Man who wrestled shark away from kids fired for missing work

[Razgovory]

You going to tell me that employers don't look upon something like "stress-related" with anything less than disdain and contempt?

I think they look upon employees disdain and contempt.

Let's not do down the Pant & Dowlais Boys & Girls Club.

You lost me.

[Martinus]

They should have congratulated me on lying and skipping work!

He was on stress leave.

You're familiar with that sort of thing - isn't going to relax at a beach the kind of thing you're supposed to do on stress leave?

I wouldn't exactly call wrestling sharks "relaxing". 

[Martinus]

What are you supposed to do on stress leave?

Is this a trick question?

[Martinus]

The other problem with the Australian beach stress therapy narrative is: how did Captain Scammy know how long the stress was going to last when he bought his tickets?

This is actually the part that is not controversial - if it works as it does in Poland, if you get a medical leave, the doctor ordains you X number of days for your leave. If, at the end of the period, you still feel bad, you can go to the doctor to have it extended, but the duration of the leave is not shortened because "you felt better already".

[Martinus]

Now, like I said, I don't really know what the UK parameters for stress leave and appropriate therapy are, but it's pretty clear that the languish consensus concurs with the guy's former employer that beach vacations are inappropriate.

For the Americans, there's no such thing as "stress leave".  You're expected to work until you die.  Anything less is considered a cop-out, and if you mention something like "stress", you're probably a black person.

Well, same is true for Poles. I mean just look at the Polish Pope vs. the German Pope.

Stress-related leaves happen in Poland but for most employers it either means that the employee is a scammer or that he is insane - which means you want to get rid of him either way. People usually come up with such bullshit leaves when they fear they may be getting fired and want to postpone that (under Polish law, it is much more difficult to fire someone who is on a legitimate sick leave, and you get paid - first by the employer and then by the insurer - when you are on the sick leave so you don't lose your remuneration).

[Syt]

The other problem with the Australian beach stress therapy narrative is: how did Captain Scammy know how long the stress was going to last when he bought his tickets?

This is actually the part that is not controversial - if it works as it does in Poland, if you get a medical leave, the doctor ordains you X number of days for your leave. If, at the end of the period, you still feel bad, you can go to the doctor to have it extended, but the duration of the leave is not shortened because "you felt better already".

As I'm currently experiencing, Austrian doctors will write you ill open ended at times and make you come in for follow ups and actually enter the date when you're fit to go back to work when that's actually the case.

[Malthus]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stressed-you-bet-i-was-shark-wrestler-paul-marshallsea-hailed-as-a-hero-is-sacked-because-he-was-on-sick-leave-8531441.html

He's claiming that his GP told him to. Charity is lawyered up and saying nothing.

Where do I now get a job? There's not much call for shark wrestlers in Merthyr Tydfil."

At least he kept his sense of humour. 

[garbon]

The other problem with the Australian beach stress therapy narrative is: how did Captain Scammy know how long the stress was going to last when he bought his tickets?

This is actually the part that is not controversial - if it works as it does in Poland, if you get a medical leave, the doctor ordains you X number of days for your leave. If, at the end of the period, you still feel bad, you can go to the doctor to have it extended, but the duration of the leave is not shortened because "you felt better already".

As I'm currently experiencing, Austrian doctors will write you ill open ended at times and make you come in for follow ups and actually enter the date when you're fit to go back to work when that's actually the case.

Yeah seems a bit odd to give an arbitrary amount of time off / stick to that even if the patient is better.

[grumbler]

Unless his job was harder than wresting sharks, I don't see how he can justify wrestling sharks and being unable to do his (their) job.

Well, I think the shark thing was pretty improvised.

Disability isn't about planning, it is about ability.

Maybe I'm unclear on the concept of disability leave, but if the disability is stress related then taking a relaxing vacation (impromptu shark wrestling notwithstanding) seems entirely appropriate.

The concept of simultaneous disability for "stress" (as opposed to vacation to relieve stress) does sound rather bogus, but it sounds to me more like the doctor cooperating in the scam than that these two were really so disabled by stress that they could not take vacation(but could take a nice "relaxing" "disability leave" to Australia).

Had these people been on vacation,rather than claiming to be disabled, this would not have arisen.

What are you supposed to do on stress leave?

I have never heard of "stress leave" so I have no idea what I am supposed to do when on it.

[Barrister]

You going to tell me that employers don't look upon something like "stress-related" with anything less than disdain and contempt?

I don't know of anyone who took "stress leave" who was with the same organization for a significant amount of time after they returned.

Medical leave they're pretty good with.  Heck even if you have to take leave to go to rehab their good with.  But "stress"?

[garbon]

You going to tell me that employers don't look upon something like "stress-related" with anything less than disdain and contempt?

I don't know of anyone who took "stress leave" who was with the same organization for a significant amount of time after they returned.

Medical leave they're pretty good with.  Heck even if you have to take leave to go to rehab their good with.  But "stress"?

Well yeah stress leave sounds like it'd be a big old signifier that you can't handle the job (or don't want to).

[Malthus]

You going to tell me that employers don't look upon something like "stress-related" with anything less than disdain and contempt?

I don't know of anyone who took "stress leave" who was with the same organization for a significant amount of time after they returned.

Medical leave they're pretty good with.  Heck even if you have to take leave to go to rehab their good with.  But "stress"?

I can only imagine with what distain and contempt managing partners at my firm would consider a claim to being "stressed" - and with what false concern and kid gloves they would handle it. 

Fact is, in big downtown law, more or less everyone is pretty permanently stressed.

[Caliga]

Here's how stress leave would be handled at my company.

"You're under so much stress that you can't work?  Ok, then you can leave."

[Malthus]

Here's how stress leave would be handled at my company.

"You're under so much stress that you can't work?  Ok, then you can leave."

You have to be a bit more circumspect about pissing off a lawyer while simultaneously giving him or her a lot of free time. 

[Eddie Teach]

Fact is, in big downtown law, more or less everyone is pretty permanently stressed.

They should offer yoga classes during your lunch hour.