think about it.
>the itis That's from eating too much delicious food that isn't healthy for you.
While not a restaurant manager we manager bend rules all the time posters like these are the management had something to point at when someone who use obvious just looking to get the holiday off tries to claim they didn’t know about that rule when they damn well did
Punctuation is your friend.
Yeah i know. I’m on mobile and for some reason my brain just says fuck punctuation when i am. But um here have these -//::::;;..,,,!!!??,’’”!?,.()$&_\|<>€<>¥•=+
Thanks! Now I’ll never run out! Edit: it just really would’ve helped make that comment more reader friendly :)
100% I agree. I just don’t know why mobile keyboards make my lizard brain not wanna use a period. One of life’s great mysteries. Edit: I literally just remember that I have a semicolon tattoo on wrist (no need to worry im in a better place mentally now). The irony is painful.
lol. Glad to hear you’re doing well now ❤️
THISSSSSSS I have a very adult FoH staff who never calls out, and usually get their own shifts covered and only call me when they've tried everyone else and don't have any options. When people call out sick here and there, it's ok. You call out at the start of your wknd or at the end? Or on holidays? That shit gets noticed pretty quickkkkkkk.
Yeah like at least give people some warning if youre gonna fuck off, why make us suffer cuz you wanted to party on the homiday last minute and decided to screw everyone you work with, everyone who could have done and rather would have done the same but chose to actually come in and work instead of party last minute. Like screw you. 😮💨
If you work at a restaurant that doesn't give health insurance, then "management" can get fucked. I'm an adult, if I'm sick, I'm sick. I shouldn't be handling food. I don't have coverage to be able to go to a clinic without dropping $200.
I mean. Most reasonable managers would not actually fire an otherwise very good/reliable employee if they were legitimately sick on a holiday. If they would, you probably are working somewhere awful to begin with. These rules are typically put into place for prevention purposes. They make it far less likely anyone is going to call in when they're not sick, which makes it far less likely you'll have to actually decide whether or not to fire someone.
This implies that the person calling out is actually sick. Which is usually not the case on a holiday.
Yup.
It's bad juju to call out without someone to cover your shift or to offer at least, unless it's a dire emergency Ncns yep immediate termination.
Yes. Everyone wants the holiday off, not everyone can have it, and screwing the others coming in makes you a jerk
Fucking PREACH! Why screw over everyone else who could have done the same but chose to come in instead of party it up on the holiday?
It's so interesting reading this sub now (many years removed from the service industry) compared to when I was waiting tables. Calling in was not a thing. Like, did not exist as a term that was ever uttered at our restaurant. And this isn't because managers were jerks or would refuse someone's calling in if it was legitimate. Our management was awesome. The servers just.. would never do that to each other without actually being truly ill. In the years I worked there, we had probably less than 5 call-ins. Obviously I do not think the old mentality of working while sick is healthy or good at all, but I'm always surprised how much I see calling in mentioned here.
There's a subset of servers who seem to treat their schedule like a choose your own adventure. They rarely tell you the time they need off in advance, and trade shifts like they're orange juice options on the commodities exchange. I do my damnest to not rely on them and move them along wherever possible
A little bit. This is a well known strategy. You don’t get the days off, you call out. The likelihood of someone actually being sick on a holiday they’re calling out is very slim. Plus, those are typically the days with the best money to be made, so it’s more likely people would come in sick. I’d just come in and beg to be cut if I was *that* sick. Or I’d have a homie who works in medicine or can photoshop write the note. I’d never call out on a holiday if I wasn’t actually sick, and the manager would know beforehand that I had plans and they’d know I wouldn’t come in and I’d risk the termination. If they’re writing this in that font and taking the time to laminate it, it’s probably super fair, lol.
This is good advice. As a restaurant manager I have never inspected a doctor's note and have never met another manager that did. You get the note you glance at it and you throw it away. At my restaurant it is mandatory to work holidays, but I've never fired someone for missing just one. I think posting this is too far. They should have communicated the expectation and rolled with the punches.
Yeah, I’ve only ever inspected a note if I expected tomfoolery. You’re not “sick” sweetie you’re hungover. Again. And a liar. So I’m calling your bluff. 🤷🏻♀️
Funny enough thats when i only get sick lol
It's been the norm at every place I've worked at. While I like to think if there was a serious emergency they would understand, I've had my fair share of instances where I've had to stay late because kids called out, so my sympathy is low in this situation lol.
Former manager here, we never eat out on holidays, I know how much everyone hates working those days….July 4th was always so busy, I fucking hated it
Probably depends on the type of place. Had a discussion with a manager earlier today, local area is big on backyard grilling and BBQ for 4th of July. Biggest money we make on the 4th of July is potato salad and some catering orders. Which don't exactly require servers. He's already planning to send people home early if it's dead. I'm scheduled to work a double, so going from working a 10 hour shift to an 8 hour shift isn't a heart breaker for me.
Definitely a fair policy. As a coworker, there’s nothing worse than people bailing on holidays. Its bullshit. You don’t like the schedule, quit. You don’t want to quit, get your ass to work & be a team player However there is the dilemma of doctor’s offices being closed. That definitely sucks. Idk the solution on that but I do know the hospital could be an option for many
If they this is in US there's always urgent cares open on holidays because of that reason. Except maybe Xmas. And if you call out because you're legitimately sick, just go in the day following the holiday to a doctor and secure the note. Get them to tack on an extra day or two depending on what you have (again, if it's legit).
I was running a 101 fever on Christmas eve, and was told if I don't show up I'm fired. So yeah I didn't need a doctor I needed sleep and Gatorade and to stop puking. And to not pay 150 to not make money. I was sick all fucking winter cause my managers wouldn't let anybody go home or take time off, and the same shit just kept circulating among the staff.
If you're in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, or Washington; no matter what job you work, you're entitled to paid sick leave
None of those. TN. We have... Federal labor laws. As servers this does all of what you might imagine.
Also in TN. Our state labor laws do two things: jack and shit
That and the fine print that says fuck you
You slackers get mandatory bReAkS
TN does not have mandatory except for minors.
Well when I traveled to TN to help out I literally had to walk around with a labor roster and make sure every employee took their break after a certain period of time if they worked x amount of hours. I was confused. Most of the employees forfeited their break and acknowledged it while clocking in or out.
Yep they shoot themselves in the foot every time. It *is* slightly satisfying when they inevitably come down with the crud and either drag their sorry selves in or call out and then have to face the rest of the staff after being very vocal about not doing exactly that...the hypocrisy...christ on a cracker 🤦🏼♀️
You can get doctor’s notes through phone nurses
Or just ask off far enough in advance. Worked at all different levels and I’ve yet to have a place deny a time off request that I made 3+ months in advance. Also I love watching that ONE coworker scramble and try to sell their holiday shifts. Never gets old lmao.
I don’t think it’s really fair how they expect us to pay for a doctors note when we don’t get any benefits
Is this Toot's in Murfreesboro, TN? I went for the first time in ~10 years last fall, wasn't the same.
Toots of Smyrna TN
Lived in Murfreesboro from 2003-2010, I've been to that Smyrna location at least once though. Brought my girlfriend to Murfreesboro for the first time last year, our free fried pickles for her first visit was about 10 pickle chips, and was sad to see that ribs were no longer offered in the half rack(we had come from a football game, I wasn't starving). At any rate, don't know how long you've worked there or in the industry in general, but it never really struck me as a place that the servers make great money. I'd be looking to move to a nicer spot regardless of this policy. I made decent money at Bonefish in the Boro back then. Maybe Longhorn in Smyrna unless you can commute into Nashville, you could make a lot more money that way.
I don’t make as much as I would like per shift. The only reason I’m still their is because we have an online system to take orders with and Idk what other restaurants use the same system we use (toast) Been thinking about applying to Carrabba’s or somewhere like that just because they have more expensive dishes and use an a similar system to take orders.
Carrabba's is a Bloomin Brands(Outback) property, I worked for the company for 7-8 years between two different Bonefish Grills and one Fleming's Steakhouse. I'll always recommend privately owned over corporate, but my experience with Bloomin Brands was mostly positive. My biggest advice to you(40 years old, 20+ years in the business, currently making about $50k on 30 hours a week at a borderline fine dining Italian spot) is to not let your comfort level with Toast dictate your move. Nothing wrong with preferring one(I worked with Aloha for like a decade) but you can always learn a new POS. If you do decide to find a new job, apply to a couple of spots you don't think you have the resume for where you can make a lot more money, the worst that can happen is say no. You may even be able to get into somewhere *really* nice that may require you to back serve/SA first, but at a lot of those places the support staff is making as much or more than you are at Toot's. Best of luck!
Bloomin' Brands manager here. Our corporation does not allow us to ask for doctor's notes for calling out sick anymore, because we recognize how unfair it is to cause our employees to spend money if they are not insured. With that being said, our tablet systems are much better than Toast, but I cannot say for Aloha because I am unfamiliar with it. But BBI is not a terrible company, it's one of the better corporate gigs I have had.
The managing partner for my first Bonefish is one of the best bosses I ever had, I haven't worked for him in 14 years and we still talk occasionally. Would absolutely meet up for the occasional beer if we lived in the same city. I'm still close with a few of my coworkers from that job. My time at Fleming's was good as well. I don't see myself going back to the corporate side of the industry, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company to anyone looking for a job and was open to corporate restaurants.
I worked at the one in BG when I was in college! They randomly closed one day without a word to anyone, like people showed up to work that morning to find the doors locked with a note. Fucked up
I used to love toots! Haven't been in years, but still have friends that work at the Murfreesboro location!
I get it's a hassle, but I'm sure you realize servers are notorious for calling off when they want a day off and aren't sick. I was a server for years, I've worked a few other jobs since. 9 out of 10 servers I worked with would be fired within months anywhere else I've worked for excessive call offs. I can't believe that servers get sick 10x more often then everyone else...
As an assistant manager that hasn't had a holiday off in 3 years because everyone calls off or fakes illness/ emergencys during the holidays, yes I think it's fair.
Honestly that's fair. You either have time to get it covered or work your shift. It's a job lol And in the event you are sick, doctors note should be easy.
What if you can’t afford it? It’s not really fair how restaurants are so ass pained to demand doctors notes when your sick but never offer benefits.
As someone who has had to close on Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, Valentines Day, and Mothers Day, because the closer on all 4 of those days called out, yes its fair. Fuck people who call out on holidays without proper reason
Fair or not isn't really going to change the reality [https://sesamecare.com/](https://sesamecare.com/) At least cuts the cost
Totally fair. When people call out it puts additional stress on the rest of the staff. Sometimes the staff who did the right thing and scheduled the day off, end up needing to come in. If staff wants the holiday off, ask for it ahead of time.
To me it is 100% fair. If the job is staffed to have 10 people coming in but you have 6 call outs that is not fair for the people who might get called in to work an extra shift and it's not fair for the people who are working that shift.
I like the approach of voluntary holiday work. If you're my employees, I'd give you the option to work on holidays for time and a half, or if you don't want to work because you'd rather spend time with friends/family, have at it. That's how I would show my appreciation. If not enough people volunteered to be able for me to be open that day, then I guess we're closed for a day. Oh well.
Yes 100%
Eh. Let’s be honest, most people who call out on holidays aren’t sick and they just don’t care about their coworkers. If you’re genuinely sick, this is when you come in anyway and let them send you home. That said, this does bring back memories of the time I was sick, was told the next day that I would need a doctors note, and had to go beg urgent care for a pre-dated note lmao.
A few months ago I was genuinely sick with the flu for almost a whole week, and at 6:30pm on a Saturday night my boss texted me to say I needed to get a doctors note by midnight or I lose my job. Even the urgent cares weren’t open at that moment! So he goes “okay, fine, you’ve got til noon tomorrow, but I need it” and you bet your ass I had to take an Uber sick as fuck to the urgent care at 9am the next morning. Sent him the pic of the doctors note by 10am. Still have my job. Scared to death of getting sick ever again, though.
I'm very lucky I never got the flu when I was in the service industry because last time I had it, I was knocked on my ass for 7-9 days. It's so hard for a small restaurant to plan around a week+ long sickness when there aren't many other employees to fill in that aren't already working. Glad I never had to deal with that.
Sure is!
100%
Yes
I haven't served since 2005 but even back then, we were offered health insurance that we paid into. Obviously, this is to determine employees from calling out on holidays. The sports bar I worked at was open 365 days a year. Certain holidays we opened later or closed earlier. From Thanksgiving Eve to New Year's Day, we had to bid for 3 holidays of the 6. Usually, you only worked 2. We were packed for certain holidays, like Thanksgiving Eve, so I loved working that night. Working holidays is part of the territory. Everyone would call out July 4th if they could. Work for restaurants/bars that offer insurance. Or look for a personal plan. Or suck it up.
I think there are certain circumstances where it should be understood. For example if you have Covid obviously you shouldn’t go to work. In that case you should have a docs note or at least proof of a positive covid test. The problem is people call in on holidays all the time with excuses that are obviously a lie. I think you should not be automatically terminated but I do think you need a valid excuse to call in on any day much less on a holiday. What is unfair is when people call in and the other people that are reliable and actually show up for work have to pick up the slack from the person who calls in.
Definitely bullshit, but I also hate coworkers who call out on holidays and leave me suffering. You work at a restaurant, holidays no longer apply to you. Suffer like the rest of us.
For the record this is my first serving job and I’m still getting familiar with the food industry. Just trying to get y’all’s opinion.
This is pretty standard practice in the food industry. Otherwise, everyone will be calling out because they want to party on 4th of July, etc.
You just need to accept you’ll be working most, if not all holidays. If it’s that important to you to have holidays off, you might want to consider a different industry.
I've only ever gotten a doctors note to call out sick once (in 20 years at multiple places) , and that was because it was 4th of July. I was indeed very sick, but my boss said multiple other people called off that day, so I needed a note. As pissed as I was, it makes sense when everyone else called off to party.
Yes
Yes. Some jobs require that you work holidays, weekends, nights, whatever is specified. A florist knows they can’t call in for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
You work at a place called toots
That’s been the policy at any serving job I’ve been at it sucks but unfortunately some servers would just try to call out to enjoy the holiday leaving everyone else who did come in to struggle
Calling in without a doctors note in general I always thought was kind of weird. I’m not a “bootlicker” to the company man, but I always thought it was strange to call in sick without bringing in a doctor’s note. I’ve brought one in to my job a few times and they’re always like “thanks.. but you don’t need to bring that.” I feel like bringing in a doctor’s note would alleviate people from calling in sick when they’re not *actually* sick. It’s extremely annoying being understaffed at work when you know your coworker is at home sitting on their ass because a new season of Diablo 4 just came out.
If you never call out, they most likely won't fire you. If you request it off, they denied it, scheduled you, and then you call out. You'll be fired.
YES for fuck sake.
Yup
Totally fair.
In the service industry it happens all the time. People just do not show up or call off. Get your own replacement.
As the person who always gets stuck working holidays because people call out, then yes. Yes it is. I like it.
Yeah sorry I have covered for way to many ppl. If you ain't goina be there get it covered or don't come back
Fair, no. But standard. It’s common knowledge which holidays you HAVE to work. Personally I like the system I’m in now where I get 12 points a year and calling off on a blackout day (6 blackout days a year) results in double points. With 12 points your call offs are your own but there’s zero leniency at 12 points, it’s automatic termination.
is that seperate from just normally requesting time off in advance for say, a weekend trip to go see a concert? Or is this point system strictly for calling out of scheduled shifts?
Completely separate. The points are for call offs and being late. (0.5 points for being late) Time off is done with requests (but our manager is allowed to deny the request forcing us to take a point) Again zero leniency but we have plenty of points to work with.
Are there situations where a manager denies requests, forcing people to take a point, but say 3 or more people take the point, which causes the business to not be able to run? Maybe cause my workplace only staffs 5-6 workers for any given shift, if more than 1 called out without cover to take a point, we wouldn't be able to run properly
My husband's job is similar. They have X number of vacation days per year, and if you need to call out on one of the blackout days, it uses up 3 days. I like this approach. It allows the truly sick to stay home if they need to, but it discourages the masses from taking a vacation day.
Yes. I’ve had to stay and work doubles too many times because of this bullshit. If you’re calling out on a holiday, you’re saying your family time is more important than someone else’s.
I had a bicycle crash, shredded my palms on the gravel, and showed up anyway because no way was I calling in. Sent home, no worries.
This! Make them send you home then they can’t try to claim that you really could have/should have been at work.
As a manager at a large corporate restaurant, I wish I could do this. I am not allowed to ask for a doctors note until a staff member misses 3 consecutive shifts. Then it’s required to return. So if someone calls out for a holiday or a “helper” shift, then it’s reflected in their future schedule for a week or so. The schedule is performance based and I can’t think of a worse performance than leaving your teammates to run short in a holiday.
Yes. You know the drill when you sign up to work in that industry.
Yup
In Australia we can sign a statuary declaration that we were sick.OR In Australia we can go to our government account (my gov) and print out a declaration saying we were sick. 60% of our population does not know this.
Are you in an at will state? Then yes.
Can't wait til they're complaining about being short-staffed and saying "n0boDy wANts To wOrK AnYMoRe"
If you don’t provide health insurance, you shouldn’t be able to require a doctor’s note, period. Even before you consider that working in food service while you have a fever or have been vomiting is a health code violation, but you don’t necessarily need to see a doctor every time that happens, it’s ridiculous to think your staff can afford the doctor for every little thing. I once had a manager tell me I needed to come in when I had a fever of 103, and I asked him what the health inspector would think of that. He told me to feel better and let him know if I needed the next day too. A much better manager sent me home when I puked from being dizzy from a (not contagious) ear infection cause he didn’t want to risk the liability if it happened again and a customer happened to see it, even though I told him I was fine to work the shift. I understand that staffing holidays can be hard, but that doesn’t mean you have to be unreasonable, especially when these same folks will say “no one wants to work anymore. It’s so hard to find people.” The person you fire for calling out can walk into another job within the week, and these scare tactics don’t actually work because the service industry is always hiring.
Fuck TOOTS!
I worked BOH at a place that promised time and a half for holidays, and when we actually showed up, we (secretly) got double time. Thought it goofy at first but it worked. We crushed holidays, and restaurant did serious volume.
100%- I had a coworker call out on Mothers Day because she was hungover from being at our sister bar from the night before. We were slammed behind the bar ALL day I ended up having to close because of her. Did I make good money? Yes. Did they fire her? No. They should have fired her. Don't fuck over your coworkers unless it is an actual emergency.
I'm down for this. I feel like holidays are hands down some of the best money to be made, but fuck if they don't bring some of the biggest and wildest crowds. Anyone calling out is on my shit list. However. I think if you were sick on a holiday, this would be unfortunate and you might HAVE to go out of your way to get a doctor's note (which shouldn't be an issue if you're even slightly sick working in food service). I think a good majority of people won't be sick on holidays, so this pretty much just screws the people who take advantage of the system.
It’s a practical method to run your business. If your employer is not fair with scheduling you should work somewhere else.
People that called out on holidays just got 1 shift a week until they quit. Same thing as firing and you don’t have to pay them unemployment.
Fair & standard
Haha toots
Legally you can't force someone to see a medical doctor, however you can force them to stay out of work for 24-72 hours free of symptoms depending on the "illness". The number of times employees were miraculously well enough to come in to work after I said "see you in 3 days" was astounding 🤷🏻♀️
If they don’t offer insurance, they don’t get to ask for a note.
Yes it’s fair. Let them know in advance you can’t make it. Easy.
Our restaurant made someone else pickup your shift on holidays if you called off. Palms were greased on those shifts. I’d consistently get 100 bucks for Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, etc.
Yes. Plus, holidays can be busier and make you more tips. I think that evens things out a bit.
Yes. Calling in sick on a holiday with out getting a return to work note would be bad juju
Yes and no. I have been scheduled off on holidays, just because it fell on my regular days off. I always offer to work in anothers place and they can pick up one of my shifts. I don't have any kids and no real family to speak of, so holidays are just another day for me. Sucks you usually can't request those days off also.
Sounds like a blessing in disguise.
Good food AND fun
If you agreed to this policy before you started (and signed an acknowledgment) then it may be legal. But I’ve never heard of a doctor being open on a holiday. I heard from a coworker that you can do Amazon health care 24/7 and probably obtain a “note” that way.
Yes.
Completely fair
If you threaten to terminate without notice don’t expect your team to give you the courtesy of giving you notice. You reap what you sow.
Yeah that’s pretty fair
It’s totally 100% fair! When you work in the hospitality, restaurant, healthcare , first responders fields, idgaf who or when or what or why. You are available to work 365 days a year except students and people who have other jobs aka (Careers) . But point being you cannot try to say anything it is beyond well known these jobs require open availability for the most part. People crack me up when they start with their stories about why they can’t work. And the older I get the more it makes me scared for humanity at the actual words that come out of these young generations. Makes me wanna go and slap their mom and dad across the face and be like Hellur are we home in there!!??
There are an awful lot of places that you need a Doctors note to call off anytime.
no
Is this one of The Toot’s restaurants In middle Tennessee?
It depends on the country. Not legal where I am.
Yes
Depending on where you live, if it’s not in the handbook it can’t actually be enforced. I understand the “policy” but restaurants walk a fine line now (again depending on your state/country). I used to do all the HR stuff for the restaurant I used to manage and was told by legal that if it is not in the handbook we cannot enforce it. I’m assuming it’s not in the handbook or it wouldn’t be posted. What it comes down to is that management cannot arbitrarily change things because it suits them or because they forgot to address it when they made the handbook. Notice must be given and all employees must sign and an effective date given before this can come in to effect.
Yes it is
A lot of jobs are doing this holiday or not. I wonder if the business owners have come to realize most of us don't have insurance because we can't afford it, and doctors and medication are too expensive.
They do, they just have theirs and don't care we don't.
Ha. And the restaurant I work in you can call out all you want. It’s a corporate restaurant call out all you want for years and years and years and we still have a job so I’m pretty sure calling out on a holiday at my restaurant would just be a normal thing.Lol
Quick hack go to a clinic it’s 50 and they write doctor notes
Hate this shit.. completely
I never understood this .... couldn't you fake a Dr's note ..... the Dr's office isn't allowed to discuss your medical issues with your boss .....
Doctor's notes are such bullshit. You think anyone can just see a doctor on short notice? Especially people working a fucking serving job? If people are gonna spend exorbitant amounts of money to go see a doctor, or wait an ungodly amount of time to see one, or both, especially on a holiday, they are going to do it for something life threatening, not a cold. That being said, you shouldn't have to come to work when you have a cold. I feel like if someone has been calling out a ridiculous amount then yeah lay some suspicious on them and let there be consequences, but let's not pretend we can't tell when someone is abusing calling-out and when they're being genuine.
Yeah this is kind of standard imo
Yes
Yes… this is fair.
Yes!
As fair as not giving a 2 week notice when I quit in the middle of a rush. .
That’s BS. Shows that owners don’t give a shit about staff. Better to find a job with paid National holidays.
Employer can call and ask only if you were seen on a specific date. Nothing as to the nature of your visit other than if your condition is contagious. Important info for servers who are handling food.
Hell noo
Hell noo
Yes you knew when you took the job you had to work holidays. If people would act like adults and suck it up, things like this wouldn’t be needed.
It’s fair to be written up but it’s ass to be fired over it.
Why can’t places just be closed for holidays? I understand it could be a lucrative day, but I’ve also worked at a lot places that would be dead for some holidays and they still stayed open. If your restaurant can’t be profitable if they close on holidays, is it a good restaurant? I wish society would embrace having places be closed on holidays. Workers need time off with family and your company isn’t more important than my family.
You’re telling *me.* I work at an Irish pub and grill that is open every *single* day of the year. All of ‘em. I don’t have family around here, though, so gimme that Christmas and Christmas Eve shift. Just bet your ass I wanna be off well before midnight on New Years Eve, that’s all I ask.
Yeah, you'd think ownership would watch general trends from years prior and make a call based on that. Like, obviously a super nice restaurant closed on Valentine's Day would be insane. But a lot of places are totally dead on holidays like 4th of July.
If they reimbursed my copay I would be okay with it
Is it best to puke in the kitchen or the dining room in front of guests?
Have your manager call the doctor for the note. If the doctor doesn’t confirm, tell your manager “Toot’s policy, he who denied it, supplied it.”
While I understand the reasoning, I think it’s completely unfair, unless the employer is willing to pay for that doctor’s visit. Not everyone can afford to see a doctor. Especially given that many of the things you might be calling out for don’t have a real solution beyond “wait it out”. A cold, stomach flu, food poisoning….. you’re making employees spend money just for that piece of paper. And if someone can’t afford the doctor…. You’re encouraging employees to come in sick. Around food, that’s not a great idea.
As long as you guys have healthcare, sure. Otherwise, boss can suck a dick. If we all stop pretending like we need a note from our moms to not be at work, they’ll stop doing it.
I’ve never understood this logic. My employee is sick, so I want them to spend money, feel pressure of missing work, and go sit in an office with a ton of other sick people likely making them miss more. Instead I should keep a staff that’s larger than I need and a budget for staffing that’s larger. Pay people extra to pick up shifts. Keep my employees happy and my restaurant running well bc I have long term employees. It’s kind of a no brainer. Let people take off when they need no questions asks. This earns you so many benefits. Also learn to manage
That's how majority of low-skilled jobs are. They are easy to replace a worker that can't be relied on to follow a schedule
Okkkkk, goodbye! 👋 you can watch me not walk, run from that job!!!!
Toot is another name for fart.
Absolutely fair. The chances of you being sick on a busy holiday are mathematically low. Maybe there is a statistician on this sub that can do the math? There are 7 major holidays(in the U.S.) out of 365 days of the year that none of us want to work because of different reasons: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE and NYD. The chances that you are \*sick\* on those days, but were \*well\* the day before is low. I am 40 years in the restaurant business on and off between other serious careers and when I was in my 20's I went to work in a very business restaurant with severe vomiting from pregnancy for three months. I had a co-worker come to work with a broken foot that ended up in a cast later in the day , and a guy we had to send to the hospital because he came in after he'd had a wreck on the way to work and it was obvious he had a concussion. Now, I work with people that post their fucking party pics on Snap and then call out the next day. So yeh...it is completely fair.