Can you get sacked for being off sick 3 times in a year

Person_one

lindseykim13 wrote: »

He has been to the doctors on a few occasions and the occ health only been prescribed strong paracetamol (co-codemol or codine i think) he usually just goes to bed after vomitting and then doesnt eat/move for 3 days but then hes fine after that and goes straight back into work where as others take the remainder of the week off because it all counts as 1 period anyway.

Has his doctor never suggested he keep a diary to try and figure out his triggers? Years ago mine printed me out a list of common triggers and every time I had a migraine I ticked off which I'd eaten/drank/seen/done in the preceding 12 hours. After a few attacks you start to see a pattern emerge.

No painkiller has ever touched my migraines, not even triptans, the only things that work are knowing my triggers and avoiding them, and sometimes having a huge mug of very strong coffee at the very first sign, but it has to be within about 3 minutes!

Edit: Has he never been prescribed triptans? (Frovatriptan, Sumatriptan?)

bungle4by4

if he keeps his job, the answer is very simple. attend work, at ALL costs. if migraines are a real problem then take medical advice immediately and when one strikes go straight to his GP, and i mean on day 1 of none attendance of work. and get a private sick note. this helps in any future requirements. although there is a cost involved, this does go a long way to proving geniune illness.

UA has to be avoided at all costs. the company obviously doesn't allow this anymore. so above all. turn up for work. if you are too ill to look after the children, then you need to hire someone, or use childcare to solve the problem. after all its not your hubbs companys choice that they are home schooled.

i don't offer any apologies for sounding harsh. this is possibly your last chance to avoid dismissal.

welshmoneylover

I can remember having the flu, I still went to work though.

Googlewhacker

to be honest the absent part of this thread is likely to be a slap on the wrist, it is the unauthorised absence that will land him in big trouble.

Can you be clearer, did he just not turn up? As a carer of a dependant you are allowed unpaid time of for emergancy leave, however this would not stretch to a week, it is merely there to sort alternate arrangements out.

What have the union got to say for themselves on this?

Person_one

welshmoneylover wrote: »

I can remember having the flu, I still went to work though.

Then you either didn't have flu or you were lucky enough to have a very very mild case.

Obviously this family needed to make better arrangements than unauthorised absence, but don't underestimate the flu, the OP could well have been ill enough that her children wouldn't have been safe in her sole care.

WhiteHorse

Did they know of the extent of the migraine problem before he was employed? If they did, they can't use it against him. If they try to that would amount to discrimination.

A whole unauthorised week off will go down badly, and so it should. Did he notify them or simply just not turn up?

Expired warnings should not be referred to as such. However, the fact that they were given suggests an overall problem that can be referred to. It must be said that his record does not appear to be a good one.

They should give adequate notice of hearings. He really should insist on this so a union rep can be present.

bap98189

Come on folks, everyone seems to be putting the boot into the OP, which seems a bit harsh, especially regarding the illness. It's hardly unusual to be off work ill 3 times in a year, and if you have ever had a migrane, you would know it's not something you can work through.

OP, if your hubby has a history of migranes, and more importantly his doctor is aware of the condition, then I don't see how he can be in bother for being off ill. Twice in one year, is hardly cause for concern. Where he should be concerned though is the unauthorised absence. Just because you have children and your OH is sick, is not a good enough reason to not show up for work. Re-reading your post, I'm not sure how long this unauthorised absence was, was it a single day or a whole week? Either way, there's not much he can do but apologise, grovel and promise it won't happen again.

November5th

welshmoneylover wrote: »

I can remember having the flu, I still went to work though.

I thought one of the points with flu is not spreading it to your colleagues

Tankrizzo_2

Hope your husband is feeling alright Kim. But he needs to be prepared for dismissal because a week's unauthorised absence is pretty bad, sick wife or not.

Hopefully he will just get a final written warning but he needs to be on BEST behaviour for a long time afterwards, because he will have his card marked by managers.

lindseykim13

Googlewhacker wrote: »

to be honest the absent part of this thread is likely to be a slap on the wrist, it is the unauthorised absence that will land him in big trouble.

Can you be clearer, did he just not turn up? As a carer of a dependant you are allowed unpaid time of for emergancy leave, however this would not stretch to a week, it is merely there to sort alternate arrangements out.

What have the union got to say for themselves on this?

Sorry the 'unauthorised absence' is just what they are calling it and it sounds like he just didn't show up. He has never done this. I was ill all weekend and he knew he wouldn't be able to go in so he rang in well before the start of work as soon as he knew someone would be there to pick up the phone. Told them of the situation and they said it was fine and just to let them know when he would be back in to work. He asked for holiday but they don't allow this over the phone it has to be booked in advance.
He then rang in every morning until the end of the week when they said not to bother for the last day ringing up. He knew he wouldn't be paid for it.