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

one_hot_minute

bungle4by4 wrote: »

well then, if thats how you deal with something as simple as the flu, you had better get used to a life on benefits. because your hubbs will be out of work very soon,

Harsh.

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.

This is definitely worth looking into. I've a histamine intolerance that triggers migraines and skin complaints. In the last year I've managed to control it by eating low histamine foods and medication. I'm usually crippled with a migraine at least twice a year (since I was in my early teens) and touch wood haven't had one for over a year after working out the intolerance.

welshmoneylover wrote: »

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

I've had the actual flu once in my life. I'm sorry if you can get out of bed, you don't have the flu. I slept for nearly two weeks, lost 20 pounds, hallucinating, delirious, sweating, sick, temperature through the roof - basically wasn't on this planet. Anyone who says they had flu and could go to work / do the school run is lying or suffering from a bad cold.

paddedjohn

Taking time off for a dependant

Letting your employer know about taking time off

You can take time off regardless of your length of service. If you do need time off you should let your employer know as soon as you can, although you don't have to do it in writing or provide evidence.
If you return to work before you have had the chance to contact your employer, you must still tell them why you were absent.

How much time you are allowed to take off

You are allowed 'reasonable' time off to deal with the emergency and make any arrangements that are needed. There's no set amount of time allowed to deal with an unexpected event involving a dependant - it will vary depending on what the event is but for most cases one or two days should be sufficient to deal with the problem.
For example, if your child falls ill you can take enough time off to deal with their initial needs, such as taking them to the doctor and arranging for their care. However, you will need to make other arrangements if you want to stay off work longer to care for them yourself.
If both parents wish to take time off for a dependant you should try to adopt a common-sense approach with your employer. Both parents may need to take time off work if your child has had a serious accident, however it is unlikely to be necessary if the childminder fails to turn up.
There's no limit to the number of times you can take time off for dependants, provided it's for real emergencies. If your employer feels that you are taking more time off than they can cope with, they should warn you of this.
If you need to be off for longer than you thought to deal with something, contact your employer as soon as you can to let them know why and how long you might need. Try to give them these details in writing as soon as you can. Your employer may have a form they will need you to fill in.

I DONT WANT TO SOUND HARSH BUT IN YOUR EARLIER POST#31, YOU STATED THAT YOU WERE ILL ALL WEEKEND, SURELY THIS IS ENOUGH TIME TO SORT SOMETHING OUT WITHOUT HAVING A WEEK OFF WORK.

puppypants

welshmoneylover wrote: »

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

Sorry to disagree, but if you had the 'flu you wouldn't be able to go to work as it flattens you! Nor should you go to work and risk everyone else's health!!

liney

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1410

ACAS offer free confidential advice to employees and employers. You will not be asked any personal details, or company information, so tell them the whole truth and they will be able to advise you on what proceedures the company must follow and likely/allowable outcomes.

heretolearn_2

This sounds as if the company is just fed up with the amount of time he's been off over the time he's worked there, even though they shouldn't be taking expired warnings into account. I'd get the union help but he needs to improve his attendence in future.

One thing that needs clearing up is people saying he can't be dismissed for being sick with a condition that may be covered under DDA, or that the company were aware of before employing him. Neither of those is true. Companies have to make reasonable adjustments under DDA - 'reasonable' being the important word- and companies aren't expected to let anyone have unlimited sick time off.

Googlewhacker

moggylover wrote: »

So, just what ARE people supposed to do if they are unfortunate enough to get ill? It would be great if we were all well oiled robots, but we aren't: we are human beings and as such sometimes we get ill, or our families get ill and employers, imo, need to grow some humanity and deal with that. Perhaps if they weren't so tightly understaffed it would help.

By all means, if it is someone who suffers from Mondaymorningitis and the company knows that they are not "ill" just not turning up, then they need to question them and attempt to prove that. Illness is not a crime, however, and these Companies should be ashamed of themselves for their action where someone has a family member with health problems (i.e. the little lad with asthma) and they cannot show any humanity towards them.

Op, I cannot offer any advice, others here are much more knowledgable than i, but wish you and your OH luck with the situation. The union should be able to deal with this, unfortunately a lot depends on how articulate and clued up the rep is, and they aren't always:(

At the end of the day though, if its not the companies fault that the person is constantly ill why should they allow them repeated time of if they are incapable of doing the job to the contract?

The vast majority of companies will show humanity towards a person but they also have to consider the stress and strain that persons absence causes other members of staff as well as resentment etc and as such their compassion for a persons plight will only go so far and quite rightly so.

Uncertain

Although there is some good advice in this thread there is some total rubbish too. Not helped by one poster in particular being as offensive as possible!

The sad fact in any situation like this is that if the firm is determined to get rid of the employee and take a risk on having to pay some compensation they can do so. Some firms operate like that and the employment laws are a fairly toothless tiger in most cases.

If this is the case then all the OP's husband can realistically do is go through the proper channels to maximise his chances of having a valid claim.

In my view the emergency leave for dependants is the best area to concentrate on. The firm is more likely to be wary of falling foul in this area.

Also, he needs to know for certain is any of his heath problems amount to a disability (in the legal sense). If so, have the firm formally been made aware of this? If not they need to be told PDQ. Although this only requires them to consider "reasonable adjustments" in practical terms this will make them very cautious indeed about taking any action that could possible fall foul of discrimination laws. In this one area the law does have some teeth!

Jennifer_Jane

Just one more word about the migraines (which I had during my working years, and still do). For his own sake, he should get more help from the doctor about this. Apart from the sumatriptans (which I have) and knowing any triggers (one of mine, tragically, is chocolate), there are daily tablets which can be taken to prevent migraines forming. The key to any migraine is to catch it fast and possibly before it's taken root.

By the way, it is not any posters here who are making the judgment on whether he has too many absences or not, but his work.

When I worked, I used to make it clear to my employees that I was only sick under the most difficult of circumstances. There is a certain amount of showing that you are glad and grateful to be in your job, even when it's the most boring job possible! Employees can always find a way to get rid of you if they really want to.

Good luck, and I hope that the OP's family consider this a wake-up call to get some help for the migraines and to show the work that he isn't malingering.

Uncertain

Googlewhacker wrote: »

At the end of the day though, if its not the companies fault that the person is constantly ill why should they allow them repeated time of if they are incapable of doing the job to the contract?

Yes, however they also need to consider the terms and conditions under which they were taken on.

If the firm offered the job with significant company sick pay provisions and are now trying to "manage" their way out of paying then this, in my view, is like an insurance company trying to refuse a valid claim i.e dishonest!

Obviously any time off sick should be genuine otherwise this too would be dishonest on the part of the employee.

Sick pay should not be seen as extra holiday just as you don't burn your house down each year in order to claim on the insurance.

However, there is no suggestion here that sick leave was anything other than genuine.

Linda32

Hiya,

Just wanted to add on the subject of Migraines, I am fortunate enough to never have had one, and nor do I ever want one. But I understand they can be poorly managed and that sounds like the case here.

Yes I know, I havn't a clue what I'm talking about, just an observation.

My ex boss, his Daughter suffered loads, nearly every fortnight :eek: she was under the doc, gave up what she thought to be the trigger foods, chocolate, red wine, cheese and coffee :eek:

She worked at Marks and Spencers at the time, and always took packed lunch, but once every now and again, forgot her lunch or didn't make it. So bought a sandwich from Marks and Spencers....... they spotted the trigger eventually.

So I do know that it can be something so odd, I doubt its as simple as that but she noticed the difference.

I really really hope your OH keeps his job, but whatever, the migraines will still be there.

HTH