'Duty manager read it and then promptly started laughing': Entitled coworker demands injured colleague do the same heavy lifting, but the doctor's note actually gives her even more work to do

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Aug 10, 2025 12:00 AM EDT

When one hard worker slipped a painful disc in her back while working, all of her coworkers rallied to make sure she wasn't exerting herself at work. Well, all but one entitled woman who demanded that she still do all the same heavy lifting as everyone else. Though everyone rolled their eyes at this Karen colleague, she went to the higher-ups and an email from HR was promptly sent out to everyone. Now, she was being forced to do the same amount of work as everyone else, even though it was be excruciatingly more painful for her. Luckily, HR said "unless they have a fit not," which is a medical note from a doctor. This employee was quickly able to get a note stating that she can't do those specific jobs. But that's not all! It also said she actually can't do a lot more than what she was doing. So now, this Karen coworker just earned herself even more work to do. Be careful what you ask for! 

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    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "Going forward, fit notes required!"

    The background here is that during work, I had an accident that damaged my back; slipped discs that didn't resolve, and subsequent additional damage due to unnatural wear and tear.
    via cynical-mage
  • This damage came from compensating poor posture and gait. I had a fit note that cleared me for light duties. Now, most of my store team were (and are, these guys are my family even years later) incredibly supportive of my various limitations.
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  • Depending on whether I was having a good day or bad, they'd shuffle. things around. We did that for everyone, we worked to accommodate whoever needed a helping hand, just to clarify that I wasn't given special treatment.
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  • My main difficulty is standing still; sitting, walking, moving, those are fine. On a good day, I can stand at the self checkouts for a couple of hours (with some pacing).
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  • On a bad day, not at all. Good days I can work delivery or backstock, bad days I did decarding, facing up, put backs, writeoffs and sitting on tills. However, one colleague was not.
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  • She considered it drastically unfair that everyone worked around my damage. So much so that she went above everyone to file a complaint to the store manager that I should be forced to do self checkouts too.
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  • Sunday evening, a charming message was sent to the work WhatsApp group by one of the lower managers stating that going forward, 'having pain here so you can't do self checkouts, having pain there so you can't do delivery, will no longer be accepted.
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  • Unless you have a fit note, you can't refuse to do your tasks.' I was scheduled to work on the Monday, thankfully a closing shift, so I had a narrow window to work with.
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  • Monday 8am, the stars aligned; I was blessed to snag a telephone call back from a GP. If you're in the UK, you'll know how hard it is to talk to a doctor, let alone see one since the plague.
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    via Unsplash+ (and Andrej Lišakov)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Sure, go ahead and be an entitled coworker and whine and throw tantrums every second you get because you want things to always go your way for no real reason other than ego. But just be prepared for everything to backfire on you…

  • It's a nightmare. Anyway, I explained the situation to her. And she was *furious*. Emailed me an amended fit note to hand in to work.
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  • That afternoon, I cheerfully went in and handed it to the duty manager for the shift, who read it and then promptly started herself laughing before letting me get started.
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  • A 3mth fit note that prohibited me from any lifting, pulling, standing, anything remotely strenuous whatsoever, and stated frequent, regular breaks.
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  • Effectively barring me from allllll the tasks I did on good days. Apparently that colleague blew a gasket; filed a complaint with the area manager, who dismissed it, whereupon she told him she'd go to HR about this, as well as his inaction,
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  • and was promptly told that this would constitute harassment and dis lity discrimination if she insisted. Well, you did want a fit note
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  • The rest of the guys were honestly fantastic. But then, they had been there when my back went yet again; lifted me into the office and got me ice. Or carried me to my husband's car. Kept me sane during my time off with encouragement while I was immobile, and during my workouts to try
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  • regaining strength. Not a week goes by without us chatting or sending memes and reels, and they're all still trying to convince me to come back, or ask advice, whatever. I genuinely have so much love for them, which my family doesn't understand exactly,
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  • but we've been through so much together that we're probably trauma bonded
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