--- title: Need to call in sick? 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Here are the Do's and Don'ts [Team Synerion](https://blog.synerion.com/author/team-synerion) Jul 10, 2008 5:59:00 PM I thought I'd add a post that I ran by in the Los Angeles Times that I thought was pretty entertaining, especially the fact that I am in the [time and attendance](http://www.timetech.ca) industry. Hope this helps all of you HR people looking to spot a faker! Enjoy! *Need to call in sick? There are right and wrong ways to let your boss know you're a no-show. Most people instinctively know the best way to communicate with their particular supervisor and workplace. But if your illness has caused a sudden loss of common sense, follow these tips compiled from human resources experts and other sources.* *• **Do** speak to your supervisor directly, if possible. Sending an e-mail is a tip-off of possible fakery.* *• **Don't** attempt to fake sounding ill by using the old tricks: speaking on the phone while lying in bed or bent over the toilet. Remember, if you were an actor, you'd have a SAG card.* *• **Do** call in as early in the day as possible to give your supervisor time to plan the day without you.* *• **Don't** give your supervisor all the gory details of your illness, pain and suffering. It smacks of exaggeration. Make the call short and to the point.* *• **Do** make the call yourself.* *• **Don't** have your spouse, child or — worse — mother make the call for you unless you are hospitalized and intubated. Be a grown-up.* *• **Do** apologize for the inconvenience to your employer.* *• **Don't** call from a baseball game, bar, airport or other questionable venue.* *• **Do** call in sick when you're feeling miserable, need to see a doctor, are contagious or can't think straight.* *• **Don't** go to work looking like a walking carcass.* *• **Do** get a doctor's note if your illness requires medical treatment and a specified length of time off.* *• **Don't** use "feminine problems" as an excuse — especially if you're not a woman.* *• **Do** use sunscreen if you take a sick day to go to the beach.* *• **Don't** tell your boss you'll try to be there after lunch. It won't happen.* *• **Do** know how your supervisor feels about employees taking sick days.* *• **Don't** call in sick on too many Mondays or Fridays. It will damage your credibility.* *Article Written By Shari Roan Los Angeles Times* Does this happen a lot at your organization? With [TimeTECH's Time and Attendance System](http://www.timetech.ca), you have the ability to run reports on individual employees and see a graphical overview of their attendance behaviours. Now you can see if they are leaving early every Friday, and coming in late every Monday! [Blog](https://blog.synerion.com/topic/blog) ## Read On ### [Time and Attendance Do’s and Don’ts Wouldn’t everyone want an efficient, cost-effective way to manage their workforce?Well maybe it’s...](https://blog.synerion.com/time-and-attendance-dos-and-donts) ### [Four Ways to Prevent Unauthorized Employee Overtime Overtime can tax a company. Whether it's a necessity during the busy season or a gradual abuse of...](https://blog.synerion.com/four-ways-to-prevent-unauthorized-employee-overtime) ### [Ever thought about automating your time and attendance? How many spreadsheets is your organization using to track your employee’s time and attendance?Have...](https://blog.synerion.com/ever-thought-about-automating-your-time-and-attendance) ![Synerion](https://blog.synerion.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Synerion_April2020/images/footer-logo-300x111.png) Synerion is an award winning leader in cloud workforce management software with over 30 years of experience, 5,000,000 users, and 7,000 installations globally. Synerion offers time and labour, advanced scheduling, absence management, labour allocation, timesheets, coreHR and more. 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