Boss Threatens To Fire Sick Worker, Doctor Signs Her Off For Two Weeks To Teach Him A Lesson

Some managers seem to think rules don’t apply to them until someone smarter reminds them otherwise. In this case, one power-tripping supervisor learned the hard way that pushing an employee past their limits can backfire spectacularly.

When a sick supermarket worker called in to rest, her boss demanded a doctor’s note, something he wasn’t legally allowed to ask for. So, she dragged herself to the clinic, barely standing, and told her doctor what happened.

What came next was a legendary act of professional pettiness that turned a two-day illness into a two-week paid vacation and left her manager working overtime to cover her shifts.

A supermarket worker, forced by her manager to get an illegal doctor’s note for a flu, got a two-week paid leave thanks to the doctor’s passive-aggressive note

 

 

According to a 2022 CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) report, 43% of UK workers say they’ve worked while ill due to fear of job loss or management pressure. That’s not resilience, it’s toxic work culture disguised as “dedication.”

Employment lawyer Philip Landau told BBC Worklife that “forcing employees to obtain medical certification within the first week of illness is not only unreasonable but unlawful.”

The U.K.’s self-certification rule exists to protect workers from exploitation and prevent the spread of illness in workplaces, especially in food-handling roles like supermarkets.

Psychologist Dr. John M. Grohol, writing for Psych Central, explains that micromanaging behavior like Steve’s often comes from “a deep-seated need for control and insecurity in leadership roles.” In other words, Steve’s obsession with authority wasn’t strength, it was fear in a manager’s suit.

The doctor’s letter flipped that dynamic entirely. It became a live demonstration of restorative justice, a reminder that rules protecting workers exist for a reason. By enforcing those rights, she didn’t just help one employee recover; she probably saved others from enduring the same mistreatment.

And perhaps the best part? The company itself corrected course. The duty manager backed the employee, the union stepped in, and Steve got a disciplinary warning, the corporate equivalent of detention. For once, accountability actually worked.

Here’s the comments of Reddit users:

This Redditor praised the duty manager’s rare stand against Steve

While this commenter relished the doctor’s menacing tone

Another noted that vomiting employees shouldn’t work near food

One folk shared Canadian doctors billing companies for forced notes

This person recounted a military doctor’s similar note to dodge heavy loads

This couple hoped Steve’s overtime stung and envied worker-friendly countries

This Redditor shared an extended FMLA leave to spite a pushy U.S. boss

And another also shared a similar story

Would you have gone to the doctor or risked your job? And do you think more workplaces should face consequences for bullying sick employees? Either way, one thing’s clear: next time a boss demands a note, they might want to remember what happened to Steve.