Made redundant whilst off sick

lasergirl123

I was made redundant on 1/11/09 whilst signed off sick. I have worked for that employer for less than 2 years & was entitled to 3 months paid notice. As I was off sick whilst made redundant my employer has only paid SSP rather than my normal salary.

My query is that my sick note expired on 1/12/09 (& I was feeling better by then). However my employer is refusing to increase my SSP back to my normal salary for the remainder of my notice period (ie from 1/12/09 to 31/1/10) as they state that their offer to pay during the notice period is based on me being available for work if requested & as they have not received a 'sign off sickness' note from my GP they assumed that I have been ill since 1/12/09 & will only pay me SSP.

My GP has provided a formal note to confirm that I was able to return to work but they will still only pay SSP. Are they correct?

Many thanks

Debt_Free_Dreamer

Were other people made redundant where you work?
Did they work during the notice period?

Did you check if you should have return to work when your sick note expired, or did you just not bother to turn up?

Did you ask if you could come into work during the notice period?

jdturk

so are you not actually working your notice?

They are quite right to ask for a fit to work note if they feel the job you do could make you unsafe to yourself or other people. There was a thread about this recently.

I don't understand whether you were told that you could not work your notice after coming back from the sick because your notice hasn't actually ran out yet

midnight_ninja

If your sick note ran out you could have returned to work so therefore they would have to give you full pay as you would have been working there if you hadnt been made redundant , i work in a personnel dept and would advise you if you are a member of a union to raise it with them , also where you made redundant due to sickness or was it just the company in general ?

Uncertain

First of all, are you actually redundant in the legal sense of the word?

In other words does your job no longer need doing? Unless this is genuinely the case you may have grounds for claiming unfair dismissal.

You cannot be made redundant just because you are ill. Long term there may be other ways in which they could terminate your contract for heath reasons but this is not redundancy.

I would suggest you call ACAS (usually easier to get through at 8.00am sharp on a weekday) and get some advice.

lasergirl123

midnight_ninja wrote: »

If your sick note ran out you could have returned to work so therefore they would have to give you full pay as you would have been working there if you hadnt been made redundant , i work in a personnel dept and would advise you if you are a member of a union to raise it with them , also where you made redundant due to sickness or was it just the company in general ?

Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately not a member of a union. A few others were made redundant at the same time & they used what I believe is known as the matrix system to decide who to make redundant. Their argument seems to be that as I did not provide a 'return to work' note or advise them that I was now better (as I had been made redundant it never even crossed my mind that I ought to do this) then they are within their rights to pay SSP & not full pay.

If you have any further advice on this I would be very grateful.

Anihilator

Isnt it funny how you were fit to work when it meant you could get full redundancy pay.

Did you at any point after 1/11/2009 tell the company you were fit to work from 1/12/2009 or turn up?

If they tell you to return tomorrow can you?

lasergirl123

Debt_Free_Dreamer wrote: »

Were other people made redundant where you work?
Did they work during the notice period?

Did you check if you should have return to work when your sick note expired, or did you just not bother to turn up?

Did you ask if you could come into work during the notice period?

Yes several others made redundant at same time, none of whom worked their notice period. As I had been made redundant it did not seem logical to me to let them know I was better & no-one from the firm contacted me to let me know that I should.

Anihilator

lasergirl123 wrote: »

Yes several others made redundant at same time, none of whom worked their notice period. As I had been made redundant it did not seem logical to me to let them know I was better & no-one from the firm contacted me to let me know that I should.

Why not?
You were still officially employed and being paid? Did you not think this relevent?

Tbh it sounds to me as you have pulled a bit of a fast one to screw some extra cash. I am betting if it wasnt paid notice you wouldnt be fit to work.

lasergirl123

Anihilator wrote: »

Isnt it funny how you were fit to work when it meant you could get full redundancy pay.

Did you at any point after 1/11/2009 tell the company you were fit to work from 1/12/2009 or turn up?

If they tell you to return tomorrow can you?

no, they had made me redundant, why should I? And before you make any further thoughtless comments, I was off sick with stress due to the job I had, so no, it wasn't that 'funny' that I felt better when I was made redundant - I was free of the place at last.

lasergirl123

Uncertain wrote: »

Why do you constantly assume that anybody off sick for any psychological reason is not ill? They will have been certified as sick by a doctor who will have spent six years full time at medical school plus many more years "on the job" training. Just as a matter of interest, what is your training in this field and how did you develop this unique skill to diagnose, based on a few lines on an internet forum.

How does the NHS manage without you?

Anyway.....


If the OP was on properly certified sick leave then this should have had no effect on the selection process for redundancy. As I said before, these are two separate issues. There may (or may not) have been grounds for following a capability procedure if the sick leave was long term.

If the OP can show that redundancy was influenced by her illness then she may well have a claim.

Thanks for your supportive comments. All I wanted was some simple advice & end up being taken apart!