Man Grabs Shark to Save Children

[kb01]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Based upon the limited information provided, I don't have any sympathy for the guy. He's on medical leave for stress? Life is stressful-buck up and deal with it rather than wallowing in a cesspool of self pity and taking medical leave for stress.


It's a different culture. In the USA, he'd probably just be medicated in lieu of the questionable PTO.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Based upon the limited information provided, I don't have any sympathy for the guy. He's on medical leave for stress? Life is stressful-buck up and deal with it rather than wallowing in a cesspool of self pity and taking medical leave for stress.

He was caught out playing while he was on medical leave for a trumped up ailment, and it got him fired. Both him and his former employer are better off.

Pop,
please quit being a stiff.
by your accounts you had a lot of success in life by thinking differently from others.
other places are DIFFERENT places than what we know:
one of my former bosses in an eastern-european country took all his vacations in (drums please) a mental health hospital. Yes that's right, a mental health hospital.
they had their own farm, cooked everything from scratch and had access to a co-op for other things.
it was very quiet, nice location with very clean air and if he wanted he was less than one hour drive from some nice spa/mineral water therapy place.

pretty much almost every country in europe you start work at 21 days/3 weeks then you can have some sick time if endorsed by a specialist(of course some may jump the system...).
now if I remember better, winter time and summer some places are pretty much closed because of massive vacation season. (makes for some nice deals off-season)

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: kb01
I don't really know enough about British labor laws or sick leave to form much of an opinion. From what I do know, I suspect the situation is much more ambiguous than if the same thing happened in the USA.

For the good and the bad, attitudes towards health care, mental health, sick leave, vacation, and work in general, are significantly different in Europe than in the USA. It's on one extreme, where health/family are prioritized over work vs. Japan & USA, where it's the opposite.

It's tough to explain but for my family in Poland, going to the beach each summer is viewed more in medical terms. I can't think of any equivalent here.

getting the kids to breathe salty air to get some appetite. also some sun...

 

[NJC]

I'm certain with the new bad publicity it will bring upon his former employer, they'll find it in their hearts to reinstate his position.

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Based upon the limited information provided, I don't have any sympathy for the guy. He's on medical leave for stress? Life is stressful-buck up and deal with it rather than wallowing in a cesspool of self pity and taking medical leave for stress.

He was caught out playing while he was on medical leave for a trumped up ailment, and it got him fired. Both him and his former employer are better off.


Who said this guy's problems are not real, or occurring, when he was a hero?
There is absolutely no evidence that he is wallowing in self pity.
How heartless you are!
If your kids or family were being attacked by a shark, maybe you would stop a guy from saving them, but no one else would.
For all we know, his stress is worse now.

BTW, any Dr. will say a broken leg hurts, but stress will kill you.

 

[fdcg27]

I think that the OP has it right in this case.
We don't know what this guy's job actually consisted of or why he was off on stress leave.
We do know, based upon the photo, that none of the family members pictured know how to hold a wine glass properly.
Easy for other members to condemn this guy without actually having walked in his shoes.

 

[01rangerxl]

"Our doctor advised us to go on holiday so we travelled to stay with friends in Australia."

If that's what their doctor said, and the company gave them sick leave for stress, what's the issue? Maybe a good way to oust a couple higher paid people whose jobs could be done for less.

BTW, if he had a gun he could have shot the shark.

 

[GreeCguy]

Well, let me just throw this in as food for thought. He was under stress. He took some time off and went to the beach to relax, (last I read, sharks are in oceans and where the land meets the ocean, they call that a beach were people go to play and relax). He sees children about to get eaten by a shark and does something about it. Children rescued, man unemployed. Maybe he should have gone camping instead. (But I hear there's bears in the woods . . . . .)

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Well, let me just throw this in as food for thought. He was under stress. He took some time off and went to the beach to relax, (last I read, sharks are in oceans and where the land meets the ocean, they call that a beach were people go to play and relax). He sees children about to get eaten by a shark and does something about it. Children rescued, man unemployed. Maybe he should have gone camping instead. (But I hear there's bears in the woods . . . . .)

Obviously there was some miscommunication between the employer (a charity, BTW, not some heartless Fortune 500) and the employee as the employer did not see him vacationing half a world away (literally!!) as being inline with the story he gave them to take two months off of work, hence the comments regarding a breakdown in confidence and trust. The employer specifically mentioned his being well enough to travel from Wales to Australia (probably not the least stressful trip) as a point of contention.

Him saving the kids from a shark has nothing to do with his termination. It was the video and resulting news stories. I'm sure if word of him vacationing in Australia got back to the board some way other than the video and newspaper stories (ran into a co-worker there, got caught up in a highly publicized multinational sex scandal, etc.), he would have still lost his job.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
BTW, if he had a gun he could have shot the shark.

I see what you did there! Trollin, trollin, trollin.....

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02

Obviously there was some miscommunication between the employer (a charity, BTW, not some heartless Fortune 500) and the employee as the employer did not see him vacationing half a world away (literally!!) as being inline with the story he gave them to take two months off of work, hence the comments regarding a breakdown in confidence and trust. The employer specifically mentioned his being well enough to travel from Wales to Australia (probably not the least stressful trip) as a point of contention.

Him saving the kids from a shark has nothing to do with his termination. It was the video and resulting news stories. I'm sure if word of him vacationing in Australia got back to the board some way other than the video and newspaper stories (ran into a co-worker there, got caught up in a highly publicized multinational sex scandal, etc.), he would have still lost his job.


Maybe he finds air travel relaxing. Being in the northern hemisphere, in order to go to a warm sunny beach he had to go somewhere near or below the equator. Australia and the UK are both in the Commonwealth, and he had relatives in Australia. His trip destination therefore makes sense, and I have never heard of restrictions on travel when you are on sick leave for stress.

 

[mechanicx]

+1. It sounds like to me his employer is being a typical control freak. And might even be some personal jealousy of his R&R vacation, or for him being seen as somewhat of a hero.

 

[Shannow]

Assuming that the UK is closer to Australia than the US in terms of worker's compensation...

If you are sick, you use your sick leave. Break your leg, have a nervous breakdown, get cancer, and you are on sick leave until you are well enough to return for work...while-ever you have enough sick leave to cover the absence...three days, and you need a Dr's Certificate to justify it, or there can be disciplinary action.

Hurt on the job, there's "worker's compensation", where the employer is responsible for the leave, and the rehabilitation. Some apparently stupid things happen, such as the following article, however, the law is that you are there because your employer put you there, he get's the bill.

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/12/17/workers-comp-sex-accident-business-trip/

A claim is made, supported by your doctor (and stress related illnesses are recognised), the company will then usually requested that you see their specialist, and then a return to work programme (and leave as appropriate) is planned.

There are P.I.s all over the place trying to find an employee breaching the terms of their worker's comp...e.g. finding that you are off for a bad back, and operating a lawn mowing business. Video of you lifting the mower onto the ute, bang, there's the compensation claim shot, your job gone, and your future employers notified of the issue.

In this case, he was off for stress (won't go there), was in a purposefully relaxing situation, and rescued some kids...

His bosses wanted him gone, and that's their excuse...and will be why he gets an even better payout when the courts are finished.