Sending a sick cook home without pay
- Kind
- Ethical dilemma
Prompt
You own a small restaurant. On a Saturday afternoon, your best cook, who has worked for you for six years, tells you that he was sick with a stomach virus and vomiting until late last night. He feels fine now. Local health rules say that food workers must stay home until 48 hours after their symptoms end. Following the rule would mean he misses tonight, which is your busiest night of the week, and you are already one cook short. He is paid by the hour, he has no paid sick days, and his rent is due on Monday. He asks to work, promises to wash his hands constantly, and says no one will ever know. What would you do?
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Ethical reasoning
- Professionalism and integrity
- Empathy and compassion
How to approach this question
This MMI station tests whether you'll enforce a public health rule when following it costs your business its busiest night and costs a loyal worker money he can't spare. Name everyone affected: your customers, your other staff, the cook and his rent, and you as the owner responsible for the rule. Weigh the risk of illness spreading through your kitchen against his lost income and your short-staffed Saturday. Consider how you could soften the cost, such as paying him for the shift, offering an advance, or finding him work that keeps him away from food. Make a clear call and explain it to him with respect. When a follow-up shows the problem moving somewhere outside your control, think about what responsibility you still carry for public safety and for him.
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