Plastic surgery

[jules999]

Thinking of having plastic surgery to my stomach at my own cost and will have to be off work for 3 weeks. Does anyone know if I can have this off as sick leave or do I have to take it as annual leave when I would take 2 weeks annual leave and self cert for a week. Thanks in advance.

[CheekyChops]

I doubt you would be allowed to take it as sick leave - most employers don't consider that you are sick if you have elected to have cosmetic surgery. Best to check with them to be sure.

[chazza]

It would probably depend on the nature of the surgery, if it is plastic surgery for a medical condition you may well be entitled to take it as sick leave

However if it is elective cosmetic surgery (as cheekychops says) you would probably have to take it as leave

[Twenty20]

You need to check your employment contract. If there is no definition of what is allowed or disallowed as far as sick pay goes then your employer would have to allow you to have the time off as sick and be paid for it. They probably wouldnt be too pleased with you but there is not much they can do.

[Boogie87]

ask you boss if your entitled to 'special leave' and then dont tell them that you are going to have an op and get signed off sick or special leave

[sue11]

With respect to Boogie87 I would not recommend taking special leave without letting your employers know what it is for! If they allowed you this, thinking it was for some kind of medical or emotional problem and then found out it was due to elective plastic surgery, then you could be in trouble with your employers! If one of my employees did this to me, the first thing I would do would be to contact my employment advisors to find out if I could bring disciplinary action against my employee! My suggestion is as per pickles answer and ask your employers what they can do for you. If you need this surgery for emotional reasons as well as purely cosmetic, they may take a sympathetic view and allow you to take some of the time as official sick leave.
Best of luck, Sue.