Advice Please- Employment Law.

Googlewhacker

KayJ066 wrote: »

Jeff- Yes, they had the meetings aswell.

My sister is well aware that if she is off sick again then she will be out the door. I think from what she said, she would rather stay there and look for another job whilst being employed, it seems much easier than being unemployed.

I would agree with this statement and I wouldn't particularly agree with resigning because as Uncertain would say the company may slip up procedurely, plus she'll be accruing holiday pay, plus notice pay if they do dismiss her.

However she seriously needs to get another job because the company are obviously losing patience with her.

dickydonkin

Sickness costs money in so many ways that if she has been going on like this for a while then they must be at the end of their tether..

Which is true of course - but being prone to infections/ailments must be no picnic in the park either! I can see both sides of the story but what does someone do who is persistently ill?

They can come into work ill and infect the entire workforce creating more problems for management or exacerbate any injury that a doctor has deemed that the injured person is unfit for work- you are damned if you do and damned if you dont.

Difficult one though.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

dpassmore wrote: »

Which is true of course - but being prone to infections/ailments must be no picnic in the park either! I can see both sides of the story but what does someone do who is persistently ill?
Difficult one though.

Not difficult at all.

You get them to manage their health.. And if it carries on then there is only one way and thats the door im afraid..

Now if they can prove that they are tackling their problems by finding out why they are so prone to falling ill then a company should work with them but theres only so much they can do before they have to draw a line. Because it generally follows that once one person is seen to be getting away with it then others will follow.

zzzLazyDaisy

It should also be noted that repeated absences for short term unrelated illnesses will often be treated more seriously than absences that are linked to an underlying condition. This is because of the discrimination laws, but also because in many ways repeated irregular short term absences can be more disruptive, and therefore more noticeable on the 'shop floor,' than a longer period of sick leave which can be covered.

Since OP's sister seems to pick up infections easily and is hit harder than other people, it might be worth getting checked out by her GP to rule out the possibility of there being some underlying condition that is making her more vulnerable to these bugs. If she does have an underlying condition, this might affect the way she is dealt with under the company's procedures (assuming she doesn't lose her job this time).

darkrev

if you are not a trade union member for free legal advice then ask ACAS 08457 47 47 47 then you can have qualified advice , they may be busy because of all the redundancies but persevere they are great. also some house hold and car insurance policies offer free legal services. good luck regards Amanda

Uncertain

darkrev wrote: »

........ for free legal advice then ask ACAS 08457 47 47 47 then you can have qualified advice , they may be busy because of all the redundancies but persevere they are great.

Well I admire your confidence and it may be better than nothing but a glorified call centre staffed by people with limited training often reading from a script falls well short of my idea of "qualified legal advice".

If it worked for you then great but I would double check any advice from them, especially if it is even a fraction outside of the mundane.

KayJ066

Thanks all, she has gone to her meeting today so I won't find out what happened until later.

The people who have had grace's given to them were all on FWW for their absences too.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

KayJ066 wrote: »

Thanks all, she has gone to her meeting today so I won't find out what happened until later.

The people who have had grace's given to them were all on FWW for their absences too.

Yes i understand that - but that does not really stop a company from taking a stand..

zzzLazyDaisy

dpassmore wrote: »

Which is true of course - but being prone to infections/ailments must be no picnic in the park either! I can see both sides of the story but what does someone do who is persistently ill? .

Unfortunately if someone is a persistent irregular attender, there comes a point when a decision has to be made as to whether they are able to carry out their duties under their contract of employment to an acceptable level.

This does not mean that the person is not genuinely ill on each occasion, but it does mean that these absences, however genuine, mean that they are not doing their job to the employer's satisfaction. That is why employers have absence procedures, so they are able to lawfully dismiss someone who doesn't meet their standards of attendance.

Different considerations apply to someone with a disability (or more accurately an illness or medical condition that amounts to a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act), but even then it doesn't make them bullet proof.

It is unfortunate for the employee concerned, but ultimately employers are allowed to terminate the employment of someone who can't do their job properly owing to ill-health.

KayJ066

Just had a call from my sister, they have dismissed her.

Any advice on what she can do now? There is an appeal procedure, but is there a case for unfair dismissal?