Resigning or Getting Sacked?

dmg24

Thanks rosysparkle,

Wow that is some level of absence! But all credit to mr_ice for being honest about it, and he is obviously quite realistic about his potential fate.

With regard to the original post, if you are sacked then there is nothing to lose in asking about a reference? The worst they can say is no!

As you're a full time student, and assuming you have no dependents or disabilities, then you are unlikely to get any benefits. Could I ask what makes your outgoings so high?!!

Best of luck for Tuesday. If you are sacked and walk away with no reference, just take it as a learning experience and move on.

As you are a full time student, unless this job has given you relevant experience for future positions, I may even be tempted to miss it off your cv? Saves any difficult questions as to why you left?

ohreally

mr_ice2005 wrote:

thats just it leigh-anne i did random sickies every other week and they didnt say anything.

I'd put it to management that they're as guilty of failing to manage the situation as you were at taking sickies. There will almost certainly be a sickness/absence management policy which will identify trigger points which may result in disciplinary action being taken - has your manager complied with policy? Don't be quick to give up hope as there is nearly always an escape route if you look in the right places. Are you a union member and if not join and get representation sorted.Have management held an investigatory hearing to establish the facts or have they decided to go straight to disciplinary solely on the basis of a Bradford score?

mr_ice2005

Well outcome of hearing is on tuesday so i feel its a little late for union representation.

Yes i recieved a letter today about completion of the investigation. I guess theres no point moping around. I'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the replies anyhow.

ohreally wrote:

I'd put it to management that they're as guilty of failing to manage the situation as you were at taking sickies. There will almost certainly be a sickness/absence management policy which will identify trigger points which may result in disciplinary action being taken - has your manager complied with policy? Don't be quick to give up hope as there is nearly always an escape route if you look in the right places. Are you a union member and if not join and get representation sorted.Have management held an investigatory hearing to establish the facts or have they decided to go straight to disciplinary solely on the basis of a Bradford score?

funky-footprints

i personally wouldnt want to ask them for a reference, imagine what they would write !!!! your time keeping record would not look too good for any future employee!

jobbingmusician

Hang on a moment here!

You mean you have all these un-genuine sicknesses, have been warned about them in June and since the warning have had one spell of GENUINE sickness in Aigist?

Can you prove the sickness was genuine? It doesn't sound to me as if they've given you a fair chance to improve, and that's what you should argue!

ckerrd

"I have pulled one too many sickies"

If you can't be bothered working for the company then I don't see why they should employ you.
Having said that I would have dealt with a situation like this much much earlier on.

mr_ice2005

well since the sickness issue was addressed to me in June i have had only one instance of sickness. I didnt go to the doctors on that occasion. And since it was highlighted i have made a vast improvement.

someone told me they cannot instantly dismiss me unless it is a gross misconduct

jobbingmusician

mr_ice2005 wrote:

well since the sickness issue was addressed to me in June i have had only one instance of sickness. I didnt go to the doctors on that occasion. And since it was highlighted i have made a vast improvement.

someone told me they cannot instantly dismiss me unless it is a gross misconduct

Have you got a copy of the company's disciplinary policy? A good employer should have sent you one with your notification of disciplinary. The normal procedure is that you would be given a 'verbal warning' (actually written down) then a written warning, which includes the warning that further breaches might lead to disc. After your sickness issue was addressed in June it should have been made clear to you what happened - i.e. were you given a verbal warning, a written warning, a final written warning? If it was a final written warning then they could potentially fire you at a subsequent hearing within a given timescale (usually 6 months, after that time the warning fades from your file). If it wasn't a final warning, or they haven't made the disc policy clear to you, then they are on sticky ground and you could go to tribunal and claim unfair dismissal (if you've been there more than a year) or somenthing I think is called unjust dismissal if you've only been there a while.

Sounds from your Braford score as if you must have been there a while, though So if they're not following their own policy, by not telling you at the previous hearing where you are up to on the policy, they have shot themselves in the foot big time!

Contains_Mild_Peril

If you were ill after being spoken to about your absence rate, you really should have gone to the doctor for a sick line. That said, you bosses should have let you know earlier that your absence rate was considered a problem.
If you do lose you job, I'd go along with the advice someone else gave, and omit it from your CV unless it's particularly relevant to the position you're applying for in future.
I'd never heard of Bradford scoring before, but it strikes me as a bit unfair. There are many genuine conditions which can cause several short absences rather than one or two longer ones. I suppose illnesses resulting in one absence of several days are considered more acceptable partly because they're more likely to be contagious (e.g. flu). However, it seems to me that there is a risk of penalising the diligent worker who tries to go back to work too soon. For instance, if you're ill on a Monday and phone in sick, then decide on the Tuesday that, although you're still feeling ill, you should be OK to go to work, but then realise it was a mistake and you're not really fit, and after struggling through Tuesday, take Wednesday off, presumably you'd amass more points than if you'd been of on the Tuesday too.

dmg24

Do you still want to work there? Would you not rather have a clean slate somewhere new?

Am only asking because I was in your position with a part time job, albeit through genuine illness(!), and dreaded getting ill because I knew I'd always be hauled in the office the next time I was back in. In the end I resigned after my final written warning (because I'd taken a day off when my grandad died). Unfortunately I went into a job that was even worse, but that's a whole other story ...

Whatever happens, good luck x