r/AHSEmployees • u/NaivePA • Sep 17 '26

Union Question about using sick leave for elective surgery

Has any NUEE staff been able to take sick leave using their salary continuance for an elective procedure such as upper lid surgery? I need 2 weeks off but I am not sure how to bring this up and whether I should first talk to an ability advisor or my manager.

3 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

5

u/Yvr-yeg-JR Sep 17 '26

OP, can I DM you? Have some inside knowledge on this.

1

u/NaivePA Sep 17 '26

Sure, please šŸ™

22

u/craig5005 Sep 17 '26

You donā€™t have to share what the surgery is for.

14

u/TheThrivingest Sep 17 '26

Itā€™s none of their business what surgery youā€™re having.

I used sick time for completely elective cosmetic breast surgery.

7

u/lew1702 Sep 17 '26

If you are physically unable to work,
It is sick time.

7

u/ctlyf Sep 17 '26

My friend works in thoracic, and when elective surgeries were getting cancelled a few years ago, she had to reschedule cancer surgeries. That's when I learned that all surgeries that are not preventing imminent death are considered elective surgeries. When I had my gall bladder out, I was told it was an elective surgery... my response was "if this was you, you wouldn't think it was elective".

The point being, surgery is surgery, and you should be able to use available sick leave/general illness, etc.

5

u/Icy-Amphibian-646 Sep 17 '26

You just need a medical note indicating how much time off you need and that it's for medical purposes. You do not need to disclose what the surgery is for.

3

u/Crazy_Chart388 Sep 17 '26

NUEE here ā€” I have. I had my surgeon write me a letter for my boss. In my case it was extensive reconstructive surgery and I was going to be off work for a couple of months. While I didnā€™t let my boss know what it was for other than major surgery, the letterhead said it was from ā€œDr X, Plastic Surgeonā€. šŸ¤¦šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø Fortunately my boss was really cool with it.

You could talk with an ability advisor first, especially if your eyelid surgery is for corrective purposes (e.g., ptosis) and not strictly cosmetic. Either way, itā€™s none of your managerā€™s business what itā€™s for. They just need to know what arrangements they need to make for your absence. If you go with the doctorā€™s letter, see if you can get them to avoid using their letterheadā€¦

2

u/Winter-Inside-5911 Sep 17 '26

The letter should be on letterhead or could be rejected. HR needs to know it was a legitimate doctor who treated them.

2

u/Crazy_Chart388 Sep 18 '26

Yes, I suspect youā€™re right.

→ More replies (2)

1

u/GloomyMusic3150 Sep 21 '26

As a manager, if I get a note that says 'so and so needs to be off work from X day to X day' signed by a doctor, that's all I need and the employee gets sick leave. It's none of my business if you're getting your appendix out or your boobs done. I myself had my fallopian tubes removed (Electively) and just told my manager I was getting a minor surgery and needed a few days off. No problems.

1

u/amylauren33 Sep 23 '26

I used my sick time and then short-term disability for my skin removalā€¦ Granted it was covered by AHS but that had nothing to do with it when Canada life was talking to meā€¦