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

eyeinthesky

Hi, sorry to hear of your/your hubby's situation, it must feel like he is being punished for being ill, but some employers are jumping at any opportunity to reduce their wages bill. Having said that, he does seem to have had a lot of time off.

You said he had a written warning on file for 6 months, presumably to give him a time limit to improve his attendance record, and that period ended in September. You also said he had absences in June, September and December, so the June absence and maybe September, were within the warning period? If this is the case then it isn't looking good for him. Sorry, but I think you need to prepare for the worst.

pink_princess

lindseykim13 wrote: »

This is exactly what they are doing his letters are titled gross misconduct, both on the illness one and the 2 days absence.

If both are intitled gross misconduct then he stands little chance of keeping his job.He should start applying for other jobs now to try get one asap.Sorry op hope Im wrong .

naughtyjo

I think he needs to get proper advise from his union rep. However if sick policies are in place they need to be followed by both parties. If he was given a 6 month warning that has now expired did he have a review with his manager at the 6 month point? Does he have a backsliding period? For e.g. I can have 7 days sickness a year. If i hit 8 days i will be given an oral warning for 6 month. During that 6 month (the review period) I cant hit 4 more days. If I stay within my 4 days then I pass the review but am then on a backsliding for 12months so any sick in that 12 months is gonna get me another warning if I hit 8 days and potentially sacked. I would argue if there is no written warning in place he cant get sacked. As for the unauthorised absence was he given the option to take annual leave. Does his employer have a family friendly policy or emergency leave?
If his employer knows he has migranes which can be debilatating then cant they extend his trigger point for him ?
I believe he must work for quite a big organisation if TU Reps are there. All I can say is check check check the procedures and guidance. Make sure his TU Rep does all thats possible.
He would need a oral warning, written warning etc before they can sack him. How ever he needs to address his time off. I am not been judgemental at all just trying to help. You say your son has medical problems? If so is he covered by the DDA act which under new equality laws would protect your husband by association? Parental leave (unpaid) could have been used rather than unauthorised absence. Try and get a health report to extend his triggers etc. Many people I represent ring in sick to hide a multitude of personal problems. If they had actually been honest with the employer (ie)Caring responsibilities, debt problems, domestic violence, drug problems etc this would not go as sick and the employer does have a responsibility towards an employees health & wellbeing and things would not have got as far. They do tend to help or make allowances if they know folk are having a hard time. I think your argument will be technical/procedural !!!! ups so have a good look at stuff

lindseykim13

pink_princess wrote: »

If both are intitled gross misconduct then he stands little chance of keeping his job.He should start applying for other jobs now to try get one asap.Sorry op hope Im wrong .

Thanks for replying and yes he is looking now for other jobs, the union have told him the worst he could get is a final written but for the last 2-3 years they have had a spree of sacking people in feb-march and looks like it's going the same way. We are hoping its not the case but preparing for the worst.
I can understand it looks bad on paper but what can he do if he's ill, other than go in and then get sent home which he has done

There are so many people that work there that have much worse records and they have nothing done to them just seems DH has been chosen.

catkins

Forwandert wrote: »

No you still have to look after them, what if both you and your partner had flu at the same time what would the children do then? my partner had flu just before christmas but still had to look after our 3 wk old, 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old, getting the older two to nursery/school etc, me just not turning up for work for a week wasn't something we even thought about.

If you truly have the flu you cannot get out of bed. It doesn't matter how many children you have YOU CANNOT GET OUT OF BED! So you did not have the flu

catkins

Person_one wrote: »

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?)

Migraines do not always have triggers - mine don't. A cup of coffee would not only make mine worse but I would throw it straight back up

headcrash27

Some people are being really harsh. You can't help being ill surely?? For the record my husband has taken time off work to look after my daughter when i've been really ill, what else are you supposed to do. Most people can't afford to hire help and taking them to nursery or school isn't an option when you can't get out of bed.

catkins

bungle4by4 wrote: »

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.

Do people know what real flu and real migraines are? If you have a migraine you cannot get out of bed to go to the doctor. This is something I had problems with at my last workplace.

When I have a migraine my head feels like it is going to explode. I cannot stand any light at all (I have to lay in bed with the curtains closed and the duvet over my head) or any noise. I nearly always throw up, sometimes as often as every 10 or 15 mins. I also cannot stand up as I get to dizzy and fall over. How could I possibly get to a dr?

Person_one

catkins wrote: »

Migraines do not always have triggers - mine don't. A cup of coffee would not only make mine worse but I would throw it straight back up

Migraines vary a lot, everybody seems to get their own unique version, caffeine is a common trigger for lots of sufferers but sometimes a decent treatment for mine.

That's why its important to explore every possibility that may help. If the OP's husband hasn't looked into triggers or triptans then it would be sensible to do that, if he has and they haven't helped him, then they can ignore my post.

lindseykim13

naughtyjo wrote: »

I think he needs to get proper advise from his union rep. However if sick policies are in place they need to be followed by both parties. If he was given a 6 month warning that has now expired did he have a review with his manager at the 6 month point? Does he have a backsliding period? For e.g. I can have 7 days sickness a year. If i hit 8 days i will be given an oral warning for 6 month. During that 6 month (the review period) I cant hit 4 more days. If I stay within my 4 days then I pass the review but am then on a backsliding for 12months so any sick in that 12 months is gonna get me another warning if I hit 8 days and potentially sacked. I would argue if there is no written warning in place he cant get sacked. As for the unauthorised absence was he given the option to take annual leave. Does his employer have a family friendly policy or emergency leave?
If his employer knows he has migranes which can be debilatating then cant they extend his trigger point for him ?
I believe he must work for quite a big organisation if TU Reps are there. All I can say is check check check the procedures and guidance. Make sure his TU Rep does all thats possible.
He would need a oral warning, written warning etc before they can sack him. How ever he needs to address his time off. I am not been judgemental at all just trying to help. You say your son has medical problems? If so is he covered by the DDA act which under new equality laws would protect your husband by association? Parental leave (unpaid) could have been used rather than unauthorised absence. Try and get a health report to extend his triggers etc. Many people I represent ring in sick to hide a multitude of personal problems. If they had actually been honest with the employer (ie)Caring responsibilities, debt problems, domestic violence, drug problems etc this would not go as sick and the employer does have a responsibility towards an employees health & wellbeing and things would not have got as far. They do tend to help or make allowances if they know folk are having a hard time. I think your argument will be technical/procedural !!!! ups so have a good look at stuff

Thankyou this is very helpfull, is is a big company yes. They seem to like to hide their policies we have nothing to look at. In the last meeting DH asked for a copy of their work/life balance policy but this still hasn't been supplied to him. He nor myself have any idea what policies they even have let alone follow them. I will be honest and say he's not very savvy with this sort of thing and i am not much better! They have never given him any guidelines to follow whilst on a warning. He had 4 days off during the last written warning but because nothing was mentioned at the time he didn't realise that it would count. He seems to think it is 3 periods off before the next 'step' is taken. That is why they have waited until now to call him back in, I have no idea if i'm honest.

He is meeting the union rep on monday to talk things over, as they have done alot to worsen the situation with various c*ck ups along the way. His records were not correct and had to be altered and if DH hadn't pointed them out they would have been left as such.

He was never given the option to take annual leave for the 2 days as the company changed their policy (not that we would know!) to not allow holiday to be taken over the phone.
Basically if you ring in now your either a)sick or b)unauthorised absence