I've been reading a lot of posts recently where employers are requesting staff provide doctors note for work absence. This is despite the fact that they are in hospital for things like miscarriages/serious injuries, or they are literally visibly sick at the workplace. And to put the icing on the cake, the complaining worker can't even afford to see a doctor.
Is this a new trend, or has this always been a trick to abuse employees into asking them to do something they can't or don't even need to do in order to get them into trouble?